Gift of Green Fire and Other Strange Encounters

by Linda Talbot

  It is best renewed every two or three years and dead growth removed in spring. Take cuttings or sow seeds in late winter.

  The Cornflower has the clear Mediterranean blue captured so well by Dufy. Known too as Bachelor’s Button, Ragged Robin and Blue Bottle, this is an annual with distinctive, pointed petals. Plant in the sun. Rich, moist, yet slightly light soil is preferable. Water regularly and sow seeds in spring where you want them to flower.

  Pot Marigolds can of course also be grown in the garden. They will reflect the one gold triangle in Dufy’s work and can be sown to flower in spring, summer or autumn, depending on climate and the time of sowing. This is a bushy, sun-loving annual and is not fussy about soil, although it likes organic and liquid feed as well as plenty of water.

  Moving to a gentler mood and returning to Matisse, in 1904 he played with a softer mix of pink, yellow, blue, purple, red and green in his painting Lux, Calme et Volupt(. The combination sounds cumbrous, but by using short dashes of colour, his palette shines with light. One can imagine such shades in the garden; with green plants between the stronger colours. Wild Senna (cassia marilandica) will give you soft yellow, Blue Globe Thistles (echinops ritro) the pensive blue and a mix of pink and red comes with Sweet William (dianthus barbatus). Perennial Phlox (phlox paniculata) is available in a shade of violet-purple.

  Wild Senna is a shrubby perennial, with cup-shaped blooms, flowering in a sunny place in summer in any rich soil. It can withstand dryness but feed well and prune quite hard to improve flowering the following year. Sow seed or take cuttings in the spring.

  Blue Globe Thistles with their rounded, compact heads, are perennial, flowering in summer and autumn. They like the sun with a little shade. They take to any soil which is fairly fertile and only need watering occasionally in dry weather. And they will naturalise if desired. When the flowers finish cut back their stems to ground level. You can divide this plant in the spring or sow fresh seed.

  Sweet William is usually grown as a biennial to flower in spring and summer. It has numerous dense flowers recalling Matisse’s brushstrokes. It likes calcareous or clayey soil mixed with woodland mould, well rotted organic manure and a little sand. Water regularly with a few liquid feeds in the early growing period. Put out young plants in the autumn.

  Perennial Phlox with clustered heads of flowers, likes the sun and flowers from summer to autumn. Work in organic material before planting in a rich soil with low clay content mixed with peat and sand. Apply liquid fertiliser while it grows. Water well. Cut down to ground level in winter and propagate by dividing clumps in spring.

  You may like the peace of a delicate, almost pastel garden, given substance with a touch of deeper colour.

  Fernand Leger took a pretty strong stance in most of his work but the other day I came across a reproduction of Woman in Blue - a work of 1912, in which the woman is lost in analytical elements which nonetheless form a rhythmically balanced impression with delicate tones of lavender, shell pink, a restrained flame and the neutrality of stone. The effect is soothing yet decisive and even these shapes may be adapted to some extent when planning a garden.

  They are not strictly geometric but include circles sliced with sides out of kilter, rectangles half buried in the stone-like imagery and truncated triangles. Dig some interesting shapes based on these and plant pale pink Busy Lizzie (impatiens walleriana) which flowers all summer and is a perennial usually grown as an annual. It needs plenty of water and not too much sun. Orange may be provided by the perennial Blanketflower (gaillardia aristata) which loves the sun. Costa Rican Nightshade (solanum wendlandii) has lilac blue flowers, and pebbles between the plants will echo Leger’s suggestion of stone.

  Busy Lizzie is long flowering with medium sized clustered blooms. I had plants in flower for months in the sun or semi-shade in my London garden, but in Crete I have to keep this plant in the shade. It likes argillaceous soil with leaf mould, matured manure and sand. Liquid feed helps during growth. Sow in the spring or take cuttings in autumn or spring.

  Blanketflower blooms in late spring and summer in well aerated, moist, sandy soil. Do not feed much or the plant will collapse. But water well and cut down stems in autumn. Sow in spring in boxes and prick out seedlings before planting.

  Costa Rican Nightshade is a climbing, semi-evergreen shrub, with a mass of frilly flowers from summer to autumn. It prefers a light, slightly shady site and likes a humus-rich soil and regular watering. Prune in autumn. Fertilise occasionally. You can take unripe shoots as cuttings in spring and summer or sow in the spring in small pots.

  Look too for images of flowers on fabric and pottery. I have a silk scarf replicating the Rose Window in Chartres Cathedral. I am not a believer, and never thought I would wear a church window round my neck, but the colours that inspired the stained glass artist to reproduce this rose whole and in segments, were irresistible. They veer from deep pink to blue, lilac and green. A touch of yellow does not detract but adds vivacity.

  The shapes of leaves are placed round the perimeter of the rose and fragments of flexible triangles, circles and ovals complete the stunning composition. Again, it is shape as well as colour that may be an inspiration when digging flower beds or placing pots.

  Why not echo the beauty of the scarf and plant roses. One deep pink variety, reflecting the Rose Window, is Madame Edouard Herriot; a densely petalled hybrid tea rose.

  Roses will adapt to almost any soil but particularly appreciate one that is rich; sandy, moist and with a slight acidity, exposed to the sun. Dig to at least 35 centimetres about a month before planting. Organic manure and a slow acting mineral fertiliser should be added.

  If the roots of your bush are dry, soak them for up to 12 hours in water and argillaceous soil mixed with cow manure. Keep the roots plastered with this when you plant out.

  Place good compost at the base of the hole, spread out the roots and cover them with more but finer planting compost. Press it well down round the stem but keep stock and crown at soil level. Dig in organic compost towards the end of winter or early spring and give complete mineral fertiliser in spring. Roses stand up well to dryness but when you do water, try to avoid spilling it on leaves and flowers as this may cause disease.

  Place your roses perhaps in a round bed, as depicted in the cathedral window, surrounded by small beds of playful geometry, with purple, blue and yellow flowers.

  Purple might be provided by the European Columbine (aquilegia vulgaris). This is a lovely perennial with elegant petals and pale yellow stamens, flowering in spring and summer. It likes a bright or semi-shaded spot and the light sandy soil found in woods. It will not tolerate dryness, so water well. Cut back stems and dry leaves in autumn and sow in spring in light compost.

  For yellow, try Firethorn (pyracantha crenulata), a spiny evergreen shrub that flowers in spring in full sun or slight shade. It grows in any soil and appreciates plenty of water when the weather is dry. Give it some organic manure in spring. This plant can be grown as a hedge, a bush or small tree - in which case only remove dead and distorted branches. Sow in spring in a sheltered bed.

  Pasqueflower (pulsatilla vulgaris) will burst into a blue, six-petalled flower with bright yellow stamens, in late spring and early summer. This perennial likes a moist, shady place in rich soil. Water when it is very dry and sow in pots in spring.

  I have a Chinese jacket embroidered with slightly stylised plum blossom that suggests more shapes for flower beds. The outline of one or more of the four petals of each bloom, could be dug; the thick white rim becoming perhaps a mass of flowers such as Candytuft (iberis saxatilis), a perennial, its neat heads growing 10 to 15 centimetres high, while within, red and pink flowers are evenly spaced - maybe Maiden Pink (dianthus deltoides), a tufted perennial with prettily serrated petals and the annual Yellow Cosmos (cosmos sulphureous). There is a red variety with a yellow centre that would be suitable.

  Candytuft, an annual that can be chosen in white, will flower in spring and summer and l
oves the sun. Any kind of soil is suitable but a preference is for one that is calcareous or siliceous and moist and fairly fertile. Do not over water and remember to pull up the flowers when they are over. Sow seeds on site in spring.

  Choose a pink variety of Maiden Pink and plant in the sun in sandy, very dry soil, not necessarily fertile. Do not water much. Sow in spring in small pots.

  Yellow (in this case red) Cosmos also loves the sun and has numerous flowers that like fertile soil, plenty of water and light organic or mineral feeding. It can grow up to a metre so needs support. Sow in spring.

  On the jacket the bottom part of the flower has a green and yellow surround. So variegated plants, with yellowy green leaves would be ideal. In the centre of this plot you could plant a lilac flower such as Italian Aster (aster amellus), a bushy perennial with a pert, yellow-centred daisy face. This sun-loving plant will flower in late summer and early autumn in a deep, rich soil. It needs phosphates, nitrogen and potash and generous watering. You can sow in boxes in spring or divide clumps in spring and autumn.

  I have mentioned ideal requirements for each plant and if you are a purist and can obtain them, each element, from bone meal to cow manure, may be applied according to need to each bed of flowers. But commercial feeds - in dry and liquid form - provide most of the nutrients needed.

  Knowing individual ingredients may help you choose the right mix at the garden shop or centre, but I have grown a wide range of flowers with a simple regard to sun or shade and the amount of water required. A regular feed of general fertiliser is, of course, a help, unless your plant is one of those that does not need it. A simple feed is often all you can find anyway in comparatively remote places. Even without feed and within the restriction of pots, simple plants usually perform well in warm climates. But it must be remembered that those liking partial shade in northern Europe, will probably need complete shade in the south and even some sun-lovers may have to be watched in high summer.

  Experiment and makes notes as to plants’ reactions and needs. You never know - you may create a garden that goes down in horticultural - and artistic - history!

  Thank you for reading this book - which I hope you have enjoyed.

  If you would like to read my other work, please return to your favourite ebook retailer. For a complete list of my work with a short summary of each, click this link to my blog https://lindajtalbot.wordpress.com. There are also sample extracts from many of these works. You are welcome to subscribe or add a comment.

  Author's Note

  Linda Talbot writes fantasy for adults and children. She now lives in Crete and as a journalist in London she specialised in reviewing art, books and theatre, contributing a chapter to a book about Conroy Maddox, the British Surrealist and writing about art for Topos, the German landscape magazine. She has published "Fantasy Book of Food", rhymes, recipes and stories for children; "Five Rides by a River", about life, past and present around the River Waveney in Suffolk; short stories for the British Fantasy Society, and stories and poetry for magazines.

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