I'm frequently accused of not liking flowers, however nothing could be further from the truth. I love flowers. If I could afford it I would buy fresh cut flowers weekly. I just don't garden for the flowers. Meaning I chose plants for the foliage, the flowers are a bonus.
There is one kind of flower I wish I could avoid though, plants that bloom white (bet you thought I was going to say pink? nah, they're fine in the right context). I don't care for white flowers in my garden, or white variegation, or especially white containers. White is extremely stark, too bright. It commands attention through the absence of color, almost reading as a hole in the garden. Yes, I know, technically white is all the colors, but that's not how my eyes see it. If you asked about white flowers I'd tell you there are only two, my magnolias; Magnolia macrophylla (which won't be blooming for several weeks) and M. laevifolia...
The smallest white flowers also may be the ones that make the largest impact in the garden, the tiny blooms of my many saxifrage (this one S. × urbium 'Aureopunctata'). There are literally hundreds of them (maybe thousands?) around the garden right now.
They are a bit much. I will have to start cutting them back soon before they really start to irritate me. Yes I know. But it's my garden not yours, and that's how I feel.
Do you mind white in your garden? Maybe there's another color you try to avoid? (for many people I suspect it would be orange)
One morning a few weeks back—on a bright sunny day—it looked like snow was falling in the garden. White petals from a neighbor's tree were drifting down, it was kind of magic (I'm not completely lacking in romantic imagination).
My oldest mahonia, M. x media 'Charity' (planted on the north side of our house), has reached ginormous proportions. The wind, rain, and heavy fruit load had it leaning into the neighbor's driveway so I trimmed it back last weekend.
The Bit at the End
Speaking of art, and nature, enjoy this gift article from the NYT. At the very least click through and scan the photos: In the German Countryside, a Farmhouse Turned Lush Cultural Retreat.
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Orange, people don't like orange? This cracks me up, I'm firmly with you on "it's my garden, I'll please myself". I'm trying to rid myself of white planters, which at some point I clearly was a fan of. Or more likely they were cheap and I bought them. White blooms, I would guess few - but I'd have to go out for a reality check on that. The Mahonia 'Charity' fruit is glorious!
ReplyDeleteWhile I claim to favor blue, yellow and green in my garden, there are really no colors I dislike other than possibly some dodgy or muddy browns. I like white in the garden, although I don't like how all whites combine with one another. I feel that many white flowers lift others around them in proper balance. I've never wanted to have a predominately white garden ever, though.
ReplyDeleteI am often teased as to my color selection being first_ white, then orange, then pink or purple... but white is a favorite how it pops against a darker background and foliage!
ReplyDeleteI've teased you about saxifrage flowers before. I guess mine don't bloom as prolifically as yours because I find them a delightful little surprise/extra. They're also sentimental as my childhood garden had them. (And unlike some others, the bloom scapes don't get knocked over if it's windy.)
ReplyDeleteThe color I prefer not to deal with is red, or dark red-orange. Some corals are challenging,
too. To me, red can look muddy, fade into foliage in darker spots, and has numerous different undertones making it harder to blend in. I make occasional exceptions, like early tulips when there's nothing else, or maybe if I do an annual pot and want to do something different.
I like variegation but I don't like yellow/green next to white/green. As far as white flowers, I prefer tinted cream or greenish to stark white but all of them play better with others (and each other) than the reds. I don't mind colorful foliage but it's easy to overdo and then it's too chaotic, same with too much variegation.