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Purple Picotee Pelargonium (Geranium)

I've been on a strange pink kick recently.  Not that I've chosen to wear pink, but I have been noticing it and loving it lately.  I've been planting a large perennial bed at house this year, and nearly everything I've chosen to go in it is a certain pink.  Not a pale, fragile pink, but more of a lipstick (another thing I never wear) pink.

Potentilla

Geranium

I love pink paired with colors that sort of cut through the sweetness like navy or saddle brown.  Maybe with I could actually work pink into my wardrobe if I could tone it down with more drab items.

I recently did a Girl's Day Out Picnic over at kitchendaily.com inspired by pink, specifically by a beautiful flowered vintage table cloth I've had for years.  Check it out if you get the chance.  I'm hoping to use these ideas with my real life girlfriends some day soon.

 

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On an only marginally related note (since I've shown two geraniums above)-- did you know that you could take geraniums inside in the winter and either place in a pot near a sunny window, or remove all dirt from the roots and store them in a paper bag in your basement?  I'm trying to buy as few annuals as possible, and was pleased to find out this fact recently after buying the bottom annuals on sale.  I may try that out this year.  There is an interesting thread on the topic right here.

I've been spending a lot of time in the garden this year.  We had a few pretty large products that we undertook which are now mostly finished.  It's been fun for the past few weeks just to nurse those projects along and see what happens.  In the past, I've always been a fickle gardener, quick to plant a few items in the spring in pots, or hanging baskets, whatever, but lacking the attention span to see it through.  Often I didn't even read the planting instructions in my haste, which as you would imagine, yielded pretty spotty results. 

This year I've been hanging in there a little better.  I'm still struggling a bit with two hanging baskets I bought which require a little too much water for my taste.  But, I've been watching, reevaluating, even moving a few plants to spots that suit them better.

One positive part, is that I've begun to find beauty I never noticed before.  I needed to deadhead my bee balm today, and while I was clipping off the spent flower heads, I noticed they were every bit as beautiful as the showy flowers that preceded them.  And the oregano blossoms which made the plant look plain messy looked pretty nice in the squat crock I picked up last summer at the thrift store.  Smelled pretty good to boot.