Color Essay #8: Pretty in Pink

Pink can be dramatic...

and it can be subtle.

Dahlia in the field at Butt's Berry and Flower Farm, Rockwood Ontario.

It ranges in intensity from almost red to...

Buckets of lilies at the Kingston Farmer's Market.

soft pastel shades.

Farmer's Market flowers gathered into a white pitcher

Pink can stand all on its own.... 

The Garnet Garden, Oakville, Ontario. (see the garden here)

and it plays well with others.

Have you ever noticed someone at a garden center or nursery, standing in line with an odd or unusual purchase?

I remember seeing this well dressed couple, with a cart filled with rhododendrons and azaleas in full bloom, waiting to complete their purchase at the sales counter. I swear that they must have strolled down the nursery isle and randomly selected bushes that just happened to catch their eye, rather like they might have done if they were shopping for shoes or clothing. I am sure that their purchase decision was fueled primarily by the visual appeal of the bushes in full flower. Rhododendrons and azalea are spectacularly beautiful, after all! 

The azaleas, in particular, would be a challange to grow sucessfully here in Ontario. Our winters are harsh and our summers are hot and dry. Though I have not had great success with rhododendrons myself and am therefore no expert, I at least know from my failings, that rhododendrons need soil amendments to prosper. The fact that there was nothing in the cart, but the bushes themselves, lead me to think that the happy couple were complete novices about to make a potentially expensive mistake.

Not only novices fall prey to the allure of a flower in bloom. I have come home from the nursery, on more then one occasion, with an impulse purchase having been enticed by the arresting face of some winsome blossom who called out to me, "Buy me, I am so pretty!" 

I have been burned by these beauties so many times however, that I am a bit more cautious these days. I consult plant tags and consider growing conditions. If for instance, the plant needs lots of moisture, I give it a pass, no matter how attractive it is. 

I am also am more than little wary of unknown plants that could turn into nasty, hard-to-eradicate, garden invader. When in doubt, I consult one of the nursery personnel or pass altogether, until I have checked out a plant's references.

In today's post I have gathered pretty pink flowers from my own garden and elsewhere as noted, beautiful temptresses all.

The first pink flowers in my garden are bleeding hearts. (Dicentra spectabilis)

Another early summer beauty. Columbine (Clementine "Rose" Aquilegia)

Hollyhocks in the Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden in Norval, Ontario (see the garden here)

Bee Balm (Monarda 'Marshall's Delight') One of my favorite Bee Balms in my 

garden is this pretty pink variety.

Perennial Sweet Pea or Everlasting Sweet Pea (L. latifolius)

Everyone knows annual sweet peas. Well, this is the perennial version. I used to have it in my first ever garden and definitely want to add it to my current garden. 

Now, to be honest, perennial sweet pea can get a bit messy looking, and so it is a good idea to watch it carefully in spring and make sure that it is neatly restrained by its supporting trellis. Like the annual flower, it likes full sun. Unlike its annual cousin, it does not have a scent. I have read that it can self seed prolifically, but I have never had a problem with it. 

Lavatera in a Georgetown, Ontario garden (see the garden here)

My Mum used to grow this old fashioned annual. Last summer, I saw it growing in a private garden in the nearby Georgetown, and I was reminded just how pretty it is.  A cousin to Hibiscus and Hollyhocks, Lavatera has dark green foliage, and large blooms, that put on a great show all summer.

This is one of my prettiest daylilies.

(Papaver orientale)

I already have red oriental poppies, but I like these even better. I saw this soft pink variety at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and think that they are stunning.

Oriental Lilies in my front garden.

A Rose of Sharon helps to keep pink going all summer long in this private garden in Kingston, Ontario.

Deep pink sedum flowers in my back garden.

In early fall, this Burning Bush initially became hot pink in color.

This is the third of my Stylish Blogger Award posts. This one goes out with my thanks to the blog Elly's Tuin. Elly gardens in the Netherlands, and though I am only just getting to know her, I think that she is someone who appreciates the soft beauty of the color pink.