Colour Me Purple

I’ve been saving up pictures of the purple flowers in the garden to show you. The first thing to bloom is the Rosemary. It’s always ready to go when the Mason Bees are hatching out of their cocoons. More on Rosemary in another post, we’ve been giving her a much needed dose of TLC.

Then we have petunias and pansies in our boxes and hanging planters.

There was one lone purple tulip. The picture doesn’t show purple very well, but it was.

My violets put on a good show this year. They grow in a shady place along with the white snowdrop plant I showed you a while ago.

I planted a few new lavender plants this year. One is yellow, the other two are purple. I also have a white and a pink lavender that are working up to their blooming time.  One of the new ones is a Topiary Lavender plant to replace one that I had to take out last fall. It had grown to an amazing 6’ high, but over a number of years, branches kept drying and breaking off, so finally it had to go. Hopefully the new one will grow quickly and fill in the space left behind.

This lavender has been a good one for the past few years and is early to bloom.

Another plant if you have the room and want to attract bees, is comfrey. Some people say it’s a weed and spreads, but it is an herb and does contain many useful nutrients. A bit more info here to see just how beneficial this herb actually is.  We’ve had the same patch growing in a corner for several years and it’s very well contained. If you find they are travelling you can easily pull them out and get them back to a smaller growing space.

The bees love this plant and at the end of the season you can chop it down and put it in the compost and it will add some wonderful nutrition to the compost. Secret of good compost, keep turning it. Don’t you just love the pollen sacks on this bumble bees legs.

Our Ms. Kim Lilac is almost done now, but the fragrance from this reliable plant can be enjoyed from across the yard. It’s a small variety of Lilac that is perfect for small spaces. It only grows to about 5’. It’s not that yet and we’ve had it for about 4 or 5 years. Full of blooms every year and a fragrance that surpasses the size of the plant.

I trim it into a smaller shrub each year and when it blooms the following year, the blooms can be found from the ground to the top and all around. It’s a wonderfully dependable plant.

My perennial geraniums are in full bloom. This one is first to bloom.

This one follows soon after.

A bit of a stretch, but the Kale has purple veins.. ;o~ This type of Kale is very mild compared to the curly kale you find in the grocery stores. If you’ve been put off by what is sometimes a bitter taste, give this variety a try. It’s called Russian Red Kale. Easy easy easy to grow and don’t forget it’s also a good fall crop if your weather allows for that.

And lastly….I can’t forget my purple gardening crocs. Best shoes for the garden. Easy off and on…. maybe I need some purple flowers on the tops ?????  The dahlias are coming along nicely and there is purple there to. No pictures for a while yet, but stay tuned.