SEARCHING FOR BLUE

Blue is a rare color in any garden. Those who love the hue often have to supplement their gardens with objects of that coloring. I have a few strong cobalt blue objects including a ceramic disk, largish mushroom, glass ball, whimsical Eye sculpture and the preverbal blue bottle tree to catch the 'haints" before they reach the house. Cobalt blue is an intense color and I like it in small doses.

Blue ceramic disk with an unusual selaginella nestled in the corner of a trough garden. 

Blue mushroom in a sea of Periwinkle

Glass bowl in a concrete container by Lasting Impressions in Raleigh, NC. Nearby a Cypress knee and Cephalotaxus harringtonia cultivar hover overhead

Blue Eye sculpture by Cam McCamy of Wake Forest, NC and a lone Tradescantia seedling

In the first photo of this blog you may have noticed something blooming on the bottle tree. It is a cut stem of Tradescantia virginiana (Native Spiderwort) tucked into a branch of the tree.  As you see, the color more violet than true blue, but, i happen to think that  times in the garden it makes a darned good substitute for the color blue. 

Below are images taken this morning while blossoms were fresh before  melting away in the heat of the day. The bluish purple color of each seedling is subtle.   Even so, the range of blue violet color comes through as a strong visual element.

With Iris Sultan which , by the way, looks spectacular with any red Loropetalum. 

In the same planting bed as above but looking through a metal leaf sculpture and across the drive to the compost bin. 

A large old clump in the new rock garden

Wrestling with Woodwardia and Holly Ferns 

Using a huge Hosta as a backdrop. 

Looking like bits of midnight blue sky dropped into the garden. 

This native scatters its seeds around my garden freely and where I don't want it I cut it to the ground or dig it out.  Once the stems become top-heavy with spent blossoms they tend to flop over.  It is easy to just snap off the stems near ground level to tidy up.  

I wonder if John Tradescant, the elder who brought back this native plant from the colonies to King George III of England and who's name was given the plant by Linnaeus had blue eyes matching the color of the flowers. I love thinking that a piece of history resides here naturally. It's discovery for garden use in the mid 1600's adds intense color and interest fitting in anywhere and thankfully enjoys the acid soils of my garden in a woodland. 

Suzanne Edney, president
Custom Landscapes
1004 Kelly Road
Apex, NC 27523
919-387-1479
www.customlandscapesnc.com

https://edneysuzanne.blogspot.com/

"Welcome to the beautiful world of gardening where creativity and healthy activity meet!"

LOTS OF SPRING RAINS BRINGS A SNOWY REWARD AND A RIVER OF PURPLE

It's the beginning of May and Mother's Day has been heralded with clouds of Saxifraga stolonifera along the drive and pathway edges where it has been allowed to spread with unbridled shame.  Hundreds of blossoms, as if in flight, crowd around the rain gauge. Further up the path streaks of the Strawberry Begonia lead your eye up to a Hydrangea beginning to bloom. 

Hydrangea serrata 'Preziosa' becomes a backdrop with snail pipe sculpture. 

Selaginella and Tradescantia grapple for space as the airy "butterfly" blossoms of the Begonia fly toward a metal butterfly in this garden vignette.  

Nearby purple and lilac are opposite each other along the broken concrete path to the front door. 

A river of Oxalis regnellii swirls along and mimics french curlicues on a welcoming bench. The pale lilac Iris virginiana 'Contraband Girl' is in the background. 

A single Saxifraga is tucked in under watchful eyes with Iris 'Eco Easter' , Asarum canadensis and Hosta yingeri.  

Behind the waterfall of Strawberry Begonia blossoms (below) is a stacked stone wall. I planted on top of the wall and this plant found it's comfort zone between the crevices. 

Even though Saxifrages' natural habitat is among rocky cliffs with perpetually seeping water you can successfully grow this one if you have the space and conditions of cool moist well drained shade. This wonderful wandering ground cover may be the plant for you.