Hi everyone....I grew up in Sidney B.C.,moved away in 1965 and have recently returned to my family home. We are in the midst of building a lovely white country style picket fence in the front yard, which I am putting cottage style flowers in front of, to the curb....any suggestion? I would like to stay with pinks, blues, mauves and white., also I was given a 3 ft. Palm tree, and was told it was called a northern big leaf palm? Anyone ever heard of it? This seems like a great site....Lynne
Hi Lynne, welcome to the Forums. How nice to return the family home and plant a cottage garden. If you have a photo of that palm you may want to post it in the Palm Trees forum or the Plant ID forum. Someone will know what it is.
Hi Lynne, What fun to start a new border. I also have a country style garden in Comox. Some of my favorite plants that include the colours you mentioned are hardy geraniums, Campanulas (many med to tall varities) foxgloves, lavender,columbine,snapdragons,penstemon and lady's mantle. Delphiniums and hollyhock are nice if you want something quite tall. Calendula (orange or yellow) is also a nice old fashioned flower. connie
The following was received via email from lynne (and seemingly from a few weeks ago, although the email was tagged in my inbox as being from Jan. 1 / 2005): HI Connie....Thanks for the info...yesterday I purchased some foxglove, delphiniums, pink yarrow and canterbury bells. I will buy some penstemon and ladys Mantle next time I go the the nursery. I am waiting for the rain to stop, so my fence can dry out before I paint......don't want to plant till after I paint, don't know why I am in such a rush to get my plants!!!! Do you plant in groups of 4 or 5? Is your country garden large or a border along a fence like mine?
Hi Lynne! I would suggest Cornflowers, the blue ones really are awesome, and they bloom spring through fall, and reseed nicely. Plant once, enjoy forever. They come in short and tall. Pink ones usually revert to blue upon selfseeding - I think. Also, would recommend Scabiosa (pincushion flowers). These are short, and form little clumps. They come in soft blue, lavender, and I think white, though I haven't come across one yet. They bloom for a long time, spring to beginning of August (in Vancouver). These plants are both oldfashioned ones, and readily available in nurseries in the spring - seeds for the Cornflowers, potted for the scabiosa. Another really nice one is baby's breath. They come in white and soft pink. The taller gypsophila are nice fillers in the background, and then there is gypsophila repens, which has very tiny leaves and flowers, and forms a nice carpet, so is good for the front of the garden. These are both perennials, although the tall version also comes as an annual, the flowers are less delicate. The gypsophila don't have as long a bloom period as the cornflowers and scabiosas, but not bad. I would recommend the G. repens most, as the tall ones will leave you with a gap in your border when they quit. G. repens interplants nicely with the scabiosa. And bonus - except for the gypsophila repens, they all make really nice cutflowers. Even the scabiosa, which I use in small vases for delicate bouquets.
