Garden View
When I am an old garden I shall wear purple
With a red plant that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.
–With apologies to Jenny Joseph (read full poem “Warning“).
In my dream garden there are blues of every sort, purples and greens. A few genteel spots of soft yellow, refined and restrained, break up the space. Accents of sophisticated whites highlight the borders.
Iris germanica ‘Immortality’
Clematis ‘Jackmanii’
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Isotoma fluviatilis (Blue Star Creeper)
Iris In Southern Side Path
Iris germanica
Japanese Iris
Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage)
But this spring I am loving the over-the-top combinations brought on by a happenstance purchase of dark red snapdragons late last autumn. (A single pink stow-away found its way here too). I grew up believing pink and red did not go together any more than purple and red.
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
My mantra for this garden always has been based on peace, calm and contemplation. But every morning when I peek out I smile at the riot of color. It is over-the-top. When I am working outdoors the word gaudy bubbles into my thoughts, but I cannot stop smiling.
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon) in Meditation Circle
When my husband and I take breakfast, lunch and supper on the screened porch overlooking the garden, we sigh in amazement and smile. A garden that makes us smile—what more?
Northern Border
Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage) and Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox)
Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ (Hardy Sage), Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox), and Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon) and Iris
Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox) and Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox) and Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox) and Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
So what of this outrageous color? The garden will be 14 years old at the end of May. It is a teenager, not grown old at all, just finding itself.
Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear) In Southern Side Path
Meditation Circle
pbmGarden 
Your garden really is like a dream, blues and whites of heavenly tranquility, and then – WAKE UP! Red Snapdragons! I love it!
Thanks Jason! I should have called this post “Reveille.”
What more indeed! The circle looks gorgeous with all that colour, and the border with the phlox is just stunning! Like a teenager it may just be a phase it is going through and one day it may calm down again, but in the meantime, enjoy! (And have I told you how lovely your irises are?!)
Thanks Cathy! I have enjoyed the irises this year–my favorite time is when they’re blooming. The phlox is a passalong that just started blooming this week.
No wonder your garden makes you smile. Those red Antirhinnums are wonderful. It is great to try new colour combinations. Sometimes ones that happen by chance are the best. Your garden is looking fantastic, those irises are superb.
Thank you Chloris, the irises have been delightful this spring. The Antifhinnums certainly add a bit of fun this year.
Those dark red Antirrhinums and Phlox are great together, especially your last shot with that kick of blue. I can imagine sitting out admiring them. Lovely north border too.
Thanks! I can attest that little black bench has come in handy this spring.
It all looks so lovely, you must be so pleased with it. Love your iris and antirrhinums, they make the garden sing!
That’s it Pauline, they make the garden sing!
I think it’s all a great combination and it should make you smile, the blues, purples and reds are wonderful!
Thanks Matt. I really am enjoying the profusion of blooms, colors and bird sounds this spring.
Fabulous. Exactly what a garden should be.
Thanks Jessica. I love the excitement of being in a garden this time of year.
The red is like a bolt of electricity in your garden. It makes everything a bit more lively, doesn’t it?
Hi Marian. It is lively and a fun experiment. I’ve always wanted a red border but this is not what I pictured!
I’m smiling too. I try to take my cue from Mom Nature. She often combines pink and orange, purple and red, etc., etc….and she seldom makes mistakes.
Thanks Rickii. So true about mother nature.
Smile, enjoy, that’s what a garden should be about! Your bright snapdragons are fantastic, but they are annuals so you can return to more sophisticated blue and white when they are finished. I think 2015 is going to be the year of the Iris in my garden, maybe in yours it’s going to be the year you enjoyed red!
The garden is at its peak and as you suggest, it will be remembered for the red snapdragon (among other things of course). Saturday I purchased some white Angelonia to replace them since they don’t like the heat anyway. Temperatures are gong way up this week. I’m glad you’re enjoying your irises.
Your marvellous snapdragons have made me smile too – not to mention those glorious irises. The salvia really makes both come alive (and sing!)
I’m so glad Cathy! Yes, the irises have been great this year.
I am so jealous.
Ann, it really has been lovely in the garden this year. The days are getting very hot so it will quickly fade from here on out.
Sooooo lovely! Even for a short period of time because of the heat as you mentioned above, it’s always worth every single minutes you put in.
I finally pulled up the pansies but can’t bear to do that to the snapdragons, although I have replacements waiting to go it.
That northern border is quite striking and I love the pop of the meditation circle….I also have reds and pinks mixed especially when the Sweet William blooms…it really is quite different and quite lovely to mix these colors…and red and purple do also mix…I have a red rose among my purple spring flowers in my wall garden…call me a crazy old garden lady!
I envy your Sweet Williams Donna. For some reason I didn’t get my seeds in last fall.
I know it’s late but I just had to say how much I love these photos. Gaudy and vibrant and so much fun. It’s great that the garden can surprise you like that and also that you’re open to seeing it for the marvelous explosion of spring that it is!