Week 35, Year 2: The Bold and the Beautiful

This color entry focuses on the bolder tones in my garden - the reds, oranges and yellows. Most professionals would criticize my overabundance of color and suggest that I stick to a couple of common themes, and believe me I tried. But, I was also intrigued by a number of bold colored flowers that I just had to try, and on a 5x5 space, you are bound to run into some color clashing. At the same time, this porch is just for fun and allows me to experiment for when I am ready to have the large and luscious gardens attached to a house, which probably will be a bit more organized when it comes to color, height and timing.

Reds

You are more likely to find me wearing red to a Badger game, than planting it in my garden, but this year saw a couple of exceptions. I just couldn't resist experimenting with the mandevilla and the fun bonfyre begonia, both of which only came in red.

Bonfyre Begonia - like an exploding firework on the 4th of July, this begonia thrived when I transplanted it from its original hanger to the base of the clematis. It shoots its fun flowers over the sides of the deck and makes a bold statement.

Mandevilla - This tropical climber thrives in humid settings, and was probably a bit risky for moody Wisconsin. A cold June set this one on a slower start, and it didn't really produce a lot of vines. However, it still produce a number of wonderful red flowers, which gradually lighten to pink with age.

Painted Tongue - a multi-colored gem that has already gotten a lot of attention on this blog for its tiger lily like markings. One of its many colors included this red variety with yellow markings. McDonalds, anyone?

Oranges

Black-Eyed Susan Vine - Last year's clear winner was this year's ultimate failure. It just never took off. It maybe produced one flower (expertly captured here), but was ultimately a disappointment. It's not even alive right now. I thought I could spark some energy by removing its trellis, but I only stunted it even more.

Flowering Maple (aka Ablution) - This flower takes its names from its leaves, which resemble the leaves of a maple tree. The flowers are a delicate salmonly orange. The variegated leaves were one of my husband's favorites, showing a yellow and chartreuse camouflage pattern. At this point in the season, it has basically overrun its box mates, so it may have better off in its own pot.

Yellows

Portulaca (aka Moss Rose) - This ugly duckling finally bloomed into a beautiful swan. In June, it had a close resemblance to Bob Marley's head, but this August it finally produced beautiful buttercup like yellow flowers. The only trick is that they seem to open and close throughout the day and I haven't been able to catch them with the buds open.

Canna - I purchased this yellow canna on a very hot day in July at the Madison Farmer's Market. It is a water lover, and I've heard that it can come back next year if I make cuttings in the fall. For now, I just appreciate its constant blooms and tiger pattern.

Painted Tongue - yellow flowers with light yellow markings were also one of the many colors that bloomed from this wonder.

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 25, Year 2: The Teenage Years

My garden is in an awkward in between stage. While many of the plants have grown significantly, they are in a weird place where they are looking a bit unfinished. They can't decide if they are going to play nice with one another and everything is looking a bit unkempt as a result. Half of them are growing in every which direction, refusing to be trained and still resisting gentle directioning. Essentially, they are acting like rebellious teenagers. Here are some examples:

The Rebels

The rebels are the plants that just refuse to cooperate. They are dead set on defying me.

Plumbago - The plumbago is a late bloomer. Supposedly, it will grow downward, but right now, it really is only willing to grow straight up. Eventually, the weight of the branches should cause it to fall downward, but until then, it just grows straight up and leaves the box feeling unbalanced.

Clematis - Similar to the plumbago, the clematis does not want to grow downward. While I bought it a nice fancy trellis, it is happier growing straight up, even when I wrap its vines around the trellis.

The Ugly Ducklings

These guys are just on the verge on greatness, but have to go through a final round of acne and braces before they truly bloom.

Lisianthus - This is a native prairie flower. It has grown into an incredibly tall plant, but has yet to bloom. However, it has just developed buds, and I have to believe it is on the verge of greatness, but I'm not sure what it needs to take that final step.

Mandevilla - The mandevilla is supposed to be a vigorous climber. The only problem is that it thrives in humidity. We haven't exactly had the best weather lately, and the plant has struggled for it. However, it is just starting to come along and has developed several buds - I feel like it has turned the corner and should be growing fairly quickly in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a very good picture as I planted oregano and parsley in the pot and they sort of obscure the image, but I'll be sure to post a picture once it turns the corner.

The Nerdy Freshmen

These guys are seemingly stuck in those horribly awkward and uncomfortable stages. Oddly enough, these were some of my best performers last year, so I have faith they will get it together eventually.

Petunia & Sweet Potato Vine - The plants in this box are at a weird length. They aren't ready to grow downward yet, but they are too long to grow straight out - so they are just growing in every which direction. I'm trying to steer them in the right direction, but they seem to be struggling with it for now.

Portulaca - also known as cabbage rose, these guys are certainly proving it. So far, no buds or blooms have grown, but we have seen a number of thick vines that look almost like dreads. I'm not sure what to make of this guy to be honest, but I hope he figures it out soon.

The Prom Queens

Like any annoying popular kid, these guys are simply showing off and enjoying their glory days. Here's a quick photo tour:

Painted Tongue - There's a new color every week with these unique blooms. So far, I've seen red with yellow stripes, yellow with light yellow stripes, purple with yellow stripes and deep red/purple with matching stripes.

Flowering Maple - The painted tongue's box mate is also having a nice June. While not as splashy as its neighbor, it is quietly producing bloom after salmon bloom.

Stock - The stock is beautiful and fragrant, though not bullet proof. Like any teenager, it has its problems. In this case, the new growth is the definition of awkward. The blooms seem to shoot out of these spiky little sticks and I can never tell if the sticks have yet to bloom or not.