I was never able to measure up in the ’80s when big hair was in.
I have baby fine, straight hair. All my exertions with perms, hot hair dryers, roller brushes and sprays only emphasized my genetic shortcomings when it came to creating big hair.
Fortunately, I don’t have to rely on my shallow gene pool to create an abundant look in the garden. All I need is a good deal of compost, flowers and patience.
Sometimes though, my garden seems to be a black hole. I can’t tell you how many truckloads of compost I had added to this hardpan Maryland clay soil. As for the flowers, I keep planting and planting to achieve the riotous abundant look I adore in the cottage garden magazines and books.
Don’t get me wrong. The plants grow just fine, but there seems to be an endless amount of room for more shoving in of more plants.
The problem is that it’s expensive to buy perennials in huge quantities, so I also try to start from seed, sometimes indoors and sometimes just direct seeding. And I don’t know what will bloom when around here until I live with it for a while. That means that I have to live with a flower for at least a year, maybe two, until I really get a sense of its habits and behaviors. The I have to engage in quite a lot of moving things about.
Still…I think it’s worth it.
Lavender, lamb’s ear and astilbe border
See here. I didn’t mind weeding around the lavender in the cool hours this morning. The scent is glorious. And I rather think it looks as if I had a plan when I put the lavender, astilbe and lamb’s ear together. In truth, I had no idea they would bloom at the same time. It was just serendipity.
You would never know that this very bed used to be a swampy low spot in the yard that collected water after rains. Copious amounts of compost and deep digging solved that problem.
Thyme, pink vinca, rose campion and ice plant
And here. Although I complain about the rose campion, I do think it looks rather at home with the other pink flowers in this border. Serendipity again.
Orange coneflower, red hot poker and ?? (Sheesh, help me with this purple flower someone )
How about the orange cone flower and red hot poker? When I dragged the cone flower home from my local garden center I had no idea where I planned to put it. But the bald spot behind this red hot poker was just crying for a plant. I had no idea they would bloom together.
(By the way, I started these little purple jobs from seed last year. I have purple and white flowers like this EVERYWHERE. I cannot find the seed package. Please, someone enlighten me. I’m quite sure it’s a hideously common flower, so just stop laughing and kindly post me a comment or send me an email with the name.)
So tomorrow I head out to the garden center once again in my quest for the abundant look. Frankly, it’s much more satisfying that all that time dinking around with my hair “back in the day.”
June 13th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
The blue flowers look like Centaurea cyanus, cornflowers or bachelor buttons. They do self sow. By the way, I have the white form of rose campion, if you’re interested, I can save you seeds.
June 13th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
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June 13th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Not sure what that flower is. I feel like I recall it, but like all things in men-o-pause, it escapes me like smoke just when I think I have a firm grasp on it! You have a good weekend.
Brenda
June 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
The blue flowers look like bachelor buttons to me. Have you considered propagating perennials from cuttings? I did 50 perennials for a Master Gardner project one time. Lavender, lamb’s ears, penstamen all do well from cuttings as well as many others.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
The blue flowers are definitely cornflower or bachelor’s buttons as they are commonly known. I love your blog. I just started my own blog last month.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I love the abundant look, too. It’s nice when flowers cooperate and spread around “just enough” to fill in the blank spaces. But sometimes it is hard to achieve the “big hair look” without one particular flower getting a bit out of control. Your little vignettes look great.
June 14th, 2008 at 6:12 am
I love the exuberant cottage style in April when our temperatures are in the 70s. But now that they are in the 90s and 100s I find it suffocating. Not that it’s really an issue here as all the bachelor buttons, larkspur, and other cottage annuals went to seed over a month ago.
Nice to see the season still young in your garden. (But wait. Weren’t you having a 100 degree days last week, too?)
June 14th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Hahahaha! That was a great post. Your pictures are wonderful and don’t feel bad, the 80′s hair thing was terrible anyway. At least there aren’t any pictures of you somewhere with some crazy perm, tons of mousse or hairspray!
June 15th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Robin, I have the same struggle with big hair. Mine is baby fine and thin and I tried to have big hair back then, but you could always see through it! LOL! Perms, mousse, hairspray – I spend a fortune for nothing.
I like the serendipity in your garden. I have rock hard clay also and my garden is young. Still trying to fill in large spaces, little by little. My plans for flower shopping have been thwarted once again! No rain!
June 15th, 2008 at 11:26 am
What beautiful gardens you have! I`m so glad I fell upon your blog. I will definately be back to visit
tea
xo
June 15th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Whoo boy did I have that big hair in the 1980s. I’m still hunting down and destroying photographs of my self from those Reagan years.
Never yet did get that abundant look in the garden though. This lot is much smaller so I have much higher hopes of achieving it.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:25 am
So very nice. I think my garden is full although I bought two more Echinaceas last weekend. How’s the Examiner thing going?~~Dee
June 16th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Isn’t is wonderful when things bloom at the same time? I had a happy accident with light purple/white Japanese irises, oriental poppy ‘Victoria Louise’ and a pink lupine! They are backed by….bachelor’s buttons!
June 16th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I’m sure I have some pics of you with 80′s hair… hmm..
June 19th, 2008 at 11:04 am
I have the same kind of hair. I finally gave up & decided to wear my hair straight. Good thing fashion caught up with me.
I always thought Astilbe, Lavender & Lamb’s Ears weren’t supposed to grow together. (The Astilbe would fry or the others would rot.) I’m impressed that you got them to grow so well together. My garden has moved beyond abundant into the realm of exuberant & in need of restraint.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
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August 8th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
+100. Respect.