Flowery exclamation points in the garden.

I think anyone that has gardened for some time learns how important different shapes of flowers are in the garden. Something needs to catch your attention every so often across a sea of leaves and flowers, and I find the spiky shaped flowers do that for me. Spiky shaped flowers are actually clusters of many flowers along a stem. To me they are the exclamation points in the garden, one or two here and there can really add some excitement. Too many together can be a little overwhelming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.