A Few Words and a Whole Bunch of Pictures
I am planning on writing a blog entry about how some exceptionally juvenile and exhibitionist behavior on my part resulted in my winning these Bazooka-pink underpants,* but I'm a bit pressed for time today, so look for that entry tomorrow.
Of course, I just spent about 45 minutes widgeting around in Photoshop, during which time I could have written the underpants entry. Oh well. Anyway, I am at the moment very jazzed about the garden and have been flitting from plant to plant, taking photos (snap, snap, grin, grin, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!). I'm very pleased that quite a number of plants that didn't bloom last year are blooming this year (or definitely planning on it anyway). For example, some biennial Canterbury Bells that (as expected) did zippo in the bloom department last year are looking very hardy and promising, as are the foxgloves and some columbines. Growth, in general, is a lot more vigorous. Chalk it up to a very rainy April, more lavish use of compost, the fact that the plants are more mature and have better developed root systems, or all of the above. The other thing I'm feeling very smug about is that I've tricked quite a number of full-sun plants into blooming in what are really partial shade conditions. On to the photos:
Native columbine with a Japanese maple in the background.
Purple columbine. My purple columbines produced nothing but foliage last year. Looks like this guy is trying to make it up to me for last year's lackluster performance.
African Daisies 'Cream Symphony.' I planted these last year, under the impression that they were annuals. They stuck it out through the winter and now look like this. These are some of the full-sun plants I've persuaded into accepting partial shade.
'Velvet Fragrance' rose. Smells just like velvet.
Geum 'Starker's Magnificum.' Yet another plant that is supposed to need full sun. I think they're doing just fine without it.
A closeup of one of the Geums.
Orange wallflowers. There is, perhaps, an overabundance of orange in the garden. I don't quite know how that happened. It's hard to control these things.
And now an admission. I have become poppy-obsessed and broke my no-more-poppies rule. I bought four dwarf Iceland poppies on Friday. The fact that the name of the cultivar is 'Gnome' forced my hand. How could I not buy them? This was perhaps not the smartest thing to do. Since they are "mixed colors," I don't know what I will end up with, but there is a very good chance they will be orange and rendered invisible by the Orange Sea (the geums and the wallflowers). Doh! I do sometimes temporarily take leave of my senses when I'm at a nursery. Also, I've found a way to add Shirley (AKA Flanders Field) poppies to my garden. I was reading up on them and apparently they are easy to grow from seed. Don't you think they would look splendid poking up among my somewhat scrawny blueberry bushes? Hopefully they'd obliterate the ugly vents and drainpipes as well.
*In case you can't make it out, the tag line on the underpants reads: "Wish You Were Here." But more on that later.
Of course, I just spent about 45 minutes widgeting around in Photoshop, during which time I could have written the underpants entry. Oh well. Anyway, I am at the moment very jazzed about the garden and have been flitting from plant to plant, taking photos (snap, snap, grin, grin, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!). I'm very pleased that quite a number of plants that didn't bloom last year are blooming this year (or definitely planning on it anyway). For example, some biennial Canterbury Bells that (as expected) did zippo in the bloom department last year are looking very hardy and promising, as are the foxgloves and some columbines. Growth, in general, is a lot more vigorous. Chalk it up to a very rainy April, more lavish use of compost, the fact that the plants are more mature and have better developed root systems, or all of the above. The other thing I'm feeling very smug about is that I've tricked quite a number of full-sun plants into blooming in what are really partial shade conditions. On to the photos:
Native columbine with a Japanese maple in the background.
Purple columbine. My purple columbines produced nothing but foliage last year. Looks like this guy is trying to make it up to me for last year's lackluster performance.
African Daisies 'Cream Symphony.' I planted these last year, under the impression that they were annuals. They stuck it out through the winter and now look like this. These are some of the full-sun plants I've persuaded into accepting partial shade.
'Velvet Fragrance' rose. Smells just like velvet.
Geum 'Starker's Magnificum.' Yet another plant that is supposed to need full sun. I think they're doing just fine without it.
A closeup of one of the Geums.
Orange wallflowers. There is, perhaps, an overabundance of orange in the garden. I don't quite know how that happened. It's hard to control these things.
And now an admission. I have become poppy-obsessed and broke my no-more-poppies rule. I bought four dwarf Iceland poppies on Friday. The fact that the name of the cultivar is 'Gnome' forced my hand. How could I not buy them? This was perhaps not the smartest thing to do. Since they are "mixed colors," I don't know what I will end up with, but there is a very good chance they will be orange and rendered invisible by the Orange Sea (the geums and the wallflowers). Doh! I do sometimes temporarily take leave of my senses when I'm at a nursery. Also, I've found a way to add Shirley (AKA Flanders Field) poppies to my garden. I was reading up on them and apparently they are easy to grow from seed. Don't you think they would look splendid poking up among my somewhat scrawny blueberry bushes? Hopefully they'd obliterate the ugly vents and drainpipes as well.
*In case you can't make it out, the tag line on the underpants reads: "Wish You Were Here." But more on that later.
posted by Rozanne at 2:41 PM
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