Not really "purple"

I've grown echinacea purpea or "purple coneflowers" for years. They're beautiful, bee magnets, bulletproof in the heat, feed the birds -- just a perfect native garden flower. I've always grown the traditional purple varieties like 'Magnus', but a couple of years ago I added a couple of 'White Swan', which (not surprisingly) have white flowers. "Purple" coneflowers are now available in almost any color you want. Last year I added a few new varieties, and although I lost two of them over the winter (the reports on some of the new types seem to indicate they're not as reliably cold-hardy as older varieties), they're starting to bloom now and they're wonderful!

I'll need to put out some plant tags so I can remember which plants are which, but I think this one is 'Big Sky Twilight'. It's sort of a dusky pinkish orange. Kind of pale but really nice.

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This next one is 'Big Sky Sundown' I believe:

Much deeper, darker colors than 'Twilight'. More orange, with some purple mixed in. Beautiful!

This is obviously a white one, but looks different than my 'White Swan' plants:

I don't remember the petals curling under like that on 'White Swan' before, but it's a nice look I think. I wonder if it's a different variety that I don't remember planting, something that came from seed, or maybe just a more mature 'White Swan'?

I'll know for certain once more of the white ones open, like this one:

This next one is a "normal" purple one I believe, but it's hard to tell this early in its development:

Interesting that the purple ones haven't opened yet, but that could be due to some deer pruning:

Herbivores are the only problem I've ever had with echinacea and most other native plants. Native critters love eating native plants!

I'm really curious to see exactly what color this next flower is going to be:

It's not strictly white, but it seems to have a lot of white in it. This one definitely grew from seed, as it's below the raised bed where the other coneflowers grow. Maybe a new hybrid? I may have to put a fence around it to protect it from deer teeth until I can see what the flowers look like. I don't like fencing plants because I don't like seeing the fences, but a fenced plant is prettier than a chomped plant, right?

I can't wait to see what other colors of "purple" coneflower pop up in this bed, and I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for deals on some of the newer varieties.

(I still love the purple ones though.)

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