I wanted to say that the wild columbine is my favourite native flower in bloom around late May but even narrowing it down seasonally is too lofty a claim to make. Let’s just say, I like it very much, and leave it at that.
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CATEGORY
Flowers
Food for the eyes, and sometimes for the stomach, too.
Books by Gayla Trail
A Pleasing Combination
I came upon this colour palette yesterday and had an instantaneous response to it. The pink flowers are magnolia and the red and chartreuse bush on the right is ‘Goldflame’ spirea (Spiraea x bumalda). Of course it could just be the designer in me that is responding to the grid formation but I also think it is the black brick background serving as a contrasty backdrop… the colours just pop out against it. In conclusion: This reaffirms what I already know about chartreuse and deep red against black.
Note to self: Get more black containers.
Leave a commentIt Turns Out That While Not Fatal, This Particular Disease Can Not Be Cured
I bought another box of pansies yesterday. This new batch falls primarily within a blacks, dark purples and reds colour palette. Some are frilly.
In case you are interested they are as follows: ‘Panola Fire,’ ‘Imperial Antique Shades,’ ‘Frizzle Sizzle Mix’ (for shizzle!), and ‘Accord Black Beauty.’
To catch you up, that makes my forth purchase within the span of a week. At the very least we should be enjoying an abundance of colourful salads this season.
And that is all I have to say about that. As you were.
Leave a commentEarly Spring Planting: Pansies and Violas
The weather here in Toronto these past few days has been unreasonably beautiful prompting a flurry of gardening activity on my part. My gardens never seem large enough until I have to clean them up. I have spent the last few days rediscovering all over again that, yes, gardening is a physical activity, working muscle groups that have been ignored over the long winter.
On Thursday afternoon, I detoured over to a couple of seasonal garden centres to check out where they are at with spring stock and was delighted to discover pansies and violas in new and beautiful colourways. The one that excited me most was ‘Gem Antique Shades’ a viola mix in subtle gold, lavender, and pinkish tones with some deep reds thrown in (see photo above).
I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but stocking up on these old-fashioned flowers is one of my favourite spring-time activities. While they have a reputation for being old-school cheesy I find they are the best and cheapest way to insert instant colour into a bland early spring garden. Besides the very earliest bulbs and perennials, pansies and violas are one of the very first flowers to go in the soil when the weather is still chilly at night and prone to unpredictable, random acts of snow.
And they’re edible too! I start pansies alongside other early edibles like greens and radishes, throwing them all into a bowl for the first homegrown salads of the year. While the bubblegum flavoured pansy is not your best choice in a salad, most varieties tend to have a slightly sweet, hint-o’violet flavour.
I was forced to limit my purchases to one small box since I was walking and still had to make a stop at the farmers market for produce. However, I’ve already been strategizing ways to get back for another box or two before they sell out. The box I purchased was just enough for the roof but both my community garden plot and the street garden could use a colour splash.
Related Articles:
- Cheap n’ Easy Container Idea – Strawberries and Violas
- Cheap n’ Easy Container Idea – Chive Basin
- Featured Plant: Viola and Pansy
- The Bubble Gum Pansy
