@Gina1960 that sounds great! Reminds me of a horror story I read years ago. There was a night garden with night blooming plants and foliage in greys and blacks and deep purples and silvers. It always sounded such a pretty place to be. In the story it was the garden owner who sucked the life out of you, not the garden...

I can certainly identify with Toedtoes' statement about you choosing the various design feature of your own garden.

Obviously it's advisable to take into consideration, both the physical requirements of the plants you choose to use and the appropriateness, for them, of your growing conditions. However, for so much else it is a matter of personal choice. I'd say most obviously with flower colour.

Consequently, I deeply resent influential people of (historical and current) garden design imposing their own flower colour schemes on gardeners who choose/chose to consume their advice. For me, an obvious example is the immensely influential Edwardian British Gertrude Jekyell who wrote that "malignant magenta" should never appear in any garden at all.

Personally, I love magenta (whatever purplish red one takes it to be).

Below in our garden, livening up the yellows with magenta:


Livening up other tall phlox with magenta:

Those are gorgeous - especially against the yellows.

Exactly. What I prefer isn't what everyone else must like. I personally enjoy seeing how people vary in their gardens. And just because I personally don't like a certain color or type of plant in my yard doesn't mean I don't like seeing it in someone else's yard.

I love all flower colours, including white (whether the latter's a colour or not).

Though I've known worse, and at my stage of life, winter here can be quite a challenge. In terms of outdoor gardening, we're now heading for a snowy black hole.

Consequently, I love all and any flower colour that will show up in spring.
Following: in our own garden, later April/earlier May, last year.

Nice! Very pretty and definitely a great way to herald spring.

If I remember from my junior high art class correctly, white is a combination of all colors as it reflects light in all wavelengths and therefore has no hue.

In practical use, whites often have a very pale hue. So if you put a white flower against white snow one might have a bluer, redder or yellower tinge to it - but if you look at them separately they both look white.

At least that's how I remember it.

Beautiful, Charlie!

I love white blooms for shady areas. Most other colors get lost in the shadows. Conversely, white blooms that are not in shadows can seem garish on a completely sunny day.

Toed, totally agree. Shopping for white paint is a good example. There are at least 100 shades to choose.

And try matching two different white fabrics.

LOL! No thanks!

Flower wise I'm drawn to (dark) blue, purple, *some* pink, (buttery) yellow and white. Not a fan of bright orange and absolutely HATE red. Although the two latter I DO like when they're more dusty/rusty looking.... I'm a man of contradictions I know...
With few exceptions (roses), singles are the way to go.

Foliage wise; dislike anything that strays too far from apple/'normal' green.