Wednesday, July 9, 2008

ABC Wednesday: Y is for Yellow

Yellow has never been one of my favorite colors. Until I was forty, I don't think I owned an article of yellow clothing. Tastes change, though, and now I have several yellow shirts and blouses, but that may be because yellow brightens rather--ahem--tired-looking skin and hair.

I'm the same way in the garden. Pink and purple are my preferred colors--so peaceful and soothing. But yellow flowers have been slowly creeping into the garden, and not just as an accent.

There are the borders of bright orangey-yellow Stella d'Oro daylilies, of course. But I planted them primarily for their foliage, low maintenance, and rapid growth, not their bright blossoms. I actually prefer this more lemony yellow of a stray/mutant daylily in the clump of Stellas.

The delicate flowers of a "Moonbeam" coreopsis add a splash of lemon yellow to a grouping of boulders near the driveway.

This year, though, I went much brighter in my roadside flower bed. When I saw these "Oranges and Lemons" ("Say the bells of St. Clement's") gaillardia in a catalog, I was smitten by them and created a new space just for them. The florets are a brighter orange than they appear here, but they have yellow tips with yellow centers.

Yellow has even crept into my containers. Lantana has become a new favorite accent plant of mine. Its delicate flowers belie its tough nature--it is one annual that thrives in the heat and humidity of an Illinois summer.


There's nothing subtle about this yellow! The plumes of celosia add a vertical element here in two containers of "hot" colors--orange and yellow.

Yellow can be soothing, too, as seen in these pale yellow supertunias.


Or in these Fusion impatiens.


There are also some yellow superbells (calibrachoa) in this container, but they didn't want to cooperate with me by blooming today. Neither did the yellow gazanias in another container. But my favorite annual purchase this year was more than willing to pose for a photo:



A begonia called simply "Illumination." When I saw this beauty in a local plant center, I knew I had to have it. It has bloomed consistently since the day I bought it six weeks ago. This is one tag I am definitely going to save, so that I can buy it again next year. Or, if someone can tell me how to propagate it to save it over the winter, I would love to know how.

Yellow is the color of sunshine and happiness. It makes my garden smile.


For more ABC Wednesday posts, go to Mrs. Nesbitts Place.

31 comments:

  1. Hi Rose......yellow is the sunshine in our garden......when days are dull, it says, hey look at me, I will cheer you up. My little grandson loves yellow,,,,it reflects his bright and colourful personality.

    I love the begonia, it is beautiful.
    I think you may possibly take leaf cuttings from begonias....I think you could get an awful lot from that one plant and keep them indoors over winter. It would be worth a try.

    Lantana is beautiful, I have always loved it. With out wet summers, it never does well here, even in containers. I love it when we go to Spain and you see them planted everywhere.

    A lovely cheerful post, on a dull day and torrential rain expected....a typical British summer!!!

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  2. 'Lelyow', as my littlest granddaughter says does brighten aor gardens. And your yellows are pretty. I don't remember you getting the begonia, buy I love it. we will have to do some reading to see how to keep it. I'll bet your Mom would know.

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  3. Love all of these gorgeous flowers! I thought my begonias had died away during the winter but lo and behold they came back in a fury this year. Didn't do a thing but just let the seeds drop and nature took over. :D

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  4. Hi Rose....Appparently you can take leaf cutting from SOME begonias.....take a firm healthy leaf with short stem....put in a small pot of soil that has grit added.....make sure the small stem and some of the leaf are covered by soil.... Water when needed (I would not think too often in the case of begonias) and keep your fingers crossed....

    OR after the end of the growing seasons you can lift the tubers, clean them, and store in sand and replant next summer.....

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  5. Just looking at all your yellows makes me realize I need some more yellow in my garden. I love yellow and somehow it has snuck out of my garden except in a few places.

    Begoinias are one of my favorites. If you have luck overwintering your begonia you will have to let me know how you do it. Cheryl has given you the best bets on how to keep them but Inever have luck. However I am not a good house plant keeper.

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  6. Yellow is my favorite color in the garden and you have some charmers.

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  7. Your Stella Dora's are lovely...mine are just starting....I am just that far north of you!
    Missed you guys last week! I like your choice.....they do get difficult at the end don't they?
    Mine is up here and here.

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  8. Rose,

    As the French say "we are women of a certain age"! Now if I could say that in French!

    Your yellow flowers are lovely and this post has me thinking, simliar to Lisa that I could use some yellow early blooms!

    I have a few Stella and they do brighten a spot but my favorite yellow Daylily is Hyperion. It is a good yellow, a lemom yellow, and has fragrance! It's blooming right now in my garden. I do recommend it!

    A new meme! How exciting!

    Gail

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  9. Cheryl, Thanks for the tips on propagating the begonias. I will try that, and I may try to save the whole plant over the winter if possible.
    We had torrential rains last night, but the sun is shining today. Hope you see some yellow sunshine soon:)

    Beckie, You were with me when I bought the yellow begonia, LOL. But then we bought so many plants, it's understandable you don't remember that one:) Thanks for the suggestion--I'm sure Mom would know how to keep it.

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  10. Leslie, I didn't know begonias might re-seed themselves! I don't know if I'd be that lucky, though. I liked your Y post, too.

    Lisa, I didn't realize how much yellow I did have until I started taking photos. My containers are usually pink and purple, too. I'll let you know how the begonia holds up; I'm not great at keeping things over the winter, either.

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  11. Instead of lovely Yellow flowers such as you show, over at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo, "Louis" and his 'Editor' are Yelling at each other, both in the text and in the comments...

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  12. Tina, Every garden needs some yellow!

    Helena, Thanks for stopping by; I liked your yellow blossoming tree, too.

    Neva, I just do the ABC's occasionally--when I remember and when I can think of something!

    Thanks, Andrea!

    Gail,I do like the lighter yellow daylilies. But the Stellas keep growing; if I don't pass some of them along, they may take over more of my garden!
    I only do this meme once in awhile--when it fits something I want to write about anyway. I like the "Wordless Wednesdays," too, but just haven't had a wonderful photo to use yet:)

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  13. Oh I love yellow! It is a bright and cheerful colour. Your plants just shine with it. Your lantana is beautiful and your begonia...! I also have a yellow begonia and a pink one on my front porch. They like shade, so do well there.
    Leaf cuttings as cheryl suggested might work. I wonder if you could overwinter the rhizomes (or corms or roots)? I did that with my dahlias and it worked!
    Good luck!

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  14. Awwwwwwwwww! Wonderful! I will be posting some pics of my garden soon! Well.....soon as it's sorted!

    Dxx

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  15. Wow...all of your yellow flowers are just beautiful!!!! I enjoyed the look...thanks.

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  16. Rose,

    Thanks for the rain...we had over an inch!

    Gail

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  17. Dear Rose,
    Your yellow flowers are so very pretty. I also grow many of the same ones you do. I like the brightness of yellow in the garden on a cloudy day.
    Squash blooms are my favorite yellows! I think they are very pretty and I know food for the table soon! I have read recipes for stuffed squash blooms. I am thinking about trying it.
    Maybe next ABC Wednesday I will join in. It looks to be so very fun.
    I could post a picture of the Zebra Swallowtail!
    The Japanese Beetles do so much damage. Hope you are able to get rid of them. I wonder who eats them??
    Sherry

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  18. Wendy, I've never had many begonias before, but I thought this one was beautiful. I'm going to try some of the suggestions for keeping it.

    Denise, I'll have to check out your garden. Notice I do a lot of close-ups and crop out the weeds:)

    Darlene, Thanks for stopping by!

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  19. Gail, So glad you got some rain!

    Sherry, I like the look of squash blossoms, too. I've seen recipes for them, but have never tried them, either. I am going to check out the butterfly I saw yesterday or I may have to check out all your photos to see what kind it was:)
    As far as I know there is nothing that feeds on Japanese beetles--but they're not natives here, so that's probably why.

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  20. Love the Oranges & Lemons! The begonia is gorgeous too.

    I read that it is a good idea to wear yellow when you go for a job interview. Something about the color makes a favorable impression. LOL, I have a dozen yellow blouses.

    Your flowers are beautiful.
    Marnie

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  21. Oh yes Rose, yellow is the colour of sunshine and happiness! Thanks for brightening my day :)

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  22. I love all of your sunny yellow flowers! Pink and purple with some yellow thrown in must be my very favourite combination of garden colours :)

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  23. I love your yellow flowers, but I particularly like the supertunias. I have yellow day lilies, but I confess that my favourite yellow flower is Lysimachia Punctata. It is scorned by many, I know, but I have a clump in my border and I so look forward to its flowers, every year. It's easy to look after, bright and long-lasting.

    Lovely photos on your site!

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  24. Sorry, back again. I'm not sure whether you picked up any awards you fancied from those displayed on my recent royal post? You are on my Favourite Bloggers list, in my sidebar, towards the bottom of the page. I'm not sure whether you realised that you were supposed to pick up awards from my place, because you happened to call in on me, before I managed to come over with the invitation.

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  25. Rose !!! Did you miss my post for you and Gail on the monarda girl ?
    Go back and see it woman ! haha
    Joy : )

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  26. Hi Rose, I was entranced by your exquisite yellows in your garden. I bought a new yellow skirt, sweater and flats this year, so happy to hear it they will brighten my skin! LOL Your begonia is so lovely, I always look at them in the nurseries, but don't know how to grow them. Do they need shade when outdoors? I might have to grab one next time, the flowers are so romantic looking. Yellow is the color in my garden that we need more of too, I have been getting more yellow daylilies and yellow oriental lilies would be good about now too, we already have lots of pink with the Stargazers. Thanks for all these great ideas.

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  27. Marnie, I am very pleased with the gaillardia--they are blooming their heads off!

    Suburbia, Glad you enjoyed the flowers. You had a beauty on your blog, too. Did anyone ever identify it?

    Amy, I've found that a little yellow does look good with pink and purple. It makes things "pop," as the designers like to say.

    Mean Mom, anything that blooms a long time and doesn't require much care is a hit with me!
    Yes, I did understand about the awards; thank you so much--you're sweet to share them with everyone. I do have one of them already, I may post one of the others later. I'm so new to your blog, I felt guilty taking anything (especially when I didn't get you a real birthday present:)

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  28. Joy, I DID miss that one! That's what happens when I take one day off from blogging. Thanks for letting me know--I just came back from visiting you.

    Frances, you make me feel good any time I can give you a tip:) The begonia is in shade but can take a little sun. This one has performed better than any begonia I've ever had. I kept looking at the label for a more specific name, but it just said it was a hybrid. It looks somewhat similar to a dragonwing begonia.

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  29. Yellow isn't my favorite color, but I've found it to be so useful for combining with other colors, especially if it's a pale, lemon yellow. All your yellows are quite pretty, but I do prefer your mutant Daylily to the color of the Stellas.

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