Tagged With: Purple

Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemum Mix

Chrysanthemum Mix

Although chrysanthemums (a.k.a. mums) are fairly hardy herbaceous perennials, most of us grown them as annuals, bringing them out in the fall to add color to an otherwise less colorful garden. The Rudbekia are done blooming and even the Buddleia are starting to fade. There are still roses on the more ever-blooming varieties, but most of the summer flowers are done for the year. Enter the humble and yet lovely chrysanthemum. We have a few in pots that have been given or that we bought. This one is sitting outside our front door and greeting us as we leave and again when we return home. Who could ask for anything more?

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Wild Violet

Wild Violet (Viola sororia)

Wild Violet (Viola sororia)

The wild violets (Viola sororia) are up in the lawn. They’re pretty difficult to get rid of but our lawn is not particularly weed free in general, so they are among the least of our worries. The flowers range in color from nearly all white to nearly all bluish purple. This one is about half way in between. We actually have a few yellow violets and I’m assuming those are a different species, possibly Viola pubescens, but I don’t actually know that. They look very similar to these, except for the flower color.

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Columbine (Aquilegia)

Columbine (Aquilegia)

Columbine (Aquilegia)

We have a number of different columbines in our yard and garden. This one is growing in a container just outside our front door. This is a relatively simple columbine flower, close to what you’d find in the wild. Some others that we have are much fancier and I’ll probably have photos of them in the days to come. They are a reliable bloomer and well worth adding to your garden, blooming after the bulbs are mostly done and before the summer blooms start, so they fill an important role in the garden plan.

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Chives

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

The chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are blooming. These are one of the easiest herbs to grow and we have them both in containers on our back patio and in the ground in our herb garden. We have to keep the oregano from suffocating them, but they have managed to survive so far. They bloom this time every year and I like to pick some of the flowers to sprinkle onto food as a seasoning. They add a subtle oniony flavour without being overpowering. Of course, the tubular chive leaves can be used pretty much any time, but I think the flowers are special, because they add color as well as flavour.

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Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

One of our favorite herbaceous perennials is the spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana). It’s a native and is easily grown in our gardens. In addition to the ‘standard’ versions, we have a few named varieties. This is one of the plain species and it’s lovely, of course. This one is right outside our back door and this is the first bloom of the year. I’ll almost certainly return to it later, when it has more flowers, or will post a photo of one of the other, slightly more exotic varieties. But they really don’t need much improving.

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Backlit Iris

Backlit Iris

Backlit Iris

Cathy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood this evening and came across this iris, back lit by the setting sun. It was more purple in real life but I think the photo is pretty nice, anyway. I have a thing for back lighting, particularly of growing things. I love the luminescent quality and amazing colors of leaves and flower petals lit by the sun. I also took photos of our hawthorn, which is in bloom, and the first rose to open on ‘Perle d’Or’ outside our front door. But there will be more chances to photograph those in the days ahead.

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Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk Supreme’

Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk Supreme’

Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk Supreme’

Last year, after getting rid of the stump from the Colorado spruce that I cut down, we planted a hawthorn to one side of the bed and Cathy planted some perennials as well. Two of them are a variety of Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) called ‘Anouk Supreme’. They are blooming now and they are quite lovely.

Each individual inflorescence is nice, as you can see here, and overall the entire plant is really nice, with lots of blooms. The individual flowers are a very deep purple and the bracts at the top are only slightly less intense. Both the leaves and the flowers give off that wonderful lavender aroma that we’re all so familiar with.

We haven’t done terribly well with plants like this in the past but I think this is a good location for them. If they do well, I’d be happy to get a couple more. We also have a rosemary that we might put here with them. This species of lavender is native to the Mediterranean countries including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

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Lilacs

Lilacs

Lilacs

Many years ago my dad gave me a subscription to a thing called The Seed Guild. The idea was that this guy had relationships with botanical gardens and arboreta around the world and had worked out an arrangement where he collected seeds from them and distributed them to Seed Guild members. I don’t remember the details but I do know the seeds for this lilac came from there. The catalogs I have (from the late 1990s) list three species, Syringa amurensis, S. josikaea, and S. wolfii, so I assume it’s one of those three. I’m leaning towards the last of them, which may more properly be known now as Syringa villosa subsp. wolfii (C.K.Schneid.). I had it growing in a container for many years and it never got very big. When we moved here in 2006 I planted it in the back garden and now it’s about 8 feet tall and obviously doing well.

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Bumble Bee on Lavender

Bumble Bee on Lavender

Bumble Bee on Lavender

I sat in the middle of the front garden this afternoon and took a few pictures. There were some bumble bees (Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee) moving from flower to flower and I waited for one to land on the lavender (this is a variety of Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas called ‘Anouk Supreme’). I only got four photos and none of them are quite what I was hoping for but this one isn’t too bad. When I’m in the yard, especially when it’s hot, I generally favor the shade but if I’m looking for photos, especially insect photos, the sun is the place to be.

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Campanula latifolia

Campanula latifolia

Campanula latifolia

This bellflower (Campanula latifolia) has been coming up in our back garden for quite a few years. It’s on the edge of the central bed that we’ve been trying to rejuvenate and it seems to be doing well enough. I think we should encourage it because it’s a really lovely flower. As it is, we get four or five stems and I certainly wouldn’t mind a couple dozen. The Missouri Botanical Garden says it “spreads freely and agressively by both rhizomes and self-seeding under optimum growing conditions.” I’d say our growing conditions are not optimum, then, because it’s keeping itself to itself.

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Stock Photo

Stock (Matthiola incana)

Stock (Matthiola incana)

Over the years I’ve thought about selling photos as stock but I never really got into it. I’m not really sure if I’d actually make any money at it. I sort of doubt it, honestly. I know that now and then I get a reasonably good photo and I certainly enjoy both taking and looking at them. But whether they are actually suitable for stock is another matter. And of course it isn’t just that. They would have to be found among the hundreds of thousands of other stock photos. I’m sure there are ways to increase your chances but I’m not sure I care enough. So, I’ll just stick to what I do and occasionally post a photo with an attempt at a clever title. This is stock, Matthiola incana.

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Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

The Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena) is really at its peak right now. That, along with the painter’s palete (Persicaria virginiana) are providing most of the color in our front bed. The daisies shown in yesterday’s post are there, as well as a good collection of merigolds, but these two cover the bulk of the area. The butterflies seem to like them and I’ll have a few photos of them there in the next few days. The painter’s palette is a bit weedy and I wouldn’t mind getting rid of a little of that, but the tiny red buds and flowers are nice this time of year, I have to admit.

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Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

We’ve grown Torenia fournieri before but I don’t think it has ever done as well as it did this year. We have a couple of them in containers on the back patio and they have been in constant bloom all summer and will probably not stop until we get a killing frost. They are also known a wishbone flower because the stamens join to form a shape similar to the wishbone of a chicken. This one is a variety called ‘Summer Wave’. Ours got a bit of sun but they are also really good for shade. You better believe we’re going to get this again next year.

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Columbine

Purple Columbine

Purple Columbine

This columbine (Aquilegia) is growing in a container just outside our front door. It’s a almost certainly a hybrid of some sort but I really don’t know anything about its parentage. It’s a pretty, pale purple color that looks especially nice in the shade. The purple goes very well with the bright yellow centers. Any time you can combine purple and yellow, it’s a winner. These are very hardy plants and grow in relatively poor conditions, which makes the ideal for a garden, especially in a shady spot.

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Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

Tradescantia virginiana (Spiderwort)

This is one of my favorite perennials. It’s commonly known as spiderwort and we have quite a few of them growing around the garden. There are varieties with lighter, more yellow leaves. There are varieties with pinker (less purple) flowers. I’ve even seen one with white flowers but so far haven’t found that one for sale anywhere. I’d definitely get one if I did. Each individual flower lasts only a short time but there are so many of them, the plant is constantly in bloom for a good while. This one is growing on our back patio and I’m not sure it’s even in a container. I think it was in a plastic grocery bag and got left there and now you’d think it was in the ground, it’s so happy. It probably should be moved into the ground, but I hat to mess with a good thing.

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