greentapestry : 'I Can Sing A Rainbow'

Thursday 28 January 2010

'I Can Sing A Rainbow'

but oh it's a most lopsided one! Over at Prefer To Be In The Garden Rebecca has issued an invitation which allowed me to escape for a much needed fix of colour, on a dire grey January afternoon. I spent some time looking back on last years garden and allotment photos. I already knew that the colour palette in my garden was limited but it is even more top heavy than I thought in favour of blues, pinks, purples and white. I have almost no red apart from berries and fruit. The only red flower that I grow unless my photos and memory have conspired against me is crocosmia 'Lucifer'. I do not have a respectable photo of it to include here so my reds are the needs no intro strawberry and the berries of rosa rubiginosa. The latter has small single pink flowers and the foliage is stewed apple scented, noticeably more pronounced on damp warm evenings. It self seeds so I have taken down a spare to the allotment ~






Then it came to orange and I realised that again there is a big gap. At the allotment I grow nasturtiums, pumpkins, carrots and calendulas and a dahlia by the name of 'Orange Baby' but not one plant in the garden has orange petals. I am not quite sure why this has arisen. It is not as if I have got it in for orange - well I would never wear it but apart but from that ...... I am pleased that I am trying to remedy this omission. In my plan to introduce more late summer/autumn colour, sitting in the coldframe waiting to be planted are the orangey/yellow rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii inspired by Artists Garden and a helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' as featured in the vase below ~



I was surpised to see that despite my aversion to the colour I actually had more yellow than I thougt including various daffodils, primulas, courgette flowers and alchemilla mollis ~









For greens apart from foliage here we have peas at the allotment and the new to me last year mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream'. The green bracts slowly become tinged with pink as the season progresses.





Blues could have a post to themselves - I debated over which to include but start with bluebells which were already growing on the plot of land that became our garden, then polemonium caeruleum, brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' and hardy geranium lost labellus ~









I find indigo and violet hard to distinguish in my mind so here is a selection which between them I think captures both hue - the long flowering clematis 'Petite Faucon', geranium pratense 'Plenum Violaceum' and sweet pea 'Matucana' ~







I was much intrigued by Rebecca's reference to Roy G.Biv in her post which turned out to to be mnemonic for the sequence of hues in rainbows, similar to our 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain'. Thanks for the fun Rebecca and also for reminding me that I must introduce a more well balanced spectrum of colour in the garden. The garden is missing out !

17 comments:

  1. Hi Anna~~ You've got beautiful flowers to represent the rainbow. There's that double hardy geranium again. I love it. These two-toned sweet peas volunteer themselves in my garden. Fun.

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  2. How good to be reminded of colour in the midst of a grey winter. I love your photos. I always think that yellow is a spring colour. I have lots of spring yellow, including loads of little native daffodils, but after the spring it disappears in my garden. I may be bringing it back for autumn!

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  3. Love your rainbow! :) I just made my own today. Blue was my deficient colour...I'm going to have to work on that this year. Love the pic of your daffodils!

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  4. Oooh, Anna, I love that indigo/violet geranium!!! Very nice, and of course lost labellus is stunning too :)

    I'm not one for yellow nor orange either, but I have found them creeping into the garden as so many wild flowers are often yellow! Hmmm maybe one day I may begin to like it??

    Lovely photos, it's really making me impatient for spring and summer now!

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  5. Beautiful post Anna, funny how we seem to have an abundance of a colour or 2 and a lack of another. I will try to balance mine out better as well, since they are all beautiful and enhance one another. Your 'Green Dream' is gorgeous, and 'Jack Frost' is lovely, every time I see it, I'm reminded that I want to add some (which won't help balance out my spectrum at all lol). Thanks for your great post, I'm very flattered that you chose to participate. :) Rebecca

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  6. What a nice bright post! The 'Green Dream' is really pretty and I love that double geranium. These rainbow posts have been great to look at!

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  7. I love that little bottle with the sweet peas in it. One of my favourite little bouquets.

    Great rainbow post!

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  8. I should love to hear you ... somewhere... anywhere... over a rainbow ... singing!! Sorry I could not help it! ;>)) I love your choice of rainbow blooms Anna! Beautiful!

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  9. All of these flowers are gorgeous. I kept thinking each one was my favorite till the very end, when the sweet pea completely stole my heart!

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  10. What a fun post, and it highlights all the colours you have in your garden. I especially like the Helenium, I will have to get that for my garden.

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  11. This brings memories of summer! Especially those strawberries on first picture... what I would give now for a fresh strawberry from my garden...

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  12. Maybe it's a male thing, but I salivated when I saw the peas!

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  13. Ah your photos never fail to cheer me up in the midst of this cold winter Anna. You have a wonderful variety of flowers in your garden. I tend to go long the blue, pink and white spectrum myself but yellow and orange create a lovely zing.

    Have a great weekend.

    Jeanne x

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  14. You certainly can sing a rainbow Anna - lovely colours and images, just what I need just know.
    I have just looked at my rudbeckia and there are signs of new growth - good to know that it has survived outside (so far) in this wet cold winter we are having.
    Thank you for the link love
    See you at Malvern!
    K

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  15. You got me with those Sweet Peas at the end. Those are gorgeous. Such a depth of color!

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  16. Hi Anna, I just wanted to let your know that I posted a Rainbow 'Thank You' on my blog. :) Rebecca

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.