Tuesday 16 September 2014

Flowers.

Some garden flowers are really 'in your face'.   In this group I would put the glorious sunflower, obviously, but also flowers like the blowsy, brightly coloured peony, the tall, deep blue delphinium, a lot of the yellow flowers (a single daffodil is not in this category, but a whole hillside, now that's a different matter.) and some roses, although I look upon most roses as being subtle and understated for the most part.

Some garden flowers are shy and retiring, hiding under bushes in shady places, or flowering low to the ground so that  you have to really look for them.   The violet falls into this class, in fact many Spring flowers do.  Even the bold snowdrop, flowering even when snow is forecast, pushes up its neat little white head and asks for nothing (it certainly never says 'look at me'!.

But there is a plant just coming out all over my garden, which fills me with joy every year.  It is bright red, yet it is a subtle red, so it doesn't shout.   It spreads, so that one clump will soon become several clumps  and it comes into bloom at a time when almost everything else is beginning to die back.   And here it is - the schizostylis - brightening up my garden today - and I hope giving you a little bit of pleasure too.

14 comments:

Sue in Suffolk said...

So pretty, is it a relation of crocrosmia, what we used to call montbretia?

Joanne Noragon said...

It is lovely. I need to find a lot of violets to plant in the spring; they're what my mind's eye is missing.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I think I may be buying some in the near future - it's lovely!

Bovey Belle said...

There's a bit of a concidence - I saw a single wild Violet blooming on the bank along our lane yesterday (obviously confused by the colder August) and having been cut right back, and watered, one of my Delphiniums is flowering again.

I've never heard of your Schizostylis, but what a pretty plant she is.

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

That's a real nice shade of red.

Cloudia said...

Yes! A brightener Upper!



ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
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JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

My kind of flower - one that spreads and comes back year after year. I love the subtle color of this - I've never heard of it before. Thanks for sharing.

Cro Magnon said...

The only 'seasonal' flowers I have at the moment are yellow Autumn Crocus. They're trying to tell me something!

ChrisJ said...

It's a beautiful flower and color, but i wish it had a prettier name.

Heather said...

It is a lovely addition to a late summer border and the colour is gorgeous. I don't think I have come across this plant before. I have polyanthus coming into bloom - a little prematurely I think. I hope they save something for next Spring.

mrsnesbitt said...

Lovely Pat - we have thick fog here today so this was a lovely sight.

The Weaver of Grass said...

No, simply suffolk, I don't think it is a relation of crocosmia - when you see the two together the leaves and the stance of the plant are very different. Also it is a very subtle colour, whereas the two crocosmia I have (the common orange one and the bright red Lucifer) are much more blatant.
Cro - the Autumn crocus we have here are mostly purple - I love them, I would love to see a yellow one.
Thanks for calling in everyone.

Becca McCallum said...

oh, my mum has those in the garden. This is the first year they've flowered

Unknown said...

Oh gosh! Those coccineas look really lovely. I love how you described and categorized flowers according to their apparent blooming behaviors. It sounds almost romantic. Hahaha! Anyway, I believe we call those Hesperantha here across the Atlantic and it's definitely boosting my gardening spirit. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and that lovely picture! All the best!

Bethel Woodard @ Sollecito