Gardening and Flowers. A new passion of mine. So how appropriate is it for me to choose the word Narcissus. Egotism; formality; stay as sweet as you are; you love yourself too well; self-esteem. Narcissus sounds fancy but one of the flowers in this species is the Daffodil. I needed a word that started with N to continue my alphabetical blog postings. Narcissus.
How does your garden grow?
The magic date for planting in Golden, Colorado is Mother’s Day. Not this year as the weather has been very rainy and continues to be chilly at night. In Colorado, there is always a fear of frost and hail (even in mid-July). I haven’t spent a lot of time planting in the garden, yet. Memorial Day Weekend is my kick-off. In the meanwhile, because of the unusual amounts of rain, my planters in the front yard are bursting in lush greenery, lots of flower buds and spring flowers from last year. What a nice surprise. However, everything is PURPLE.
My planters are full of purple Spanish Alliums, Globe Thistles, Deep purple Salvia, Russian Sage, Clematis, and various types of mint (spearmint, peppermint, lemon mint, catnip).
Spanish Alliums. There are over two-dozen purple Alliums in full bloom in the front yard alone. These towering beauties, with their purple starburst heads stand tall. They remind me of sparklers exploding with dozens of tiny purple stars. Even after Alliums die, they look marvelous in the garden. They continue to stand erect and tall as they turn a straw color with their heads full of black peppery seeds. They add texture to the garden and remain through the winter snow.
Globe Thistles. Sounds nasty but these are not the weed-like thistles that invade our gardens. Right now the Globes have attained about half their height and show signs of flower buds. A very unique flower and leaf. A very spiky, globe flower in lilac color. Kind of a punk-modern flower. They are also very prolific and have spread throughout my entire flowerbed. These can be dried and should hang them upside down while they are still fresh. 
Deep Purple Salvia. I love these flowers for their colors as well as for their strength and hardiness in the garden. They do not require a lot of care but give you a lot of bang for the buck. The leaves are a beautiful sage green and the tall spires of flowers are a gorgeous deep, almost an iridescent purple. Salvia comes in a large array of colors but not in my garden.
 |
Lavender Russian Sage. These are beautiful as they have a lavender color and a light lavender scent that doesn't overpower you. With its tall wispy wands of lavender or blue flowers and silvery foliage which last all summer, Russian sage is an important player in summer and fall gardens. It shows off well against most flowers and provides an elegant look to flower borders. This is another of my favorites. Looks and smells wonderful. |
Clematis. I have a couple varieties in my garden. Deep purple, lavender, and fuchsia clematis climb my white fence in the front yard. These are just starting to climb and the flowers are not showing yet. However, soon the star bursts will appear. Strange. I didn't even realize how many purple flowers I had in the garden until I started posting this on my blog. I am not going to cover my Pansies, Snapdragons (even though these are some of my most favorite) and many more.
Morning Glories. I just planted the seeds this past week. Blues, lavenders, white, and pink flowers will compete with the Clematis for fence space in the front yard. I have grown these for years and allow the seeds to fall to the grown each fall. I replenish the garden with a few packs of fresh seeds each year to keep the crop strong.
Mint. I love the smell of the mint garden. Late spring they have tiny soft white and lavender flowers which give way to the strong, sturdy, almost impossible to kill mint. Peppermint, lemon mint, spearmint and catnip intertwine my middle planter in the front door. The walkway to my front door passes this flower bed and everyone stops to pull a few leaves to take home or add to their iced tea. One of my dogs (who has passed away) used to love to lay in the mint bed.
So how does your garden grow? I still have Yarrow, Lupines, Daisies and Bell Flowers. My roses were cut way back this year but will return with a vengeance next season. Never mind the Tulips, Daffodils (Narcissus) and other spring bulbs that have already passed by, regenerating for next year. Later in the year the sunflowers and grasses will immerge bringing flocks of birds to feed upon them.
No comments:
Post a Comment