The annual flower beds at the Spokane LDS Temple are full of cheerful color right now. Above is one of the Front Door Beds featuring 'King Tut' papyrus at back with 'Victoria' salvia, 'Double Deep Salmon Profusion' zinnias, 'Royale Silverdust Superbena' verbena, and 'Orchid Charm Supertunia' petunias, plus a chartreuse sun-tolerant coleus and black petunia whose names I have forgotten.
A closer look at the bed reveals that the black petunias are really deepest burgundy. It felt daring to include a black flower in this bed - would it be dark and depressing? - but it has acted as a nice foil for the other bright colors in the mix.
This year I used plenty of chartreuse 'Margeurite' and 'Blackie' sweet potato vines for season-long color without any deadheading. The Spiral Bed above, named for the spiral topiary juniper shrub in the corner, includes more of the salvia, zinnias and petunias from the nearby Front Door Bed.
It's always interesting to watch the color schemes change through the season as different plants reach peak bloom or take a break. Earlier in the season the 'Magenta Arrow' snapdragons added a lot of deep pink to these areas, but in the heat the snaps are taking a bit of a rest. Now there is a peach, chartreuse and violet color scheme for the area.
The 'King Tut' papyri in the South Arc bed have exceeded expectations this year and might reach six feet tall by the end of the season. Violet 'Royal Velvet Supertunia' petunias, 'Double Cherry Profusion' zinnias, 'Double Deep Salmon Profusion' zinnias, 'Margeurite' sweet potato vine, and 'Tango Dark Red' geraniums fill the base of the bed.
Sometimes Spokane summers aren't warm enough to elicit strong growth from heat-loving zinnias, but the warmer than usual growing season this year has led to especially vigorous zinnias.
A final shot from the Northwest Corner bed catches more happy zinnias along with verbena, snapdragons, licorice vine, salvia, and celosia. This week I finalized planting plans for 2017 and sent my list of requests to Appleway Greenhouse so they can order seeds and plugs for the next year. It's always an adventure to create to plant combinations in my head then see how they turn out in real life - not always how I imagined but sometimes even better. I'm grateful to continue to be involved with the Temple grounds in this way.
As usual, your flowers are lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe temple is lucky to have you!
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