New Colour Theme (for me)

 Moving in to an empty paddock has given me the opportunity to start gardens from scratch. This 'island' garden in the driveway has been another experiment, but one I am so happy with. It is planted with lots of structural plants, but they are slower in growth - Cornus, Flax, Muehlenbeckia etc. While I wait for them to bulk up, the annuals and perennials are the feature, particularly over spring, summer and autumn. 

Colour theme: LEMON, CREAM, YELLOW, WHITE & SILVER. With pops of seasonal colour  (eg right now are red shirley poppies, or purple Verbena bonariense). 

Some photos below of the plants I have been loving in combinations. 

The 'Island' garden in the middle of the car park area.
The garden is less than 12 months old.

The occasional burgundy links nicely with the old wagon in the garden - here is Euphorbia Chameleon

Osteospurmum. Lemon on the outside, cream on the inside. Valuable early colour.

Early summer growth of Rudbeckia Lanciniata and Miscanthus. In autumn these
will both be 1.5m plus tall. 

Phlomis russelliana is a favourite and much valued plant for evergreen foliage as
groundcover, but also the vertical flowers in spring and autumn. The old wagon is
a piece of history from the farm we left. It used to be the cook house on wheels that
stayed out with the workers, when they were far from home. This one rolled to the
bottom of a gully, where it stayed until my husband dragged it out!

Aquilegia. Early flowering, tall variety. Hoping this will self-seed.

Ixia Yellow Emperor 

Alchemilla mollis - Ladies Mantle. Incredibly versatile plant. 

Stipa gigantea

Chionochloa flavicans. The seed heads marry nicely with the yellows. 

Parsley left to self seed

Echinacea (last summer)

The Woad (airy yellow flower) was a favourite over spring. Seen here with Stachys, Stipa and Astelia Silver Spear. 

Hopefully there will be no ground showing by the end of this summer. 

There are so many more plants than that shown here, but this is a snapshot of early summer. I will update as the season progresses. Still to flower - Leeks, Shasta Daisies, lilies, dahlia, Helenium Butterpat, Helianthus, Queen Anne's Lace, Rudbeckias, plus Primula and Sparaxia (both winter) etc.