Tag Archives: phlox

Colors in the Garden

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Last week, I was looking at my “blue” plants and thinking that really, they’re more like purple. Then a few days later, a gardening podcast I enjoy listening to, called Let’s Argue About Plants, released an episode called “True Blue Beauties.” Of course, even on the podcast, there was some argument about whether some of these plants weren’t in fact purple. Overall, I think they did a good job, and I might have to add some of these plants to my “Someday” list.

  • Salvia Blue Hill
  • Phlox Swizzle Blue
Plants that are supposed to be blue, but aren’t really.

My not-actually-blue (but I still love them plants) include Salvia Blue Hill and Phlox Swizzzle Blue. Salvia Blue Hill looks more purple to me, though apparently it’s more blue than some of the other mounding salvias. Phlox Swizzle Blue is more of a lavender color with some pink in the center. Meanwhile, my purple coneflowers are more on the pink side, if you ask me.

My purple coneflowers, which look pink.

Meanwhile, in another part of the color wheel, there’s the red/orange issue. This year, I planted painted lady runner beans, which are now flowering. The blossoms are lovely, but I was expecting something red and white. Instead, in my garden, they look more like orange and a lighter color ranging from white to creamsicle.

My painted lady runner beans are orange and creamsicle colored.

This is just the spring and summer flowers. I have two asters that won’t bloom until autumn: Crimson Brocade and Bluebird. They got a bit burned last summer, though, so I’m not really sure what color the flowers will actually end up being. Maybe red and blue? Maybe pink and purple? I’m looking forward to finding out, but I suspect it won’t be quite what I expected.

Early Spring Garden Tour

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The garden is a 9’x14’ patio on which live a 3’x3’ raised bed and many containers. The walls are cinder block, so it’s basically a concrete oven in the summer. I’ve finally learned to work with what I have, although I expect this year to be really bad. The cherry tree out front bloomed 3 weeks earlier than it did last year, and last year already felt early to me.

  • Nira is pretty sure I’m doing everything wrong.
  • Leo had to stay indoors, where he can’t chomp on the young leaves.

The perennial salvia, phlox, coneflowers, and asters have all coming back, as has the mint. The asters were mostly dead last year, and I may have to baby them a bit this year. (Also, Leo keeps chomping the leaves.) The coreopsis hasn’t come back yet.

From left to right: coneflowers, coreopsis, painted lady runner beans.
Left to Right: Perennia salvia, perennial phlox an empty container, and painted lady runner beans.

For annuals, I’ve scattered some alyssum and heart’s ease seeds in the 3×3 raised bed. I also have some annual salvia to start from seed, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Of course, we’re still getting bursts of cold, so that’s probably okay.

Left to right: Mint, a bag of compost, more beans, troughs of swiss chard, the corner of the 3xx bed, and empty containers and grow bags.

This year, after a long hiatus, I’m trying food things again. That’s not because of the virus. I ordered my seeds in early January. I’ll be trying painted lady runner beans, baby chard, basil, and alpine strawberries—all from seed. (I do realize that the birds will probably get the berries before I do.)

Left to right: troughs of swiss chard, the 3×3 bed, and a trough of alpine strawberry seeds.

I also have some lavender seeds, but i”m not sure if I want to try and experiment with it, as I’ve heard lavender is really hard to grow from seed. In addition, I have lots of old herb seeds from previous years, and I may see if they’re still viable. Ultimately, it might depend on when I run out of space, containers, or potting mix. I do have a bag of seed starting mix, a bunch of coconut coir, several quarts of perlite, and about 5 gallons of compost.

A corner of the 3×3 bed, the alpine strawberries, and 2 varieties of aster.

All of this year’s seeds came from Renee’s Garden, and I usually order my perennials from Bluestone Perennials. I have also ordered seeds and plants from Park Seed in the past and had good luck with them.

The all important patio table and chairs.