A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Make Pink Pop in Your Garden


I like to imagine long ago, and wonder what people roaming the Earth thought when they first encountered pink. While green was a hue they could see all around, and blue was the color of the sky, imagine their reaction when pink, the most ephemeral color of all, appeared.
Gardeners are like the early people -- we wait for pink. We anticipate the first light-pink Shirley poppy. We tiptoe about until our hot pink tulips unfurl, even though we know the visual blast will be brief.
Pink is the color we choose most. And that's perfect for all involved because pink also happens to be the most abundant flower color you'll find at the nursery. In truth, we like pink because it pops. While orange competes with green and blue blends in, pink seems to possess a happy tolerance of all the colors around it. Pink is easy.
But that doesn't mean that we should plop it in the landscape without a thought. Pink should play like it was a part of our plan.
There are three ways to think about pink and use it like we really mean it:
Define your favorite pink: Not all pinks are created equal. Some pinks lean toward orange, others bend toward blue, and then there is the pink in the middle that is nothing more than a clear combination of red and white.
Imagine you are designing a container garden. You will want to choose the same hue of pink, but use it from its strongest expression to the lightest tint.
For example, after your background greens are in, you could pot up an equal number of hot pink petunias with medium pink cosmos, and very pale pink lisianthus. For a peachy pink arrangement you could plant, from darkest to lightest, apricot nemesia with annual verbena and shell pink coral bells.
While an all-pink container can be stunning, pink also likes to play with other colors.
Pairing pink with other flower colors: Because many pinks are distinctive, you can make or break a color arrangement by the way you pair pinks.
Clear pinks look best with true blues and crayon yellows. Again, paying attention to saturation, if you use a strong clear pink, choose an equally strong true blue or crayon yellow to plant with it. In contrast, if you choose a very pale clear pink, choose a very light true blue or soft yellow as companion plants.
Apricot pinks look best with blues leaning toward lavender and butter yellows.
Bluish pinks look best with dark, periwinkle blues and strong yellow leaning to gold.
Pairing pink with foliage plants: You can achieve ultra sophistication by pairing pink with foliage plants. Use pink alone, but with just the right foliage plant to create a striking statement. Here are some combinations to consider:


Pair pale pink roses against dark burgundy berberis.
Pair peachy pink verbena with gray lamb's ears.
Pair true pink columbine with lime-green feverfew.
Pair magenta pink perennial geranium with black colocasia.
Combine salmon pink iris with canna Tropicana.
Combine shell pink coral bells with gray artemisia.
Plant delicate pink primroses with dappled green maidenhair fern. by, Make pink pop in your garden


I found this article on the internet and it really interested me, because of my love for pink in the garden. I was thinking about my little west garden...ajuga for the border, some herbs in grays and bluish colors, pink geraniums, a rose bush, and dusty miller behind. There are some white lilies there and also a start of blue iris.

Balisha

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great suggestions for combinations Balisha. I love pink in the garden and it works well with most colors like you said. I like ranging my pinks from pale to the deepest magenta as well with a splash of purple thrown in for good measure.

Balisha said...

Hi Racquel,
You mentioned purple...I love the purple petunia that has dark veins. It is so hardy and doesn't need so much deadheading. It is a little smaller than some...you probably know what I'm talking about. I haven't tried the lilac wave petunia...I may put some of that in the front garden.

Mary said...

Oh, you're getting me all feeling all colorful and craving spring! I'm a blue/purple lover but pinks tickle me as well :o)

Balisha said...

Hi Mary,
This morning my color is white...more snow and more coming. I can dream of colors today.