Warning: the following images may cause seizures; viewer discretion is advised
My only explanation is that I threw a bunch of things together in a grand crap-shoot of an experiment--really had no clue what would live or die, or what would seed where and eat everybody else, or what color some of these plants were even supposed to be and when they would bloom, etc. Can't recommend the method
Here is the problem area--or, the worst problem area, I should say because it's not like this is the only one.
This was May 2nd
not too bad from this angle, but you can see the various pink things competing with each other.
I don't mind this too much. The darker lavender pink in the middle is a perennial verbena that wanders everywhere and starts blooming early and goes all summer 'til frost and I really do like the plant. It does look better to me the other direction by a black rock and silver leaved plants (below). The light pink blob lower right is aethionema and only blooms in the spring and the lavender fleabane in the upper left is also a once blooming early spring thing. Creeping thyme lower left is yet another pink and is just starting up there in the pic and starts to get my pink meter pegged. The monster penstemon in the upper left is a garish hot pink and pushes me over the edge. Then, there are some dianthus--the green cushion blobs in the center there--that bloom red and red/white and a yellow heterotheca and a few more hot pinks and my head explodes
Here is the other direction
That big sandstone actually started out more of a light yellow with pink swirls and has taken on a distinctly reddish-orange patina and I'm not really fond of all the pink stuff with it.
Here is the penstemon May 12, before it got all storm smashed and a view from the street (this is a street corner garden and please ignore the projects in the background)
I keep it, even though I hate the color, because it is such a righteous plant and the hummers love it (even if I can't catch a good one to prove it)
so, now with the other hot pinks and red and yellow and some orange--ack! This is a color disaster:
It will subside soon, and the agastaches and salvias will take over, but I don't really want to see this again next year.
Suggestions?
The penstemon should get the axe? I don't think I can successfully extract it from it's rock den with enough roots to relocate it, plus, I don't really have anywhere else I think I need a giant hot pink hummer station. I am just loathe to kill it, but it might be what I need to do.
The dianthus I can probably relocate without killing.
I don't mind the red with the erodium, even though it is really not a match
and the red doesn't bother me with the white and blue thing either--but it does bother me with all the pinks.
I have thought about eradicating all the pinks from around that sandstone...but that's kind of an overwhelming garden re-do and I haven't been able to embrace that idea fully. And there is a special daphne there that I can't move, so I'd have to say all pinks except the daphne
and the lewisia that is both orange and pink (?proving that orange and pink can coexist)
The verbena I rather like with this dianthus and for the long show, but perhaps it and the red should go?
please, tell me what you think!
aside from painting the rock--or moving it--I am open to all suggestions
