The first blast of spring flowers in May is breathtaking but very brief. The showy blooms on crabapples, apples, forsythia, mockorange and bridal veil spirea last only about a week, while lilac flowers may last up to two weeks. Luckily, other plants come into bloom later, so with a little planning, you can have interest in your yard throughout the summer.

FLOWERING TREES

Japanese tree lilacs (Syringa reticulata) are in the same genus as the familiar shrub lilacs (Syringa vulgaris), but they have a very different look. They're just finishing their two-to-three week period of bloom right now, so they're easy to spot. Look for small trees in the cities and towns with large, fluffy, white blossoms held above the leaves. They are on a shortlist of trees recommended for street plantings and are a good choice to use under power lines.

Japanese tree lilacs are, as their name implies, tree-like in form. Their bark is much like cherry tree bark and is attractive in winter. The large, showy and fragrant flowers (although not everyone enjoys their particular scent) fade into showy, tan seed pods that can provide interest during winter as well. They have few pest problems and are somewhat drought tolerant once established. One drawback is they tend to get into an every-other-year-bloom cycle, which isn't really a problem, just a little disappointing in the off years. This is an "on" year, so enjoy the blooms while you can.

Other larger trees that flower in June include black locusts with their wonderfully sweetly scented flowers, catalpa with their huge leaves and showy flower clusters, and horse chestnuts with giant pyramidal flowers held up above their leaves.

JUNE PERENNIALS

The earliest blooms have come and are almost over in my perennial garden. While perennials come and go all summer long, a few make a big show and need a little attention after blooming to keep their good looks.

Lupines do well in our cooler climate but are absolute magnets for aphids. The best way to deal with them is to cut the entire flower stalk to the ground as soon as the flowers fade. The aphids prefer this stalk, so by removing it, you're removing the vast majority of aphids. New, attractive leaves will quickly regrow, and you'll be able to enjoy the showy leaves all summer. You may even get a second bloom later on, but that's a bonus, not a guarantee.

Peonies are durable and long-lived in your garden, but their gorgeous blooms don't last nearly long enough to suit me. I love the scent of their flowers. Some plants are prone to flopping over from the weight of their flowers, and once the petals have fallen, the plants look quite ragged.

The trick to making peonies look their best is to prune them back pretty hard after flowering. It's obvious where the flowers were -- huge seed heads are left behind. But rather than just cutting off the seed pods, use a pair of hand clippers to cut each flowering branch back by about half.

I like to grab hold of the end of the stem that has finished flowering and follow that back into the leaf canopy, making my cut just above a side branching leaf. That way, the cut is hidden, and the result is a well-shaped shrub with no blunt, stubby branches. Now my peony can serve as background to my other perennials or stand on its own for the rest of the summer with its dark, glossy leaves.

Baptisia or false indigo is another shrub-like perennial that takes up even more space than my peonies. Both baptisia and peonies die to the ground over the winter, so they don't have woody stems like true shrub. But they take up so much space on their own that they're considered shrub-like in form. This is fine as long as you give them enough room.

My baptisia amazes me each year with its size and spread. In April, the emerging stems only take up about an 18-inch circle in my garden. But the stems quickly grow about four feet long. Once the beautiful blue (or white) flowers fade in mid June, the heavy seed pods bend the stems down so now my single plant is taking up a circle about eight feet in diameter! The stems lie down and across any other plants. If I prune off the heavy seed pods, the branches will lift back up somewhat, but even then, it needs about six feet of space.

There's no point in fighting it. Either I give it the room it needs, or I should remove it from my garden. Both baptisia and peonies are long-lived, and unlike most perennials, they don't need or like to be divided. Choose the site carefully for either of these plants then sit back and watch the show.

WATCH OUT