A windy week has torn the petals from some of the tulips but other have withstood the wind and are continuing to lure me into the garden to enjoy more mixed colour than I’ve ever used before.
Looking towards the mulberry
I snap of the seed head when the petals drop otherwise all the bulbs energy will do to making seeds rather than building up its strength to flower again nest year.
I really must cut the Miscanthus sin. ‘Morning Light’ down earlier next year so that there is no ‘dead’ grass in the border
The white and red tulips are T. Carnival
This unknown tulip (from the single late mix from Peter Nyssen) was white when it first opened. (Has anyone any idea of an ID?)
These three flowers are from one bulb
Not named multi stem that was white when it first opened
Now it has faded (no I don’t mean that do I?) Things can’t fade from white! Better to say changed from white to quite a strong pink.
The Anemone Coronaria De Caen has been flowering for ages (A. Sylphide since the very beginning of January); what really amazes me is that these were only planted last autumn and yet some have produced 4 flowering stems from one small corm. They were so cheap too, £2.50 for 25, I bought Mr. Fokker, The Bride and Sylphide as single colours plus 100 mixed which included the above plus 2 different reds.
Anemone
I forgot to include this image of a butterfly on yesterday’s post. I know this is a common butterfly but this is the first time I’ve seen a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). It was collecting nectar from the thyme and was finding so much I had time to take lots of photographs.
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
Doesn’t T. Ballerina (which is fast becoming my favourite tulip of all) look fabulous against the Heuchera?
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
It does all look lovely. I am into pinks and purples at the moment, and Heucheras are great for contrast. I have never seen a flower fade from white to pink either!
That last combo is fabulous. I love dark leaved perennials and shrubs for just that reason. Also like the dark purple (Queen of the Night?) with the white/cream tulip.
I think it might be Queen of the Night, I don’t know for sure because it was part of the mixed 100! Single lates.
The mixed colors are exuberant. Nice Painted Lady on the thyme. I hope my thyme flowers this year as it didn’t much last year.
I never thought of buying mixed colours but they look wonderful. I must get more tulips for next year. They are gorgeous. I don’t think the dark one is Queen of the Night, it’s not dark enough. Maybe it is Greuze?
I’ll look at the tulip. It could be that the bright light here has made it look paler.
I don’t usually by mixed colours either but I wanted a random effect and though that might be the best way to achieve it as I wouldn’t have any control where each colour went.
I am so envious of all the tulips…I cannot grow them because of the deer. They are relentless in their pursuit of eating the foliage and flower buds.
I’m sorry about the deer! It would be hard to live without tulips!
The Heuchera looks great with the tulips. It’s difficult to choose a favourite tulip.
I change my mind all the time.
I’m loving all the colour! Still looking good! And I love your use of grasses in the mix. Grasses are a favourite of mine and I use them where I can. I have Miscanthus “Morning Light” as well – relatively new and bulking up nicely.
I have lots of grasses; Stipa gigantea and tenuissima are the best for my conditions but Miscanthus sin. ‘Morning Light is my absolute favourite grass, it flowers here in Italy but rarely in the UK because it needs a very long warm growing season but even without flowers its form is so beautiful.
The view towards the mulberry shows the tulips beginning to blend colourwise, presumably as the colours fade a little.I am intrigued by my unusually multi-headed Angelique this year , and I wonder what yours are? Thank you for alerting me to A Sylphide – I bought a few from Sarah Raven and started them off inside but have hardened them off and will plant them outs oon. If they do OK I shall buy a larger number from PN – they are such a beautiful colour. Enjoy your w/e
I’ll contact PN to ID the tulips from the mixed pack and I’ll let you know. I hope A, Sylphide does well for you. It doen’t seem to be tender; last year we had more than a week of sub zero temperatures and as far as I remember they just kept flowering, maybe with a pause in new flowers opeing during the very low temperatures. The weather here is like a yoyo!
Sarah Raven said a similar thing about A Sylphide so I am quite hopeful. Hope your weather settles down – just visited Wisley today and had expected rain but it remained dry 🙂
OK, I am convinced, I need to get some Anemone Coronaria! I agree about ‘Ballerina’, it is the perfect tulip, and looks wonderful against the heuchera. I am looking forward to seeing what pops up next in these borders to follow the tulips, are some of those strappy leaves from daylilies? I am hoping to plant some today if I get the weeding done.
ALL the strappy leaves are daylilies! But in one way this boder is an experiment in not trying to make it interesting all year but to have an intensive season of interest and then for it to be quiet, with perhaps grasses and foliage.
I like that idea, I am trying something similar in the front garden, not least because most approaches to year-round interest seem to depend on a lot more work!
Lovely selection of Tulips. I especially like the purple ones.
It’s amazing that those three flowers come from a single bulb! I am reading Ann Pavord’s book on tulips now and she talks about how it fascinated people because it is so variable. That picture is a great demonstration of the point. Your tulip selection is very exciting!
I think the Anna writes about the tulip virus which caused the flame effect we still sometimes see. I have some pink ones in the garden that are infected, the white and red T. Sorbet I used in the little vases yesterday are an example of the result although these have been created by breeding not a virus.