Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Pretty Purples in a Delayed Spring

Purple reigns in my garden right now:





But as pretty as these beauties are, there's another purple that's caught my eye.  Well, actually the combination of purple - with yellow.  I posted recently about the combination of my pink creeping phlox and muscari:


I thought that was just the perfect combination.  But, the combination of 'Emerald Blue' creeping phlox with yellow tulips is just as sweet.


Or do you like the combination of purple scabiosa and yellow tulips better?


Are you surprised to see tulips in Texas?  I was!

I planted these tulips last year as an annual.  It's too hot here for tulips to return well, if at all.  And I'm too lazy to dig them up and replant them every year.  But surprise!  They not only returned, but they are blooming better this year than last!  Their return is probably due to being in a raised bed, and the cool days and cold nights we've had lately.


I guess that's one thing I should be thankful for due to our delayed spring!


65 comments:

  1. Oh yes, the pale purple and yellow combination is sweet! How wonderful to have Irises blooming! I remember seeing lots of them in New Orleans last year when we were there. Gorgeous!

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    1. Only a few are blooming now. There's something magical about the bearded iris, I think!

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  2. Beautiful, all of it. Spring is slipping right on in here.

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  3. Gorgeous... I am waiting patiently (not so patiently--ha) for our Tulips, Irises and Phlox to bloom... Wonder if we will have ANY spring up here this year????? Hope so!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. It will come eventually! It's been hard to wait this year, though!

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    1. My typing is awful tonight! I love your iris and phlox that is so full of the cute little flowers. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

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    2. I love the phlox. It looks as though not one more bloom could squeeze in it!

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  5. How neat that your tulips came back! Delayed spring indeed! I am just blown away that none of my daffodils or tulips are up yet!!! I walk around outside everyday to see where everything is at! Hopefully the warmer weekend here will encourage some plants to come on out! Yellow and blues/purples are some of my favorite color combinations! So striking in your garden!

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    1. I was thrilled to see the tulips - and I hope they come back every year, but I doubt it, or at least will slowly fade. :( But, I'll enjoy them this year!

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  6. Gorgeous as always! I can't believe that you have bearded iris already! Ours don't bloom for a couple of months yet.

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    1. I was surprised that the purple bearded irises were blooming. These usually bloom along with some others, but those haven't even started thinking about blooming yet! Odd year!

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  7. I like the creeping combinations! My wife saw them and wondered why our garden doesn't look like that.

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  8. Purple and yellow are great together.... I don't have buds are mine iris' I mean....but I am glad to see someone does

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    1. I love irises - some are blooming now, some will bloom later. I really do hope to add a lot more to my garden at some point.

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  9. Hi Holley, love the pale lavender and yellow, very pretty together. The dark purple iris a beauty, too. We don't have many tulips here either, even though this is the right climate for them. I'm too lazy to replant them every year too, but I have a few that do come back every year. I wish I knew what they were because then I would plant more of them. I liked your earlier post and the garden changes, too.

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    1. Oh, Karen, if I were in the right climate, I would grow tons of tulips! I've always loved them, and was so unhappy as a new gardener when I found out Texas was not the right climate for them!

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  10. *sigh*

    Meanwhile, some of us are still waiting for the snow to melt and the temperatures to inch their way above freezing - night AND day...

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    1. It will come. But, this year has really tried our patience!

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  11. Delayed spring, yep I think we definitely are having some of that over here, delayed and non-existent! The weather right now is far worse than what we had in January.
    Your irises are lovely, mine has no sign of flower buds, just a whole lot of leaves. I like your colour combinations, all the blue and purples are very pretty. I really need more blues in my garden.

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    1. I need more blues, too! It's one color that seems to go with everything in the garden!

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  12. Love the Iris, one of my very favorite blooms. Everything is really coming up well for you. I think we are in our last cold spell now but still a ways yet for blooms on anything.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. I'm hoping, too, that this past week we had the last cold spell for the year. Come on, spring!

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  13. I love all your purples Holley, and both combinations are superb. That tulip has turned out to be a good performer for your area and definite keepers!

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    1. I'm very happy with it! I hope I kept the tag - if I can find it, I'll definitely be getting more of them!

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  14. Love the purples and the yellow combos. How wonderful that the tulip came back for you and better than ever.

    Have a lovely Easter ~ FlowerLady

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    1. It's amazing, isn't it? I have tried tulips before, but have learned that they are only annuals here (usually!).

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  15. Tulips just don't return well up north here either. They lose vigor, and many are eaten by voles, deer and rabbits. So to have a nice tulip display, I have treated them as annuals too. How nice that you have some returning.

    Those first two purple irises look like grape candy!

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    1. I wonder where tulips do well! I always assumed it was because we don't get enough cold. Perhaps you get too much? They must be picky little bulbs!

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  16. Sometimes something just works out, like the tulips.

    Thanks for coming by my blog. Not only do violas tolerate the cold better than big pansies, they last longer into the summer before they croak from the heat. When they reseed it's another bonus.

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    1. I will definitely try violas next year! If I could get them to reseed, I would be thrilled!

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  17. Those irises are truly luscious, and of course phlox are very hard to resist. The tulips are lovely, glad they succeeded for you.

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    1. Phlox are becoming very hard for me to resist. I have now added loads more, and wish I would have bought twice as many! Ah, well, maybe next year I'll fall in love with something else! :)

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  18. How cheerful are those flowers right now!! I'm well in need of a bit of cheering up. We are stuck in a time delay here!!
    For the opposite reasons I cant grow tulips in the borders here, too wet! I have to settle for growing them in containers. This will be their 2nd year and if I've looked after them properly - they should flower. So far I've only got foliage!!
    Nice combo Phlox and Muscari. I've a few phlox and only just planted a few muscari bulbs last autumn. I will keep this combo in mind. Thank you for inspiring me!

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    1. I've often thought about growing tulips in pots, but I am not a very good container gardener. Good luck with yours! New foliage on them sounds promising!

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  19. I wish I was seeing those purple irises outside. There are some green shoots so that makes me hopeful.

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    1. I really don't know why these are blooming! The rest of the irises that usually bloom along with them are not anywhere near blooming! I guess they were fooled by those few warm days we had!

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  20. I think all the combinations are beautiful!! You just never know what Mother Nature is going to give you!

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  21. What a great surprise in those tulips...I was surprised when I got home today and saw a bit of purple in my garden...I will get some pics to show off the new blooms finally springing into my garden.

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    1. I'm so glad you're getting some blooms! I know you've had a very long, white winter!

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  22. Tulips rarely return in their glory for me. Some do repeat with diminishing size and poor color for a few years, then finally pass away. But I have never planted them in a raised bed where their bulbs would be kept cooler over winter. Great idea, even if you weren't thinking of it! Also, I wonder if the particular species may be more heat tolerant?

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    1. I do wonder if these were not supposed to be more heat tolerant, but like yours, they may diminish eventually. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though, that they will make another appearance next year!

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  23. Holley, the purple color I feel like very warm color. So my purple flowers warm the bed or any corner of my garden.
    I love your photo of yellow tulip and purple phlox!

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    1. I think purple goes with every flower color - it's one of my favorite colors to just stick in the garden. Plus, I just love the color purple! :)

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  24. Such a lovely color! Great pictures, Holley! Happy Easter!

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  25. I love the muscari phlox combo. I need to find a place to add that to my garden.

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    1. Yes, that was an easy one, and hopefully I'll remember it for other places in my own garden!

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  26. Isn't it nice that the tulips returned for a bonus appearance. It is still cold here and so it is nice to see pictures of creeping phlox and other spring favourites. Have a great Easter Holley!

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    1. This spring has actually been good for spring bloomers. Usually my summer bloomers begin blooming almost as early as the spring bloomers, but this year, the summer bloomers have had to wait! Happy Easter!

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  27. Gorgeous blooms. I can hardly wait for spring blooms. Spring has been delayed here also. Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

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    1. Surely spring will show up this year at some time, won't it? I think we're all beginning to wonder!

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  28. Wow,tulips in Texas! I'd given them up here in SoCal - they always seem to get knocked out by the Santa Ana winds that crop up at precisely the wrong time and, with the exception of a couple of small species tulips, I've never seen them come back. Maybe I'll have to reconsider my tulip ban next year.

    P.S. Yellow tulips look good with everything.

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    1. "tulip ban" :) Yes, I've had one of those for years, too. I think that's why I was so shocked these came back - I was truly expecting them to be an annual, and to just enjoy their bright blooms last year. Of course, I am enjoying their blooms even more this year precisely because I didn't expect them!

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  29. Beautiful! I planted tulips not too long ago (first time ever) and they are now starting to show!!! So exciting! Bulbs are really fascinating. Your Irises are lovely. I also have Irises, but I can't get them to bloom (?)

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    1. If they are new irises, then perhaps you planted them too deeply? Irises like to be planted very shallowly. If they are older irises, maybe they need to be divided, or don't have enough sun. Also, if they're newly planted, it just may take them a year or so to bloom. I hope it's the last one, and that your irises bloom beautifully for you this year! :)

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  30. The tulips with blue flowers fading into the background remind me of spring bluebells in the UK.

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    1. The English bluebells are so beautiful, I even planted some this year. I hope they bloom for me!

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  31. I love your pretty purples. Spring is definitely delayed by about two to three weeks. My iris are now just getting new foliage and blooms are not in sight but the crocus are blooming and the viburnum are getting ready..finally!

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    1. It's so very different than last year's early spring! Not sure which one I like the best - both have their pluses, and their minuses. But it has been hard to wait this year!

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  32. Your photos just reminded me that I have irises that will hopefully bloom this spring (fingers crossed). I'm so excited for spring to come! That soft yellow is the perfect contrast to the purple.

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    1. I hope your irises put on a beautiful show for you! :)

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