To the Extreme

Years ago, when I owned a condo near Uptown Charlotte, red was my signature color. I planted Salvia splendens, red cannas, red petunias, and cardinal climber. These days, it seems I am infatuated by purple. So the question must be asked, when is there too much purple?

It started long before I painted the front door. Truth be told, the paint color was supposed to be "Rare Wine", a dark burgundy/maroon color. It's purple. And it screams at everyone that passes by when the sun hits it. I'm nervous about this winter when the oak tree out front loses its leaves. So what did I do? I planted more purple plants. There's the coleus by the front walk, the Blackie sweet potato vine I ripped out this past week, purple queen that will someday spill over the stones at the top of the bed, and heucheras in the front bed. They were $0.25 each, so I can't be completely blamed for that travesty. All summer, I've been very disappointed with that bed. It was dark and gloomy. The triple yellow datura is a plant that should be experienced from a distance. It was pulled weeks ago. I collected a few seeds, many of which molded.

This winter, I hope things change a bit for that bed by the front door. This morning, I planted my clearance Dusty Miller and pansies. We'll see if they have time to grow before our first frost. I'm probably a couple weeks late on getting these in the ground.

Before.



After.



From the driveway, these two beds are starting to work for me. I'm not sure what the orange daylilies at the bottom of the wall are going to do next summer. I assume they'll clash terribly.



I've got lavender, knockouts, and blue salvias planted with the blue grasses and white artemesia in the lower section of this bed. That orange is really going to look terrible, isn't it?



At the end of the run, there's the garage door bed. Last week I cut back and moved four knockouts. One is yellow, the others are red. I planted Jim's Pinks in this bed along the edge and threw in 7 leftover pansies this morning. They're white, blue, and purple (which is actually a viola, shhhh). I mulched and used the stone I dug out of the next area I'm about to show. Yep, all this stone came from digging holes to plant things in the back yard.



On Thursday of last week, the dog's grave made me change my plans for certain grasses I had also gotten on clearance. I divided them into smaller clumps and planted them on the slope where periwinkle and crab grass had been all summer. The tomato patch is to the left in this image. That'll most likely become a patio in the near future as the stones will be available later this week. Nine of the 15 ten cent asters went into this bed. Robert was back last night to pick up a few things and drop off one of my Ryobi batteries he grabbed after finishing the kitchen. He took home the other 6. What was I thinking? I really didn't need 15 asters.



I also planted two dwarf Joe Pye Weeds I got for $1 each. I tell you, this job is going to bankrupt me. Thankfully, I don't care much for pansies and that's about all we're going to have soon.



In another week or two, I plan to move the White Profusion butterfly bush. This is the one I purchased and the tag said it would reach 8-10' easily. It's in the area formerly known as the white bed. I'll move it to the sloped area formally creating a bee and butterfly garden. Next spring, more butterfly loving plants will be set out here as the seeds are wintersown. It'll make a nice backdrop for the patio.



In the meadow garden, red clover is taking hold. There's also a stray cucumber seedling in there. Uh oh.



Just across from the meadow, the crape myrtle bed is filling in nicely. I've planted out a few hibiscus, scattered lots of echinacea seeds, and planted more clearance plants over the past few weeks. It's a bed I don't pay a lot of attention to, but I expect it to be nice enough next year.



The pink blooming camelia that I'm allowing to regrow at the edge of the rose garden has a lot of suckers. I pulled off two that had roots attached and potted them. They're in the shade with the rooting sedums and pineapple sage. Those cuttings came from one that got ripped apart by last week's winds. They lost all their leaves, but are putting out new growth. Let's not forget I stuck 7 cuttings in the cloner from that plant too. I like this plant, can't you tell?





In the perennial bed, the black and blue salvia I got for $1 each are doing great. I hope they return next year.



Finally, it's Sunday. FlowerLady writes on her blog today,

Let the negative stuff roll off, straighten your shoulders, hold your head high, smile, and be thankful. Get out and do something creative, relaxing, meditative or fun.

I did.



It's 61 degrees and overcast. We got a little rain last night, but the areas under the trees are still dry. The forecast calls for 77 and sunny today. I've got my doubts.

2:28pm - Still no sunlight and only 2 degrees warmer. I've spent the last couple of hours at work, but came home for lunch. The 12" gray pavers are ready. I'll have them loaded onto the back of the truck and unload them this evening. There's 115 of them. $10 for the whole lot. WOOT!