I had fun going through my pictures and instead of looking for colors of flowers like I usually do, looking for some of my favorite spiky shaped flowers.
Hollyhocks
Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy'
Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'. Not all spiky flowers have to be tall, these are low growers at the front of my border and break up the usual "flowy" types of edging plants I use.
Lobelia siphilitica was new to my garden this year, it likes moist soil and can be grown in boggy areas. Lobelia Cardinalis is another tall, spiky shaped red flower that I have growing in my pond.
Liatris 'Kobold'
Larkspur 'Shades of Blue'.
Agastache 'Golden Jubilee' has really pretty gold foliage. It attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies.
Salvia is very popular with the bees and puts up with the hottest and driest part of my yard.
Linaria or Toadflax is a flower I added several years ago. It does reseed some but is easy to pull out or transplant. I always cut it back about halfway after it finishes blooming to get another round of flowers.
Lupine is a flower that isn't always long lived, but if you're lucky it may reseed and give you some replacements for when it dies. I was happy to see the foliage returning on this plant already. I love how it looked with the yellow Daylilies behind it.
Penstemon 'Catherine de la Mar'. Penstemons are a real favorite of mine, especially towards the front of the border.Other favorite spiky flowers of mine are Cimicifuga (or Bugbane or Actaea), Foxgloves and Delphiniums.
Just doing this post made me realize what it was about a flower bed in my backyard that I haven't been happy with, it is almost all spiky flowers. I will be doing some rearranging there this Spring trying to break up all that excitement with something a little more calming like a nice round flower shape.
Just doing this post made me realize what it was about a flower bed in my backyard that I haven't been happy with, it is almost all spiky flowers. I will be doing some rearranging there this Spring trying to break up all that excitement with something a little more calming like a nice round flower shape.
Catherine: gorgeous! It seems like a different planet from our frozen tundra right now!
ReplyDeleteOh I believe all this spikiness if divine!! If my larkspur and liatris (first year for this) do half as good as yours I'll be elated!!
ReplyDeleteDear Catherine, You are making an important design point here and one which is so often overlooked. As you say, colour is often what people think of first, but texture and shape are key elements in a successful border.
ReplyDeleteThe plants which you have highlighted are a wonderful selection for adding dramatic effect and the colour range of blues you have included here is amazing. Another suggestion for the front of the border would be Veronica gentianoides 'Tissington White' which is, in fact, the palest of blues. A dreamy perennial.
Love the spikes! You think you lack 'softer' shapes in your garden, and I think mine could use some more big, bold flowers like yours lol.
ReplyDeleteYour flower beds are just so beautiful! I have a question: do you usually use plants or plant seeds? For you have a wonderful eye of what to put where, and you seem to have a lot of plants grouped together. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
I love those too. They add height in the backs and like you said lots of interest. I hope that mine will put on a show this year.
ReplyDeleteI love exclamation points as well. And the purple hues are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCatherine a lovely post and photos. I realised a year or so ago that I needed to get a few more faltter flowering plants to ofset my number of spikey plants. LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. You have quite a variety of exclamation points!!!!!! I think I need to add more to my garden. I have never really thought about it before. The different shapes of the flower does add a lot to a garden.
ReplyDeleteCatherine..yay..Fantastical post!!!!Exclamation point! What a super gorgeous and magical series..this would have to be one of my many favorites of your posts!! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine! Great idea! Fun to see all your vertical flowers... you have a lovely selection for interest in the garden design but also for your beloved hummers!! Beautiful photos! Carol
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see such beautiful flowers when the ground is frozen with snow. And what a good point you made about the exclamation points! I agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine got made because the guy she was dating didn't put an exclamation point at the end of a phone message.
ReplyDeleteThese flowers are beautiful. Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy' is on my wanted list, and I love the picture of the white lupine with the bright yellow lilies. The penstemon too; the colors look a lot like those of P. tenuis. I'll have to look for that one.
Hi Catherine~~ What a fun post. All the photos are dazzling and really make me hungry for summer. The hollyhock, ooh, la, la. Yours is the same color of my newbie last summer--deep crimson. The foliage looks healthy too. Your Agastache looks fabulous. Did we talk about Verbascum at one time? It's one of my favorite spikies too. Sometimes drama can be a good thing. :)
ReplyDeleteThe spikey flowers are great but the poppy seedheads really catch my eye. This is something I've never been successful at getting here:( Lupines grow great in Maine and up north but not down here. They self seed like crazy in my mother's garden. Very colorful.
ReplyDeleteGreat spiky flowers. I look forward to seeing your round flowers :)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos! I've never had much luck with Liatris. The white lupine is quite striking, and I think my favorite is the 'Sunny Border Blue' Veronica. I really can't wait for spring!
ReplyDeleteHello. Have a wonderful garden. You have to prepare a garden very carefully. I congratulate you. I would get such a garden. Such a person's life is extended in the garden. Greetings. Best regards
ReplyDeleteThis post makes my heart ache for summer. I also love spiky flowers. Now I've got two new ones to add to the garden: Agastache 'Golden Jubilee' and Linaria! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Catherine, what a great idea! I generally overlook these, since I don't find them as appealing when I'm out shopping without a plan (which is generally how I do it lol), but they look especially nice in a mixed bed or border. I need to expand my horizons! I added a few last year, and will look for more. Your white lupine is gorgeous. :)
ReplyDeleteTHe flowers are so pretty. I like the larkspurs and the lupines best. Isn't delphinium same as the larkspur? Or is it a cousin?
ReplyDeleteOh, Catherine. I love your spikey plants, but I know what you're saying about the need for balance, etc. There's always a treat for the eyes over here! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYour 'spikes' are so pretty. You hit on one of my favorite things. My personal favorites are penstemon, liatris & lupine. We don't do well with garden lupines down here, but the natives are already blooming. They will be a riot of color in a couple weeks.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, I just love the variety of flowers you have - the photos are just so pretty. I featured a couple of new plants yesterday - the amaranthus was similar to some of these you have pictured today. I hope all of you are doing well and looking forward to Spring time!
ReplyDeleteGoodness, what gorgeous flowers! Now I really can't wait to be diging in the garden!
ReplyDeleteCatherine, Wow! So much beauty in one post! I love them all and am curious about the yellow day lily...It looks like a real keeper, too! gail
ReplyDeleteI love the spikes, too! I'll swap you lupine seeds. I have magenta, but would love some or your white. And where did you find that Agastache? Love the color.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your nice comments!
ReplyDeleteEdith Hope - Thank you, and your suggestion sounds very pretty. I'll be looking that one up for sure.
Brenda - I usually do plants, but the Larkspur on this post were seeds. I'm not always patient enough to wait for the seeds to grow unless they're annuals.
Lotusleaf - Larkspur is often used as a substitute for Delphinuims, but I think they are in a different family. Larkspurs are annuals here where as Delphiniums are perennials.
Mildred - I think I missed that post, I'll have to go back and see those flowers.
Gail - It's such a pretty daylily, but I don't know anything about it. It's one of the few plants that came with the house that I kept :)
Melanthia - I found it at a nursery around here, but can't remember which one. I've seen seeds for it, and I don't think they are too difficult to grow from seed.
Catherine- love your spikey flowers. I had a whole lot of salvias and other flowers (can't think of what they were now) and it was too many tall spires....needed to create some interest, so I pulled out a lot.
ReplyDeleteYour Greta Blue Lobelia is going to be one that you will see in many places.....tiny seeds and lots of them!
Your hollyhocks are great, a plant the bunnies keep eating and I never get to see grow tall.
my word verification is- shmechly--what a fun word!
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely variety of exclamation points. I love the Penstemon, Agastache, and Liatris. Three of my favorites. Your garden must be a favorite of hummingbirds and pollinators.
Just beautiful Catehrine! I did find a few of my favourites there to. I totally agree thta they are eyacathing in the beds / gittan
ReplyDeleteA perfect description of these plants, Catherine! It'll be nice to see them again, exclaiming their way around our gardens.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting topic and I luv that you included all the !!!!!!!!!!.
ReplyDeleteI'm in luv with your white lupine.
Wish I had a big old wooden fence with hollyhock planted the entire length of the fence.
donna
Very nice! I love purple in the garden!
ReplyDeleteI fiori a spiga piacciono molto anche a me, attraggono l'attenzione! Trovo che potrebbero stare molto bene accompagnati con delle graminacee, ad esempio con la stipa tenuissima o coi miscanthus! Complimenti Catherine, foto come sempre bellissime!
ReplyDeleteI love spikey flowers. Salvias are our salvation here, in deer country. I'm planning more of those this year.
ReplyDeleteI love hollyhocks, too. But, the deer do, too. So, that's one I'll have to forego.
I found you from your comment at Patchwork Gardens. I have gardening friends in Washington so I was tickled to find you.
ReplyDeleteLOVE your masthead photo! We garden for wildlife too but rufous hummers are rare here. I also appreciated your beautiful purple garden blooms. Makes me jealous for rain and places where deer DON'T roam.
Hello Catherine,
ReplyDeleteWow! All of your spiky flowers are so beautiful. I especially love the purple shades of the Veronica varieties. I have never seen white lupine before. We have purple growing here in the spring among the other desert wildflowers, but white is a color not seen here.
Great post Catherine - thank you :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting post Catherine!
ReplyDeletePlants with inflorescence spike have much effect in the border, but I understand your concerns, should be accompanied with other plants that could create around the textures to harmonize everything.
A good suggestion are the grasses, but also as Nigelle or Agrostemma annual ground cover, creating a delicate carpet or by Cerastium, Lysimachia and many others.
A great place ... that image! Amazing!! ;)