May is a month full of flowers, so there is plenty of choice, but for me, I think it has to be peonies.  Either the gorgeous Paeonia lactiflora (also known as the Chinese peony) which is the herbaceous form, or the elegant Paeonia suffruticosa (known as the tree peony) a very slow-growing woody shrub.  both have sumptuous, if short-lived flowers, often fragrant.  An au revoir to spring and a big “bonjour” to summer!  This beauty is from Pivoines Rivière, at Jardins en Fête 2011, Chateau de Coppet.

Pivoines Rivière, at the Chateau de Coppet, Jardins en Fête