Whites, I Love 'Em

Roses are blooming in yellow, burgundy red, pink and a red that's crazy red.  That last one was my mom's.  Peonies are just turning pink.  Chives are pink to lavender. I have an orange and a red honeysuckle already long in bloom and, of course, the irises in yellow, purple, violet, orange, and my favorite, the white.

There's a lot of shade at Rivergarth, and I soon learned that dark colored flowers like purple or saturated reds don't show well here.  I learned, too, that whites are positively luminous.  In the evening, they glow.  So it's here that I really fell in love with whites, although gardenia and I did conduct a love affair as far back as the early 80s.  There's something about the subtlety of white that tugs at the heart.  I can't resist. 

Below are some of the whites presently blooming for me.  Some are sublime, some shy, some humble, some outrageous!

I include lamb's ear because its soft, silver foliage acts as a pseudo-white at Rivergarth.  I have it paired with a dark yew tree, although the 'ears spread everywhere.  I let them stay when they're not in the way.  Otherwise, it's the compost heap for these gentle invaders.

                                              

Not all white iris are the same.  These are the three I have.  The one at the bottom was the earliest and is done blooming.  The beard is white, which I consider a bonus, but it retains the slightest taint of lavender in the petals.  The top two are in full bloom.  The first one, obviously, has the orange beard, and the style arms are elongated, which looks like it has three, thin, additional petals.  The second one is almost yellow, but what a yellow!  So delicate!

 

This is the honeysuckle bush sold in wildlife bundles.  The birds like the red berries, but they're no good as people food.  These spread everywhere, and I am continually weeding them out because they will grow 20 feet high and an as yet undetermined amount in width if left unchecked.  My red and orange honeysuckle vines are already blooming, as I mentioned, and the whites are nearly to open.  When that happens, the air swirls thick with heady fragrance.

 

White clover is mildly successful here.  I am always encouraging it to spread, but it is fickle, and I haven't figured out exactly whether it wants to be left alone or pampered.  The bees go gaga over it naturally.

 

This year's first pea blossom.  Pitter-pat. That's my heart skipping a beat.  I'm in love!

 

Last, another chapter to the lemon blog I've threatened to write.  This is a plant I got at Atwood's about a month ago.  We went back for chicken feed last week, and those same lemon plants were at death's door.  I wanted to adopt them all and take them home, but have settled for the one I already had.  And look what it is doing for me, blooming!  I hope a bee will find it!