Slow painting

Monday 15 June 2009

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - red, white and blue


Or to start with my favourite in this patriotic sequence, the white of Mme Hardy, my Damask rose from David Austin. I absolutely love this rose. I love its scent, I love its profusion, I love the way it gleams in the late evening twilight. I also love its history - named after the wife of the gardener in charge of the Empress Josephine's rose garden, and a descendant of the roses brought back from Persia in the 13th century.


The blue is Geranium 'Bressinham Blue', now in full flower. On an evening of heavy cloud streaming in from the sea on a strong east wind, the bee was having to hang on each time it alighted.

Now to the red. This combination is not...pleasing to me. Red, white and blue together in this corner of the garden just don't work for me, and the culprit is the red poppy. It seemed like a good idea, but it got too big and too scruffy. It's over so soon, and in the tiny bit of border I have nothing to grow up beside it and hide it. And next door's cat likes to lie on it, which isn't the fault of the poppy, but it doesn't do it any favours.


It's a tough life in suburbia, but it will have to go. I'm thinking a bergamot, for the bees, and of a less vibrant hue. I'm also thinking plant support of a discreet type, to stop it encroaching on the lawn (oh so suburban!), but also to ward off neighbour's cat.

June blooms with perhaps a more secure future are at Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

12 comments:

donna said...

Linda, I knew you'd have a really good GBBD post and you didn't disappoint. Enjoyed reading about your white rose and love this part of the description "the way it gleams in the late evening twilight."

islandgardener said...

Love, love this post...my country's colors, too! Scotland is near and dear to my heart...my ancestors came from Lithuania to work in the Lanarkshire coal mines before coming to the states...Janet

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I like your blooms, even if you plan on changing the red. I am trying a Jacob Cline or Kline monarda, with a red bloom, that is supposed to be more resistant to mildew. I wonder if that would work for you.

A New England Girl said...

LOVE the colors... and the flowers are so beautiful. The blue is simply out of this world. It brought a smile to my face on this semi-cloudy day. :)

Alicia

Sylvana said...

That rose looks so exotic and I love the color of that geranium!

Margaret's Ramblings said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Shirley said...

Hi again Linda, I’m guessing it was rainy with you too on GBBD! Love that blue/purple of your geranium. That’s my sort of colour. Know what you mean about the poppy… I had that problem too a few years ago too although I did love the deep almost black blooms. Mm… I might give it another go… or should I ;-)

Yes… I do hear what you are saying about suburban gardens. Where space is at a premium and we have neighbours on all sides we do have to make some compromises. Oh yes… and we need to walk along our small strips of lawns too! Never mind, we can break the rules too :-D

Only my front garden gets full sun so very unsuburban I have lettuce (beautiful red coloured lollo rosso) in a pot out there (discreet of course… LOL) and some plum tomatoes hiding in a corner sun spot :-o

Oh… and I’ve really broken the rules with a ‘wild’ clump of red campion hiding between my stipa gigantea and a bamboo. Next to cirsium I love it and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it. Only I know its there too… and you won’t tell will you ;-)

I posted a video for my GBBD posting so you can see what you think about this red campion rebel for yourself… LOL :-D

Babzy.B said...

Beautiful flowers !!!

June said...

Oh, your flowers are beautiful! I love poppies but have the same complaint about those big, blowsy oriental reds. I've switched over to Shirley poppies. I just scatter the seed in early, early spring. They work their way in among the other plants and oh the beauty. I'll post some photos when they start blooming here. The first buds are fuzzing up... And I must say the reds are less strident.

Pat said...

The Geranium 'Bressinham Blue' is amazing...just love blue.
My new love are roses.

SandyCarlson said...

These are lovely. I am used to seeing one kind of geranium, so the variety you show is really exciting.

Tarolino said...

Wonderful blooms. White roses in general are lovely but the history of this specimen is grand, to say the least.
The blue geraniums are wonderful. Similar to our blue ones but perhaps not the same species. We have many different kinds of geraniums at the cottage.
Poppies are always so cheerful and I really like their seedheads as well.