Week 30, Year 2: The Purple Spectrum (the lighter side)

This entry follows up on my showcase of the many purple flowers residing in my garden. This week's entry focuses on the lighter "purples" (from basic purple to violet to light blue). From dark to light, this set includes: clematis, lisianthus, salvia, plumbago and silver petunia.

The "Light" Purples

I've classified this set as "lighter" purple because of the way their petals lighten as they age. Unlike the "true" purples showcased in the last entry, these flowers start out purple, but lighten to a lavender-esque shade as they finish blooming. Among this group, from dark to light, we have: clematis, lisianthus and silver petunia.

Clematis - This year's clematis has been much more successful than last year's attempts. While this variety only bloomed in June, it produced spectacular purple flowers that looked great on the climbing trellis I planted in their container. Clematis are categorized according to whether the new flowers bloom only on new growth, old growth or both year to year. I'm not sure what kind I have, but, hopefully, I will get to find out next year.

Lisianthus - a native prairie flower also known as eustoma. I hope to have a separate entry on it sometime soon.

Silver Petunia - these are a repeat from last year. I just love the delicate coloring that appears almost fuschia in the center and fades to a silverly purple. The photos just can't capture this spectacular coloring, but if you ever see one in your garden store, I highly recommend it!

The "Light" Blues

The flowers in this group look even more blue than their blue-purple cousins. These flowers have cooler notes of light blue petals, ranging from a robin's egg blue to a very light blue. In my garden, this group is represented by the salvia and the plumbago.

Salvia - one of the first plants in this year's garden. Salvia is actually a sage variety that produces small bright blue flowers. Mine is somewhat temperamental and looks kind of dead half of the time, but blooms the other half - I think it depends on whether it is too hot or not.

Plumbago - one of the showier residents of the garden. This trailer produces wonderfully delicate light blue blooms in large heads with individual flowers (similar to a geranium). My only complaint is that it is very sticky, making it hard to dead head.

Week 27, Year 2: The Purple Spectrum, Part I (Blue to Royal)

In case it isn't obvious, I love the color purple (or is it blue?). Many of my flowers fall somewhere between deep (blue) purple and light purple (blue). While some of my purple winners will merit their own entries (e.g., clematis, duranta), I will try to showcase the rest of the purple flowers in this entry, and follow up with some other color "themed" entries to highlight the less showy participants in my garden. Since I have so many purple residents, I am splitting my purple entries into two, and this week's purple spotlight will be on the royal, deep "blue" purple residents: browallia, verbena, speedwell, petunias and sweet potato vine. There are several shades of purple, and I've done my best to classify my royal/blue set below.

The "Blue" Purples

Many of the deep, royal purple varieties are actually classified as "blue," reflecting their deep, cool color. A true blue flower has eluded growers to date, and most attempts to create a blue flower have resulted in the deep purple color that is classified as "blue." Whatever its called, this is definitely my favorite color in my garden. While the striking blue-purple of the duranta was highlighted last week, the petunias, verbena, browallia and speedwell are other examples of this great color.

Petunia - These wave petunias look like they are made of velvet up close.

Verbena - Another repeat player from last year, but this time the verbena are getting full-sun, sharing a box with the stock and Mexican heather.

Browallia - The browallia won my heart last year, and I couldn't help but bring them back this year, especially given their tolerance for shade.

Hungarian Speedwell (veronica) - The speedwell is a bit mysterious - it bloomed for about one week in early June and has not produced flowers since.

The "True" Purples

The true purple flowers are more of a royal purple or classic purple hue. These flowers have a warmer tone and can range from an eggplant to violet, stopping short of the lighter lavender shades. In this group, from dark to light, we have painted tongue, sweet potato vine and heliotrope.

Painted Tongue - Though the painted tongue has also produced yellow and red flowers, these eggplant stunners are the focus of this entry.

Sweet Potato Vine - This variety of sweet potato vine ranges from chartreuse to eggplant, providing the perfect complement to the silver and purple petunias.

Heliotrope - The heliotrope is incredibly fragrant. I grew it in a box last year, but decided to let it have its own pot this year. It's a bit floppier and I think I might have preferred it in the box, but it still smells incredible.

Week 27, Year 2: Plain Old Geranium?

I have to admit that geraniums were never a favorite of mine. I saw them as fairly ordinary, over used and just a bit awkward looking. However, through my adventures, I've had to retract those sentiments and back peddle a little bit on the geranium bashing. Although most people think of the "ordinary" grocery-store variety of geranium, there are actually two hundred species of the "pelargonium" or geranium genus, including shrubs, perennials, succulents and the well-known annual. Who knew, right? To make things even more confusing, there is also a "geranium" genus that refers to the four hundred some species of perennials known as "hardy geraniums" or "cranesbill." In an effort to make up for my own naivete, I decided to plant one of each genus in my garden this year.

Pelargonium Peltatum a.k.a. Ivy Geranium

The pelargonium variety are recognized by their ball like rounded clusters of flowers. There is also an incredible variety of accompanying foliage to the species. Some gardeners will actually remove the flowers just to enjoy the dramatic foliage of certain species. I chose to plant an ivy geranium, which is a climbing variety with dark variegated ivy-shaped leafs and pink flowers with a bold red outline in the center.

As expected, these have been easy to care for and require only the most minor of deadheading. Unexpectedly, I've really enjoyed the dramatic colors and have not gotten bored with the plant. The biggest challenge is that it shares a box with the plumbago and speedwell, and I fear the speedwell will probably get overrun by its hearty neighbors.

Dark Reiter Geranium a.k.a. Hardy Geranium a.k.a. Cranesbill

Not to be confused with its pelargonium cousins, the hardy geraniums have spread out clusters of bell like flowers and bloom year after year. They are wildly popular with gardeners given their hardiness and are perfect for ground cover and border areas. I purchased a relatively new variety known as "dark reiter geranium" which has darker leaves and lilac flowers. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the hardy geranium is well suited to container gardening given its typical use as ground cover or in rock gardens. Mine seems to be stunted and has not grown very much in six weeks. My husband thinks it is planted too low below the box, so the sun is having a hard time reaching it. However, its neighbors - the painted tongue and flower maple are thriving, so I may need to move it to its own pot or try to bring it higher in the box. This is probably the biggest challenge in my garden right now and it may just not be meant to be.

Even if it doesn't work out, I've certainly gained a great respect and admiration for both kinds of geranium.

Week 26, Year 2: To Prune, or Not to Prune?

One of the more interesting additions to this year's garden is the "Shooting Sapphires" Duranta tree (or is it a vine?). We found this plant at a grocery store (truly) and knew nothing about it, but liked the look of it and decided to give it a shot. We loved the delicate purple flowers that are outlined with a thin white stripe along the side. We also thought it might be a fun challenge, so we planted it in a heavy pot and started the experiment.

After more research, I learned that our duranta is traditionally a vine, but can be trained into a tree, similar to the one we found. Apparently, the tree-like durantas will continue to shoot branch like vines out from the top to resemble a small, ornamental tree. It is also a fast grower and may need to be trained more to prevent the vines from going every which way.

Ours is about 6 weeks old, and it definitely is starting to look a bit out of control. At the same time, I'm not an expert pruner and I have no idea how to pare it back. Pruning is not an easy task, and you can do some serious damage if you over prune. So, I'm a bit nervous about taking the task on. At the same time, I don't want the tree to start to tip over from the excess vines. I supposed I will have to deal with it, but for now I feel like the mother of a toddler with golden ringlets who is afraid to get her little girl's hair cut for the first time and lose all those golden ringlets. Eventually, those ringlets will get dirty and tiresome, but it will probably take a little bit longer than usual to force the first haircut.