Wednesday 16 April 2008

A Nice Green Leaf: Clashy-Coloured Plants of the Week

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Whoa! Them tulips is gorgeous! Spotted in South Kensington on Monday - bright huh? Now I'm wondering whether Kensington and Chelsea happened upon this outrageous three-way colour combination out of, a) big-time expenditure, b) utter stylishness, or just c) luck. 

Getting two colours of tulip to combine is tricky enough, but it can be done. Any tulip will work with white. A red and a yellow, as long as they're bright enough. Yet difficulties abound - flowering times out of sync, heights too different or not different enough.... My god it's a minefield. 

But to get three colours to work together at the same time is genius. In K&C's border, red and yellow lily-flowered tulips are backed up by a smaller magenta lily-flowered, and then a load of white ones too. Amazing. It ought to look like a total jumble sale, but in fact it looks great. (Especially when you consider there's also masses of daffodils and some slightly random polyanthus busting the bed's spectrum possibilities too.)

Anyway, I soon got to the bottom of this outbreak of stylish gardening. The bed is directly opposite the Institut Francais, on the leyline between it and the local Fromagerie. At that rate, I wouldn't be surprised if the gardener concerned had directly channelled La Bruni.

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