gemini_sage
My neighbor told me I planted my plants like soldiers, all in a straight lines. She taught me to plant in three's and five's. Maybe I can pick up some color blending tips from those of you with designer genes, all I have are blue hope they don't clash.

I was really inspired by pictures of gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll, and she had either written, or was quoted saying that she designed to appear that the plants occurred there naturally, in meandering clumps and drifts. Although she designed gardens for formal estates, often in precise perennial borders, the plantings within the borders had that natural flow to them, one clump appearing to meander into the next.

I do tend to plant in odd numbers, and do find that plantings are more striking when plants are in clumps or drifts rather than in lines. Lines seem to emphasize the stems and foliage, whereas clumps mass the blooms together for a bigger visual impact of that color we're going for.

Gertrude Jekyll was also very masterful at color harmony. She said, I believe in her writings, that she concentrated cool colors toward the center of a planting, and warm tones toward the ends. I'm not sure how exactly that method worked so well, but it certainly did make for amazing gardens.

When I have something blooming that is playing well with it's neighbors, I carry a bloom around the garden, and hold it next to various other plants. Often I find gorgeous combos I would never have considered otherwise. Sometimes a contrasting eyezone color will be beautifully highlighted and emphasized by another plant, which is one of the reasons why I think Pamela Harper's color echoing strategy works so well.

Neal - good luck with moving the poppy. I hope you find the ideal place for it to bloom happily for years to come.

You did the right thing by carrying around a blossom - that's another Pamela Harper classic way of matching flowers to create more color harmony.

I kept thinking of this Japanese iris only as white, never considering the golden yellow flags. It almost begged to be planted here so the Zagreb coreopsis could show off the JI to full effect. Same story with JI Sing the Blues and the Asiatic lilies.



Then comes the disaster of having moved Easter lilies to the same area. I will relocate the Easter lilies since the scene is much too confusing for my eyes.



I do agree that a large swath of one plant, as well as planting in uneven numbers and not straight lines, is much nicer but it took me years of gardening to accept. My thoughts constantly ran to "What happens when that large area is not in bloom? Won't it look vacant?". Now I've calmed down and can accept every plant has its own turn to bloom. If any neighbor wants to be critical then let them show me their perfection! We who do the gardening work are often our own worst critics.

I have learned that criticism when given with caring can often be a great motivator if we are willing to listen and learn. My wife can attest to the fact that has not always been my attitude.

Those are perfect examples! So stunning, and like you, a combo that I wouldn't have otherwise considered without seeing them together! I'm a big fan of blue/white/yellow combinations too. I see what you mean about the Lilies bringing a chaotic feel to the arrangement, although the colors all harmonize beautifully. I think it is because the visual strength of the Lilies lies in their form, which is bringing a confusing look to the whole picture (the tilt of the elongated blooms). Although I think if they were offset a bit, but still a part of the overall planting, that they would shine, as well as provide a nice textural contrast to the others. There's the floral designer part of me again, LOL.

Seedfork - I like the comment about your wife!

One neighbor used to come over every June, stand in front of the orange lilies with her arms crossed and staring at them as she said, "I hate orange". I told her that we have a few thousand other plants she could look at but she stood like a statue and I prayed for a flock of pigeons to treat her like one.

Thanks, Neal. The colors are fine together, as you said, but distance is needed and if I put the lilies any closer to the edge the deer will likely devour them. The lazy way out would be to cut the lilies to enjoy indoors!

Generally I examine the colors in one particular flower that I love best to establish color echoes for the area so my thinking was right but the form of the flower was ALL wrong!

One neighbor used to come over every June, stand in front of the orange lilies with her arms crossed and staring at them as she said, "I hate orange". I told her that we have a few thousand other plants she could look at but she stood like a statue and I prayed for a flock of pigeons to treat her like one.


Great ideas you guys. Never thought about moving a bloom around the garden.

I guess in that case the easiest way for your neighbor to solve her problem was to turn her back on it. Seldom is life so simple.

Good grief, some people just have a need to focus on the negative. Suppose I would have said, "glad I could provide you with a point of contention, as you do seem so inclined to focus on such things". Love the statue and pigeon comment!

The same neighbor wanted to know what I wrote about growing roses that won me first prize in the Bayer contest for a four day trip to Pasadena, the Rose Parade, Rose Bowl, etc., in 2004. I showed her the letter and she responded with, "You won the prize for this" - sour grapes.

We had a great time, then flew to Arizona for a few weeks, and Bayer flew us home. The neighbor didn't have any interest in seeing any of the photos. Gee, I wonder why?

Sorry 'bout your neighbor there pirl...sounds less than pleasant.
I am so very grateful for my neighbors; they are pleased with every disaster I create. Granted, the house was abandoned for 10+ yrs, so anything I do is an improvement over the the vacant weed lot
I though this thread needed another bad picture, though. Didn't take any decent pictures of this mess so it's even bonus bad


That there is some end of season, mystery color, clearance phlox clashing painfully with crocosmia. I moved the phlox.
That was 2011.
...since then I have systematically relocated most of the original plantings in that garden and the crocosmia is not there anymore either

I'm also sorry about my neighbor. Glad she's not next door!

Your clash isn't that bad due to all the greenery but I do know how wild the crocosmias can get. I moved out about 30 of them. Maybe they didn't survive the winter in a cabinet inside the garage. I wondered where I'd put them this year - maybe they could decorate the landfill!

I can usually make an adjustment in color when two areas of the garden come together tyhat need a blending of some sort.
Pirls situation with deer territory makes certain moves risky. Sorry about the neighbor Pirl,you handle it well. In my profession there has been criticism for years.It takes awhile to realize it IS the viewers problem not yours." Your garden,your choices"

Here in the south, insults are often more likely to be delivered with a smile, and veiled as compliments, like "My! those orange lilies are bright! You must need bright colors to see them well...bless your heart" or "How wonderful for you! I don't imagine they had many applicants..." LOL

dirtdorphins, while that's tough combo to work with, I don't think it's altogether bad, I think because the intensity of tone is similar. With some bright yellow, perhaps some lime green/chartreuse I would like it. A few years ago wildly clashing, bright colors became popular in designs aimed toward teen girls, with hot pink, orange, and chartreuse, and I found myself drawn to the cheerfulness of it. Sort of had the appeal of a bowl of skittles- happy and playful. While I've yet to do a planting with that color scheme, it's on my list to do someday. I remember an article on an amazing home garden I read in Horticulture magazine years ago, where the designer had an area they referred to as the "schizophrenic border" that was similar, and I loved it.

Jo Ann, I find blues, purples, and lavenders make great transition colors, along with white. Seems there's a shade of blue or purple/lavender that compliments nearly any color.

For me, some of the toughest colors to combine with other plants, are those antique looking shades, with beige or buff tones like you see in many bearded Irises. Clear, saturated tones do nothing for them, and whites make them look dirty. I love many flowers with those qualities, as they appear Victorian or antique/heirloom to me. Foliar color seems to be the best pairing I've found in most cases.

I use those buff tones as neutrals in the whole garden scheme.They also act asa break when the eye is going from one area of color to another. My gardens seem to be mostly the mid tone saturated color and many plants were gifts so composition was taken pretty much out of my control. I'm not excusing or defending here.Thats just how things grew "like Topsy"
I tried to keep color families together and disperse lights against darks, solids against patterns.

Ah, here's a good example of bad-


I had thought I was planting white Eremerus there. That was totally my goof, I had a mixture from Brent&Becky's (Spring Valley hybrids), and mislabled them myself when I moved here. grrrrrr....

oh my

Neal - you've got me smiling with your Eremus oops! ""My! those eremuses are bright! You must need bright colors to see them well...bless your heart." Aren't they difficult to move?

Either a (sun tolerant or not) hosta or a green sedum (maybe purple) or hakonechloa (can get huge...fast) can give a break between colors as could some garden art.

Trying to work in that buff color was a challenge I found last year. Coleus can be a huge help so it's good to have a supply for emergencies. (Good enough excuse as any other!)

Pure reds used to be my least favorite but white has taken the place of it. Maybe I'm just tired of seeing all the snow this winter. Pure white hurts my eyes, winter or summer.

I want to add zinnias to my garden.
Does anyone have a favorite?
Are most cactus types 30 inches tall?
Do the large bloom varieties tend to flop?
I really want the airy looks of spots of color amongst the other perennials.

Jo Ann - many zinnias are subject to mildew but State Farm (varied colors - no cactus that I've seen in the mix) are the most resistant, don't flop, and provide a nice color punch in the garden. Most nurseries carry them in May - June.

http://barkingfrogfarm.com/?p=...