It was all going so well. The muted colours of early summer mingled tastefully in the borders. The blues of the delphiniums complemented the soft pink of the roses, and a walk down the garden was a tranquil experience. Nothing jarred the senses or offended the eyes. Soft pastels ruled.
Then, the carnival hit town.
I need sunglasses just to hang the washing out.
Any colour coordination has gone out of the window, and I am ashamed to see orange shrieking at its pink neighbour, and chrome yellow cheek by jowl with scarlet.
What went wrong ?
What possessed me to put yellow day lilies next to Crocosmia 'Lucifer', and to plant neon pink Lychnis liberally throughout every single bed. (I grew the Lychnis from seed and EVERY ONE germinated !!)
I planned for the tasteful bit of early summer, choosing complementary shades of soft pinks, blues and mauves, but I forgot that the pink rose, chosen to coordinate with the delphiniums, would still be flowering long after the delphiniums had gone to seed, and would be standing next to an orange day lily.
The romantic pastel hues are now long gone, replaced by hot pinks, sizzling oranges and lipstick reds.
There's nothing I can do but embrace it ! Learn to love psychedelia and comic strip colours which smack you straight in the face.
The carnival is here all right, warming up for the Mardi Gras which is late summer.
I don't recognise what the garden has become, from a romantic English garden it has transformed into a bold, strong, contrasting, jarring space. Love it or hate it !
This post is part of the 'Blogger's Bloom Day' meme , over at May Dreams Gardens . Do hop over and see all the lovely blogs !
I love your bright colors of summer...
ReplyDeleteI prefer the muted tones of early summer to the strident colours of late summer tbh !!
ReplyDeleteJane, I love your sense of humor.......I can't imagine your flowerbeds being anything but eye popping.
ReplyDeleteBut, I swear flowers actually plan the beds.They gently manipulate us and we don't have a clue. I cannot pull up one seedling that might turn into a lovely perennial.....it's almost sacrilege.
Hi Flower Freak, eye popping is a good way to describe it ! I agree about the flowers doing the planning - but I think mine actually plot against me !
DeleteI'm so impressed you had a plan even if it ultimately went awry. Between you and Nature I would call it a draw which is probably all we can hope for.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, I did have a bit of a plan to be fair, but not enough of a plan. A draw is the best any of us can hope for, as Nature ultimately holds the cards !
DeleteNature and gardening is full of surprises, haha. The same things happen sometimes in my garden and after the first fright I actually love it.
ReplyDeleteHi Janneke, I am learning to embrace the change, as they say! I am glad I am not alone!
ReplyDeleteA change of mood is good.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, I am warming to it, if I'm honest ! I just need to move stuff around in autumn to sort out the worst of the colour clashes !
DeleteLove it. Having sworn all my life I hated dahlias I bought two yesterday.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica, hah! Those dahlias get you in the end! There's nothing that compares for late summer colour ! I was the same with geums and astrantias. hated them ... bought them!
DeleteI love your sense of originality in this post. The yellow lily is my favourite - beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Ali, thankyou for your comment, it is very kind.
DeleteI actually thought you were describing my new flower bed Jane. There is nothing to do but embrace it, well not at this time of the year anyway.
ReplyDeleteYou've a fair bit of colour and as always, a pleasure to read your take on what's happening in your garden.
Hi Angie - your flower beds look fab! I guess I will have to suck it up and enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteForget coordination, all these hot and bright colours epitomise the exuberance of summer and are a delight to see!
ReplyDeleteI must embrace the salmon pink and dayglo orange i suppose !!
DeleteIsn't that what gardening is all about, the plan gets flung out of the window and the plants just have a riot! I think maybe it happens in lots of gardens at this time of year, the earlier pastels look good when the sun is lower in the sky, but once past midsummer and the sun is higher and brighter, pastel colours look washed out and brighter colours take over. Just go with the flow!
ReplyDeleteRiot is the optimum word !I guess pastels don't really go with the heat of mid summer !
DeleteJane thank you f or dropping by my blog : )
ReplyDeletehey .... the best laid plans ? ... I think it is amazing every year how things "work out" eventually and when we look back on those pictures we don't wince so painfully .. we think wow! look at those plants of mine ! LOL
Joy
Hi, planning and gardening seldom go hand in hand ! Mother Nature has her own agenda and all we can do is follow !
DeletePastels are wonderful in June but wishy washy in July. We need colour now. A bit of clash is good in July. Christopher Lloyd used to think so and no one argues with him.
ReplyDeleteYou have some gorgeous July bloom Jane.
Hi Chloris , Christopher Lloyd rules ! I love Great Dixter and there are no rules there as far as colour is concerned !
ReplyDeleteIt's really colorful! Your dahlia is so stunning! I love the color!
ReplyDeleteHi Endah, dahlias are fantastic plants and there are lots of colours to choose from in that pink/ purple bit of the colour wheel.
DeleteSounds perfect to me! My front garden is all muted and tasteful, but I am on a mission to have vivid strong colours, orange next to magenta, in the back. Makes me smile!
ReplyDeleteHi janet, what is your secret in your front garden, how can you keep it muted and tasteful when there are few plants flowering now which are anything other than shouty !! I will pop across to your blog and see how you do it ...
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, it's a constant experiment! I started blogging about it because it has been consuming my remaining brain cells recently, but as an act of mercy to my readers I seem to be splitting it into two posts.
Deleteyou know what they say about the best laid plans ...
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine, I do ! Nature has its own plans which will come to pass whatever we think ours are !
DeleteFor myself, I love strong colors in summer. Sometimes combinations that sound awful look perfect in the garden at the right time. Remember Christopher Lloyd, who some accused of being color blind. Besides, it will keep you from nodding off when you're outside.
ReplyDeleteHi, Great Dixter is one of my favourite gardens, and I love those strong colours. I certainly couldn't nod off here in my garden , you are right, it is far too bright !
DeleteI bet your garden still looks great, wouldn't life be boring if everything we planned turned out correctly. Personally I gave up with colour co-ordination and border layouts years ago and now let everything do its own thing then I can only blame nature if I need to.
ReplyDeleteHi Rick, I may take a leaf from your book and give up any pre tense of planning, leaving it all to nature to take care of !
ReplyDelete'pretence' , rather ... naughty spell check !
DeleteI have a soft spot for the carnival, and more so as I get older. My gardens get bolder in colour every year, and bright yellow daylilies next to red crocosmia sound just right to me! I've just decided to go with it, at least my senile years will be colourful.
ReplyDeleteHi Lyn, ha ha, you might be right ! It fits right in with "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple ", which is a sentiment I wholeheartedly applaud !
ReplyDeleteUm, well I have to say I like all seasons of blooms. In midsummer, there's something encouraging about the bright, bold combinations of colors that show up on Zinnias, Marigolds, Lantanas and other plants--sometimes on the same bloom! So I actually like your combinations. And I enjoyed your sense of humor, too! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Plantpostings, I see what you mean! Pauline made the comment earlier that the light is different at this time of year, and the stronger intensity is more suited to bright colours. It all makes sense !
DeleteJane you wrote a right word: explosion. Lovely bright summer colors!Your first photo of Canna is pretty, it reminds me my poor cannas that do not bloom because of cold weather. Have a nice week!
ReplyDeleteHiNadezda, oh your poor cannas ! I hope the sun shines for you and they can begin to flower !
ReplyDeleteI used to detest bold colours in my garden, but after some poppies turned rogue (bright red and orange not coral pink!), I've relaxed a little and now really enjoy seeing the bursts of colour. I bet your garden looks stunning with all that bright interest.
ReplyDeleteHi Paula, Bet the poppies were a bit of a shock when they first appeared !
DeleteI can so relate to this post. I actually managed to plant orangey-red Monarda right opposite Burgundy Monarda. They are each great on their own, but together in the same part of the garden? EEEKK! I don't know what I was thinking. Obviously I wasn't thinking! I decided to move or edit out the orangey red Bee Balm.
ReplyDeleteWell, I happen to be a fan of big bold colors, so it all looks good to me. Tasteful is highly overrated!
ReplyDeleteHi sarah, they are growing on me now that I have got over the shock - they seemed to happen overnight !
DeleteHi Jennifer, so glad I'm not the only one ... 'Edit out' sound a bit ominous though!!
ReplyDeleteI adore this post :) Partly because I tried to create a soft pastel coloured garden myself and ended up with carnival colours too. I'm embracing my jewel tones though and just going for it. Every time I look at my flower garden I smile. Partly because I feel like a goof for trying so hard to create something and failing so badly but also because bright colours just made me smile. Maybe subconsciously we really just wanted it to bright all along?
ReplyDeleteHi Marguerite, where did we go wrong ? We may have our plans, but nature has the Master Plan which over rules all!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I love hot colors in the summer. It's like the garden is throwing a party. :o) I also love pink and orange together, especially when purple and yellow are thrown in! :o)
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy ...party ? It is an all night rave !
DeleteHi Jane, I honestly admit that I love muted, pale, subdued color in my garden, but have found without the little bit of surprise factor it can become boring. So a color punch here and there is welcome. Your pink dahlia is plain gorgeous, that one I would take any time ;-)! Warm regards,
ReplyDeleteChristina
Hi Christina, maybe pale and pastel is a bit safe ! It certainly has a surprise factor - my eyebrows shoot uo in amazement every time I step outside !
DeleteI love all your flowers and colors ! Wonderful photos !
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Thank you Ela, you are very kind !
ReplyDeleteHi Phillip, they are certainly bright !
ReplyDelete