The Orange and the Pink

The poppies are finally starting to bloom, quite a bit later than last year. I find it hard to get good close-up photos this year, so the best photo I have is this long shot of the front garden porch display. The short, bright red poppies in the background are 'Carmen', new ones I just planted. The tall orange poppy is a well-established 'Allegro'. Other poppies are taking their time to bloom in this cold spring we've been having. (In the foreground is a potted 'Prince of Silver' heuchera, just starting to bloom.)

Poppies Blooming in the Front Garden

My garden has a few other fantastic orange flowers, these rock roses in the back yard under the Deborah maple. Usually this plant blooms at the same time as the 'Chocolate Chip' ajuga, whose purple spikes provide a great contrast to the rock rose's cluster of tiny red-orange flowers. The weirdness of this year's weather has thrown everything off, though. Plants that thrive in cool weather are blooming normally, but anything sun-loving is way behind. So the beautiful combination I have looked forward to in previous years didn't happen this year.

Rock Rose in the Back Yard

In spite of those vermilion blossoms I have just shown you, I can't help noticing an increasing trend in my garden towards "preciousness". I can't explain what I mean by the term, except that I know Kim from A Study in Contrasts would probably hate it. At this time of year, as the tulips are nearly gone and the heuchera, heucherella, hardy geranium, and moss phlox is conspicuously blooming, much of the front part of the garden is full of pink and purple blooms.

This did not emerge on purpose. I did not "go for" this look. In fact, I sort of got a little queasy when I realized the full effect. Even the 'Patriot' hosta, which promised a hint of military vigour when I planted its fellows 'Red October' and 'Blue Cadet' nearby, has taken on a look of Victorian frou-frou with its cream-edged leaves. I may have to rethink this arrangement.

A Little Too Pretty, Perhaps?

Although I must say that this look I'm decrying probably came about gradually because I like pink and purple flowers. In fact I am happy to say that the weigela in the back yard is absolutely covered in blooms at this time, something I look forward to every year.

Weigela Blossoms

Although the weigela is healthy and full of blooms this year, I cannot say the same for my 'Johnson's Blue' hardy geranium. It's half the size it normally would be, there are no blooms, and what little foliage there is is dying off as if it were late August right now instead of early June. So I did what any self-respecting gardener would do and bought a healthy replacement. (I went to a lot of trouble to get this plant. The garden centre had decided to water its plants using an oscillating sprinkler. It took me several forays during opportune moments when the sprinkler was watering the opposite end of the shelves to finally extract the plant I wanted to buy.) This one bloomed while it was waiting to be transplanted.

New 'Johnson's Blue' Hardy Geranium

And for anyone who likes to keep track of the progress of container plantings, here is a recent picture of my globe planter to finish off the post.

Globe Planter


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.