Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Painting with bright colors


Spring is a time of delicate colors and shimmering palettes of spring green, like a watercolor painting. The summer garden in a warm climate like central NC doesn't have that look of eternal spring seen in more northern climes; it's like a work in oils or pastels, bold colors thrown at the canvas and swirled together.

Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' with Buddleia 'Potter's Purple'


The Monarda creates a bold current of color in the sea of green that's the big perennial bed.


Its deep raspberry pink just glows

and it's a-buzz with activity all day long. The Carpenter Bees in particular love it.



There are swirls and eddies of 'Claire Grace' too, which from a distance looks a little dull without something bright like Phlox 'Robert Poore' to punch it up.


Up close is a different story.


I had forgotten about the Rudbeckia since it was just fuzzy leaves last year; now of course, like the Phlox, I think I need more of it! I love the warm golden color, like the glow of a late summer afternoon captured in a flower.





Good news on the pony front! We jogged her yesterday and she looks to be doing much better.


31 comments:

  1. Wonderful pictures of your gorgeous flower garden!!! Happy for you about the pony!

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  2. The monarda is fantastic. I have a very small dwarf variety, and it never looks like much. Now I know why---- it needs to be big and bold and growing in a large stand like yours. It was meant to be a striking statement plant, not a little front of the border thing.

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  3. Sweet bay,
    Your garden keeps getting better and better!
    I love the rudbekias! I have seed to plant but today Im in bed with a neck pain.. so no gardening for me today.
    Im so glad your pony Its better!

    kiss

    Carola

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  4. Does your monarda do ok when it's dry, no mildew?

    It looks in perfect health and such a nice colour(s).

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  5. Good news on the pony. Love that color Monarda, getting one tomorrow through locally grown...they have some for sale!

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  6. "it's like a work in oils or pastels, bold colors thrown at the canvas and swirled together."
    You couldn't describe the colors of a garden in out southern warm(?), hot(?)sometimes even too hot climate any better.
    Your garden looks just beautiful.
    Best Regards and Happy Gardening
    Paula Jo (TX)

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  7. Great pictures! So glad your pony is better. Are you as dry as we are here in our area? We really could use some rain. Carla

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  8. SweetBay,
    Never seen such nice fields of monarda! Your black-eyed susans look great too, I never had luck growing the fancy ones.

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  9. Beautiful pictures. You are lucky to have a big garden where you can really paint with color. I rarely plant more than one of any plant but I love the look of drifts of perennials.

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  10. Hi Sweetbay, love your colours! It must be the quality of the light that makes the difference, as our northern light is always at a great slant. Although, come mid-summer, everything washes out in the daylight without a few punches of colour.

    Your monarda is gorgeous. :)

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  11. Sweetbay - those pictures make my dizzy - your garden is amazing. Congratulations !!!

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  12. It all looks so lush and full. Have you been getting some of these storm rains?

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  13. Fields of flowers...beautiful!

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  14. Perfect hot colors for the heat of summer! I love the pink of 'Raspberry Wine.' Like Laurrie, I have some dwarf monarda, but the taller varieties are so much more striking. And there's nothing more cheery than a field of Susans--so pretty.

    Glad to hear your pony is doing better!

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  15. These are my kind of colors and do show up so much more than pastels during the summer sun. Glad your pony is doing better.

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  16. I adore monarda...and loved the sweep of color under your towering trees. It's sometimes a challenge to garden in an imposing beautiful site..but yours just "fits". It looks like it belongs exactly where it is... Good news on the pony!

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  17. I'm glad to hear that your pony is doing better!
    Lovely photos of the bees doing their work, and of all the color in the garden.

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  18. These shots of rudbeckia and bee balm are incredible! Terrific detail!

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  19. Thank you for your comments everyone!

    Les we have been getting some rain shots here and there, just enough to sustain us. Spot watering the new plants has helped the rest of the plants too.

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  20. You and I have a lot of the same plants! I also have a big stand of Robert Poore phlox next to my monarda!! Your gardens look wonderful - very carefree and natural. They remind me of a giant meadow.

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  21. wow,wow,and wow!

    lovely photos and flowers, I'm a new follower from Fishtail cottage

    Thanks for the tour

    glimpsesofglory-karen.blogspot.com/

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  22. Good to hear the news about your pony. Big relief! I hope she keeps improving.
    Your photos are just outstanding SB!!! I can't get over how huge your Buddleia is!! That must be the difference in climate? I've never seen one so large here. We have to cut ours down to the ground each spring ~ maybe you don't have to??? Anyway, it's incredible and great combined with Raspberry Wine. The macros are sensational ~ I kept thinking how great they'd be framed. I'd say from the looks of things, your garden is weathering the heat just fine!

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  23. Stunning! Love the blooming sea of monarda.

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  24. Your pictures of the monarda are just great. I can practically hear the bees humming! I like the mix of out of focus and really sharp focus. Its very artistic. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

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  25. W Twoim ogrodzie jak w dżungli swietnie. Pozdrawiam

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  26. *love* the bee photos. I am visiting from Cottage Flora Thursday.

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  27. I like your descriptions of the seasons -very apt. And wonderful photographs to match.

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  28. Thank you everyone for your comments.

    Kathleen Buddleia do grow very large here! Usually I don't cut them way back but I did this year. They've grown 6+ feet already.

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  29. Thank you so much for linking up to Cottage Flora Thursday's at Fishtail Cottage! gorgeous monarda... xoxo, tracie

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  30. Your garden is full of wonderful colors! I have tried monarda in two different locations without success. It dried and died in the sun. In a shadier spot it is not blooming. You have convinced me I should try one more time, though I haven't decided where that might be.

    Happy 4th!

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  31. This is my first year with the Raspberry Wine monarda and I just love it. It is larger than I pictured it would be so I have to move it this fall to the back of the bed but it is worth it. It is always full of bees too. I love your Rudbeckia too. That is a beautiful woodland bed.

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