The perfect choice for this week's ABC Wednesday letter of P is . . .
A pot of purple pansies.This is the time of year that every gardener looks forward to--getting outside and planting in their gardens. In my Midwest garden, zone 5, the last frost date is May 15, so I have had to restrain myself from buying too many annuals yet, because we could still have a killing frost. Pansies are one of the few annuals that actually prefer cool weather, so they are a great choice when the gardening "itch" hits in spring and you want to plant something for a little color. I took the advice of Carol at MayDreams Gardens several weeks ago and planted a couple pots of pansies to brighten up those cold, rainy days of spring.
While I have had to wait until this week to purchase annuals, like pink and purple petunias, I have been enjoying watching the perennials come up and begin to grow this past month. This early purple primrose is nearing the end of its blooming days, but there are many other plants waiting to take its place in the spotlight.
The heucheras, including "Plum Pudding" and "Palace Purple" survived the harsh winter nicely and are spreading out. Soon other perennials will be blooming, and by mid-June my garden will be awash in purple, with purple nepeta, purple salvias . . .
. . . the purple Russian sage . . .
. . . and my favorite of all, my signature plant, the purple coneflower, which, of course, isn't purple at all, but rather pink, another predominant color in my garden.
In case you're wondering why I am posting my ABC Wednesday post on Tuesday, it's because tomorrow I plan to join a group of fellow bloggers who post book reviews on the first Wednesday of the month. The book I plan to review is light reading, a novel about a private eye, The Last Place, which I purchased at my favorite book store in Phoenix, The Poisoned Pen.
In case you're wondering why I am posting my ABC Wednesday post on Tuesday, it's because tomorrow I plan to join a group of fellow bloggers who post book reviews on the first Wednesday of the month. The book I plan to review is light reading, a novel about a private eye, The Last Place, which I purchased at my favorite book store in Phoenix, The Poisoned Pen.
Enough with the P's--the sun is shining, and it's a perfect day to be in the garden!
For more ABC Wednesday posts, you can visit the ABC Mr. Linky.
Wait, it's only Tuesday! Please don't confuse the Monica; it's too easy ;-) I have all those nice purple blooms, too, or will have later in the season. I love all the shades of purple from pale to dark, from bluey to reddish. I have three primroses blooming, but in pale yellow, bright yellow, and red, no purple. But to make up for it, I have some early-blooming purple bearded iris! :)
ReplyDeletePerfectly picturesque! Purple and white are my color theme for my front porch this summer. Sometimes you just have to go with a purple passion!
ReplyDeleteMonica, Sorry about the confusion:) Maybe the next time P rolls around, I will have some Practically Perfect Pink Phlox to show, thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteMG, Originally I planted lots of purple flowers to accent the pink, which I love. But the purple has taken over, and I've discovered that it goes with any color.
Rose, I'm hoping that you and Beckie might be able to meet me and Carole at the Missouri Botanic Garden. That would be a day trip for you, right? And did we ever talk about me bringing you Japanese anemone??
ReplyDeletePretty, pretty, pretty!
ReplyDeletePurple is my favorite
ReplyDeleteLovely choice of flowers for ABC Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteI love the purple sage with the butterfly, especially.
I love that color purple!! One year I planted blue wave petunias but they weren't blue. They were that gorgeous color of your pansies. Loved them!!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you are marching right throught he alphabet Rose. Your Ps are pretty.
ReplyDeleteIt is a gorgeous day here too. Here I am stuck at work. Whine.
Hey Rose, you have some nice P's;) I'm going to be reckless this year and plant my annuals before the 15th. Can't believe we will still get frosts. Famous last words, right? Have a P for perfect day.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Truly a perfect day in the garden. My kind of day and not one I get so much anymore.
ReplyDeleteYour P's are all primly perfect platitudes of pleasantness. (My lame attempt at P's) Have a good day!
Hi Rose.....I love purple pansies to....I have planted a trough full of them with a touch of white here and there.....they look extremely cheerful as I come out of the shed....
ReplyDeleteIt is tempting to put annuals out....I get itchy fingers this time of year and have to restrain myself. We had a light frost Saturday night.......
Look forward to your book review........
Wonderful photos! Beautiful colors! What a great selection for the "P" day! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteHooray for gardening weather...and purple. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Rose, poor Monica. :-) Your reason for the early post is sound though, I love mysteries and light reading. HA I also love purple flowers of all sorts. Purple pansies in a pot sound delightful.
ReplyDeleteFrances
This is a lovely set of photos. The one that most takes my eye is the purple Russian sage with the contrast of beautiful tiger swallow-tail. The cone flower with the bee is striking. You have another beautiful "P" - pink not purple - in the blossoms on your heading.
ReplyDeletegreat examples for the P-word, all those lovely flowers. Looking forward to see them all soon :-)
ReplyDeletePurple is perfect...I didn't realize until blogging that I liked purple and pink so much! Now I am trying to add some fun contrasting colors like reds and oranges to the mix! I surely would have been one of those little girls who loved My pretty Pony and wore purple and pink all the time if it had been around when we were kids! Gail ps I am going to try to bring a small slip of PPPP for you guys!
ReplyDeletePurple pansies are beautiful...and I love the sage with the butterfly....very pretty post...
ReplyDeleteLove your pretty in purple. Perfect choice.
ReplyDeleteAlways Pleased to visit, Rose! I've been a bit Perplexed of late, Possibly because like many, am Paddling through life ... great Praise for your Posts, always Priceless!
ReplyDeleteMonica, That sounds like fun! Maybe we can talk about it at Spring Fling? I don't think we talked about Japanese anemone, but I'm always up for a passalong:)
ReplyDeleteSheila, Thanks!
Dirt Princess, Mine, too. Love your name:)
Maggie May, That was one of my favorite photos from last summer--the only time I saw that swallowtail.
Flydragon, So many of the "blue" flowers I've purchased actually turn out to be a shade of purple. But that's ok with me.
Lisa, Marching indeed...not sure if I can keep this up:) Sorry about work; they should give you time off for sunshine:)
Marnie, I don't see any frost in the forecast, either. As soon as I get a chance, I'll probably start planting annuals, too.
Tina, A beautiful day today, but unfortunately I've been a little Puny lately with some kind of bug and haven't had the energy to get as much done each day as I'd like to.
Cheryl, I also had some pretty purple and white as well as yellow pansies, but the photos were blurry. I'm hoping we are done with frost!
Sylvia K, Thank you! I told you we were on similar wavelengths this week:)
ReplyDeleteEG, This week has been Perfect for gardening!
Frances, I haven't had time for much reading lately, unless you count blogs and seed packets:)
Granny Smith, Of course, I picked out a couple of my favorite shots of those plants. Purple also seems to attract bees and butterflies to the garden.
Mitt, Yes, I can't wait to see them all in bloom, too.
Gail, My youngest daughter was a My Little Pony collector, and now my younger granddaughter has them all, too. I definitely would have been a fan as a girl! Ooh, I would love a start of the PPPP! Wouldn't that have been perfect for today's post?!
Carol, Thank you--I do love purple in the garden.
Photowannabe, Thank you!
Joey, You're such a good sport, always coming up with the Perfect adjectives for my ABC posts. It takes me a couple of days to even think of a subject!
Touchable purple pansy! Great selection of plants and blossoms - I'm so yearning for a full spring - trying to reclaim my little flower spot from the ferals. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteRose, Positively P-Prolific! You know how I am about Purples and Pinks, Passionate.
ReplyDeleteYour pansies are looking so Pretty and even the Primrose still look Passable.
I am looking forward to our outing Sat. and am Planning on buying some Plants. :)
Beautiful...
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing us around in your garden!
ReplyDeleteThis is Purple heaven!
ReplyDeletePerfect post of pretty purple posies! ;) I love 'Plum Pudding', it's such a great Heucera for the shady areas of my garden.
ReplyDeletePansies are sensational : ). And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your lilacs!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful purple pansies (and the others as well) Purple is one of my favourite colours.
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating.
Dear Rose,
ReplyDeleteAll of your p's are perfect. I do love the sage with the Tiger Swallowtail! I have yet to see one this year...I am looking forward to the butterflies...
Sherry
Beautiful photos! I particularly like the butterfly, which isn't a 'P' at all, but on a purple flower. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a perfect purple, Rose! Very pretty photos. Love your coneflowers as always! I still couldn't find one here :(
ReplyDelete