Favorite Color Combos With Blue-Violet

Does blue-violet look good with every flower color? It seems to work fine with all the colors in my yard. Above is light blue-violet fanflower (Scaveola) with pink double petunias and steely 'Blue Star' juniper.



Of course white looks great with blue-violet. Above is white 'Rolling Cloud' siberian iris with 'Six Hills Giant' catmint.



True-blue 'Blue Elegance' bearded iris and mauve pincushion flower (Scabiosa) work nicely with catmint, too. Shades of blue-violet are the team players of the color wheel, after the greens, of course.



More shades of pink - light 'Eglantyne' roses and mid-pink 'Pink Double Delight' coneflowers - show well with a 'Walker's Low' catmint background.



Deep blue-violet 'Worth the Wait' siberian irises are lovely with mauve 'Sister Elizabeth' roses and white 'June Bride' heuchera. Hmm, I may have gone a bit heavy on the pinks for this post . . . but here's one more anyway.



Light blue-violet 'Blue Clips' campanula and deeper 'May Night' salvia cool off the vivid pink petunias.



Blue-violet 'Caradonna' salvia is smashing with lime 'Green Jewel' coneflowers. Of course, lime green looks smashing with a lot of colors.



A deep crimson 'William Shakespeare 2000' rose deserves deep blue-violet 'Purple Pagan' delphiniums as companions. Please ignore the less than straight stance of the delphiniums; someone (ahem) must have forgotten to stake them.



Rosy-orange 'Giggles' dahlias work with catmint. I realize too late that I didn't catch any pictures of blue-violet and golden yellow, another favorite (note to self: photograph the 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies with 'May Night' salvia in the background next spring). I've seen maroon and blue-violet looking good together. Also fire-engine red, florescent yellow and royal blue. Can you think of a color that clashes with blue-violet?

Crocus speciosus Encore

Fall has brought some gloomy, rainy, grey weather. Imagine my delight when I walked outside on the first sunny day in a while and found a second round of flowers from the Crocus speciosus.



I already posted some pictures of these flowers here, but was so delighted with their rebloom that I had to do an encore post.



Fresh crocus flowers in fall are a delight anyway, but a double set of blooms from each bulb might push C. speciosus to the top of my favorite bulbs list. Of course there are plenty of showier flowers in spring, but these lavender beauties seem to shine even brighter since there's nothing else blooming in the garden right now.



I pulled out graph paper to draw a rough map of where the current clumps are located so I can plant more next fall in just the right places. Can you ever have enough fall crocus? I can imagine planting a few more each fall for years to come.



The bulbs pictured came from White Flower Farm at $8.95 for 25 plus shipping, but they were also offered by K. van Bourgondien at $9.50 for 25 bulbs and High Country Gardens at $13.49 for 24 bulbs.



WFF says C. speciosus is "the easiest to naturalize, most floriferous, and least expensive of the fall crocus." They're hardy from zones 4-8, and their diminutive foliage won't make the whole garden look shabby as it grows and dies back next spring. If these bulbs aren't already on your wish list for next fall, add them now. Just don't buy so many that they're out of stock when I try to order, ha!

Warts: Better on These Squash than on Your Nose

This ghostly, warty white squash isn't exactly cute, but it's the perfect all-natural decoration for Halloween.



Here's another warty white oddity, and I wish I'd caught a better picture of the starfish-shaped squash at the bottom left. All of these warts were on display during our recent visit to Knapp's Farm in Greenbluff, WA.



Most people try to hide their warts when visitors are coming, but Knapp's Farm brought them all out to show off. Well, at least the squashy ones.



I was amazed at all the beautiful color combinations on these squash.



I should have bought some to bring home, but it was hopeless to try and pick favorites. So I just keep shooting pictures instead.



We did bring home some highly anticipated, new-crop Honeycrisp apples. If you've never tasted Honeycrisps, you are missing out on the most amazing apple ever. I don't know why anyone eats Red Delicious anymore with Honeycrisps around.



This basket sported warts in several stylish colors on squash with highly varied shapes.



I saved the best for last. Just try to tell me that this lime-green apple-shaped warty wonder isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. Thank heaven my face doesn't look like this, but all those warts are so fun on a gourd.