I may consider that, Pagan Cat - I do have some Salmon Pink oriental poppies but my major issue is mid to late July when the phlox takes over the beds - this year I'm editing out phlox (and using Tracey DiSabato's pruning methods for phlox) but I can't think of a mid season flower to contrast with all the purple/pink of the coneflowers/phlox etc.
On another note, I did manage to get some nice 1/2 price plants from Bluestone - should be here this week.
Big bad storms raced through here last night but the iris are still standing this morning - YAY
Catherine
Adding some zing, pop & pizzazz to a color scheme?
PC, cornflowers are not too simple at all- perfectly at home in my cottagy garden, and great minds must think alike; I sowed some last fall and they've just started putting on a show! The bright blue is adding a great contrast :-) Gotta get the pics off the camera, but this is the time of year I'm in Heaven- there's just soooo much color and scent! Just what I need to keep me motivated, I don't want to come in, so I stay out there planting and weeding and enjoying the sights and scents! With all the dianthus, some valarian and several roses, my nose gets overwhelmed from time to time, LOL.
Catherine, I'd had the same thought about soft apricot that PC suggested too. Doesn't really jive with crimson, but would be lovely with the rest, and maybe something that blooms at a different time than the crimson flowers would work well. Mid July is when most OT lilies bloom here, lots of daylily cultivars that may work, or perhaps some roses. There are some very easy to grow shrub roses out there that bloom continuously and don't require a lot of attention. I just picked up a series this year called Oso Easy roses. OE Peachy Cream, OE Strawberry Crush, OE Paprika, and OE Fragrant Spreader. They're supposed to be like the 'Knock Out' series in pest and disease resistance and hardiness, as well as continuous bloomers- we'll see.
Ooo - do let us know!
I'd like to see photos of that combo too, Neal....sounds beautiful
Roses are subject to japanese beetles here so I'm shying away - I have about 25 OGR and picking those buggers twice a day is enough, lol.
Oh yeah, we get those awful JBs too. That's one thing I really like about the once blooming OGRs, they're done before the beetles emerge! Early this spring we put out Milky Spore disease powder that kills the grubs. Was lucky enough to get it reduced from $26 a can to $6! Hoping to see a reduction in numbers at least, but for some odd reason they weren't too bad last year. I also have planted larkspur and 4 o'clocks that are said to attract the beatles, and naturally poison them. If that turns out to be the case, I may plant a field of em next year!
Gotta get those pics from the camera today! I've got some with the colors mentioned, but the beds with the Oso Easy roses are just big mulched islands with lots of tiny plants in them now; hope to have something to show off in the next few weeks though :-)
Looking forward to the pics!
I had purchased that geranium I mentioned that mixes the fuschia (sp?) and orange in the petals, but for some reason my camera just blends it, grrrr...
I've finally got some pics! This accidental combo has made me soooo happy. Rose 'Cornelia', a Persian Lilac, and this iris blends the color so beautifully! I had no idea what color the iris would even be :-)
great combo! Don't you just love synchronicity at work?
Tabasco...I would Love to have some seeds from the white NOID flowers to add to my new orange poppies up at the Homestead...Talk about adding some Zing!! Wow!!
Ooohh, good idea! Toss in some purple and you've definitely got 55mph appeal!
Took some quick (*fuzzy*) shots of my gardens in progress (between thunderstorms) - the bright red poppies were supposed to be pink....doing a lot of editing (especially phlox) - everything is late this year and fairly soggy.
Catherine
Yeah, but if you wanted zzzzzzziiiiing!!! - those poppies sure work!
Neal... I have seeds for the Eads Blue double poppies from Carol for next spring..I am going to add them next to these...I have alot of bed work to do before winter
Catherine, that garden is so lovely!
Dusty, I love blue with orange. I've never had any luck with blue poppies, but they were purchased seed- I always have better luck with seed saved from someone's garden. They're such an incredible shade of blue- would love to see them in person!
Some echoes of yellow are the "zing" among the blue and white in the Sky Garden here. I'm finally seeing all 3 colors bloom together! In early spring it was all yellow and white, then in May it was all blue, and after that all white stuff was blooming- patience has paid off.
Bright punches of scarlet in the Butterfly-Hummingbird garden.
I added Cherry Rocket Snapdragons and bright pink and coral-orange dahlias to this area planted heavily in pastels this year for some snazz.
Very nice Neal....so lush!
My English Garden is in *hurry up and wait* mode...our crazy Spring put bloom succession way off this year it seems.
The Rose Garden (which has fewer and fewer roses, thank you japanese beetles....) is starting its second flush with foxglove, delphs, lilies and roses
Hey Neal... I have lots of *Ditch Lilys* ..do they count??? LOL
LOL! Well, I did see a pic someone posted last year of a large expanse of orange ditch lilies with lots of orange butterfly weed and ox eye daisies- it was beautiful! Its nice to see a fresh perspective with the use of more common plants like that. And sure did add pizzazz!
Well I sure hope I can pizazz mine next year...Most of the south wall plantings are about to be killed off, along with the front of the home on the west side where those HUGE juniper bushes are...That will all be shade garden next year thanks to all the maples and oaks there...The south wall is nothing but ditch lilies and weeds, and I ain't havin it.. Got me a BIG bottle of roundup....LOL
The ditch lilies were one of my worst weeds at the old place- George's place. The soil is so loose there they were so invasive. I think I'm going to have to resort to some round up on some poison ivy and honeysuckle bushes around here- chemicals are a last resort for me, but these monsters are going to require bringing out the big guns, LOL.
Dusty, have you tried laying cardboard on top of sod and mulching over it? Thats how I've been adding new beds with great success, and soooo much less work! In about 6-8 weeks they're ready to start planting, the worms do a great job "tilling". Thats my modified lasagna method for areas that already have good soil, which I'm thinking your place probably has too- old farm houses usually have good soil. Any beds you prepare this year will be perfect for fall and/or spring planting.
The brighter pink of these lilies makes and eye catching bright spot here. Uuugg, gotta do something about the bug eaten hollyhock making the area unsightly, but have been allowing some seeds to ripen. I think its going to bother me too much before they're ready though, lol.
Neal my dear... I haven't even been near the yard since we got here a week ago today except to get my curly willow in the dirt yesterday before it died on me...It was really PO'd at being dug, but I tied its dirtball into a plastic bag and sunk it in the lily pond for a week, and it has a ton of new roots already so I hope it will be okay...
I hate chemicals too, but I'm sorry to say I am going to have to use them this year along that south wall...I even have some small sapling trees over there...so it's gonna get a good soaking with roundup, and I will come out into the grass and spray out the edge of next years beds... Once I see everything is dying, I will weed whack it and then get the cardboard and some bedding from the goat barns to put down over it...That should do it for the winter...I have several bedding areas that will need the same treatment after some bush pruning gets done...The front of the house has some hideously overgrown Junipers that I will be taking the chainsaw to in the next couple weeks if not sooner...Maybe next weekend if my son is coming back down, as he has a stump grinder and can get all of these stumps gone for me...including those...
I will move some of the ditch lilies to the far front corner of the yard out by the hay field next to the road, but the rest are history...
I have a large clump of purple iris next to the corner of the garage that desperately needs to be divided and moved..It was blooming when I first got here in May, but it wasn't doing well, and now it's choked with grass and weeds.. I whacked out a huge poke weed in there yesterday before it could get any berries going...Poke Salad Annie I ain't... LOL
Like you... there is soooo much to do here, but it is pretty much too late for this year except to prepare beds...Move what I can, and hope for the best for the rest...Next year will be a whole new experience....
Here is the link to the new shots of the yard I took today....
http://picasaweb.google.com/DustyDS/MyNewFarmYard
Oh, I can just "see" so much potential in that yard! When those junipers are gone you'll have ready made beds! That looks like a perfect place for a bed. That shade garden will be wonderful- the "bones" are already there. I had huge, overgrown taxus that were covering half of the picture window in the front of the house when we first got here. Sooooo glad to see those gone, and the space provided a great place for lots of other things. I used straw from goat pens on top of the cardboard there too, and it was a big help. That was one of the few spots around here with poor, clay soil, because thats were a basement was dug and all the subsoil was piled there. After that layer of goat straw was there for a while, everything in there has gone nuts.
Just reading in on this thread. Dusty is that your house. It looks to have so much going for it the possobilities are endless and the work looks like it is cut out for you but it will be fabulous. Can't wait to see what you do next year.