Wordless Wednesday? Hey I can do that!
Plants at My Front Door
Last year I had a rather autocratic message from the UK suggesting that my love of limey, gold and chartreuse plants could lead me down the path to "brassy" tastelessness.
I bristled at this, but tried to ascertain whether this was a fair comment. My critic, perhaps had not taken into account that I live in a completely different environment from her, and that the quality of light and extremes of climate affect our reaction to colour in a different way.
In our hot, humid summers and brilliant sunshine, I find that these yellow/greens are actually cooling and rather than being strident, are very subdued and complimentary to other colours in the garden.
Well, judge for yourself. I'm showing here an arrangement of plants at my front door, which I find very pleasing, A cooling vignette in the last few days of a very hot summer.
Plants at my front door.
Durantia, Angelonia 'Purple Stripe' and purple Callibrachoa.
Coleus 'Fishnet Stockings...
Comments
However I'm glad that your response now allows me to be more specific. The tall spires are, in fact, the flowers of Baptisia 'Purple Smoke' an exciting hybrid developed at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It has blue flowers and glaucous, silvery blue leaves on black stems. One year it didn't bloom at all, and I didn't mind too much, as the mound of foliage was impressive in itself. Other new Baptisia hybrids include b. 'Twilite Prairie Blues' and 'Solar Flare' developed at the North Carolina Botanic Garden by Jim Ault.
The shrub behind the Baptisia is Cotinus 'Royal Purple'.
Cotinus it is!
I coppice it every year and it produces this beautiful foliage.
Love, love, love B. 'Purple Smoke' mostly for the wonderful deep infused colour of the stems. Not really a fan of the newer Prairieblues series..... and Cotinus, another one that I cannot be without! A good coppicing goes along way!
Interesting to hear your opinion of the prairieblues series. I've only seen them in bloom in photographs which is probably misleading. However I have a couple of immature plants that are yet to bloom, so i hope I won't be too disappointed.