Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Garden of Many Colors

We all know that gardens should be planned. There are many things to consider, form, leaf shape, season of bloom, color theme, etc. I've always tried to keep my garden in shades of yellow, purple and pink. 
Yeah right! Oh I try all right. I swear that I should only use the proper color scheme, but somehow, a rainbow keeps sneaking in. 
Some people call this clown pants gardening. Well, I just call it colorful! 

I think it all started with the butterfly weed. Most of my garden is geared towards attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, so butterfly and other milkweeds were a must. And this one blooms orange. Oh well, I'll just sneak it in, no one will notice. Ha! It's impossible to ignore butterfly weed in bloom. The neon orange is like a traffic light! 
So once summer arrives full force, I just try to embrace my rainbow garden. You have to admit it, it's cheerful! 
I even get colorful visitors that add to my rainbow. 


I do actually have a few mellow spots, with more subtle colors. But this one was accidental. I planted seeds, it came out a soft, blush pink. If it was my choice, I'm sure I would have picked something much brighter! Isn't it supposed to be elegant and classy to have pastels in your garden? Guess I'm just not the type. 
What's funny is that I always swore that I wouldn't use orange in my garden. Guess I was wrong. I'm not sure why I made that statement, because I use orange in my home decor all the time. 


I suppose I need to embrace my many-colored garden. It does make me smile, that's for sure. Every time I turn the corner on another rainbow, I have to stop and take a picture. 
I've always been a fan of anything colorful and bright, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd end up with a clown pants garden. 
And when I found this rainbow shining down on my yard, I knew I was right. 

16 comments:

  1. I am pretty casual about colors in the garden. I always thought orange and purple would be the most awful combination, till one summer it happened accidentally in my garden and I loved it! Now I reserve judgement about color combinations. Pink and orange sounds terrible, and I know a lot of gardeners consider that combination extremely poor taste. However, I have those colors together in my own garden, and it is lovely in my opinion. However, I ended up moving rose campion when its bright pink clashed horribly with the nearby red yarrow. So I do have my limits!

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    1. I have my limits too, and there are a few spots that simply do not please me at all. But then I hate moving plants, and I'm out of room anyway, so they just stay put. I have a tomato red Cheyenne Spirit echinacea next to a Green Envy echinacea that blooms in lavender in pink. It's a horrible combination, I admit it, and it wasn't done purposely. Maybe someday I'll move it.

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  2. Clown pants garden...now that's a phrase I've never heard until now! I think your flower beds are beautiful, orange mixed in and all.

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    1. Over all, I find the colors cheerful and delightful, so I try not to study too hard at any one spot. But there are a few that really should be moved around, and maybe someday I will.

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  3. Robin girl don't ever be intimidated by the so called color wheel or the correctness of particular colors in tandem
    Just throw all that "professional"? crap out the window and ENJOY your beautiful garden ... I decided quite a while ago to plant what I wanted and be damned about the color "rules" .. I love orange because it reminds me of Halloween which always makes me smile.
    More importantly though these plants feed the beneficial insects and that is almost a job description for gardens above and beyond color placing ..
    Your garden is gorgeous ! and that rainbow was an affirmation the day you took photos !
    I hear you about the rain barrel issue and the soaker hose ... no one wants to haul buckets of water! there has to be a way to get that to work .. I am sure you will figure it out soon !
    Good luck !
    Joy : )

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    1. I generally belong to the school of thought where everyone should do what they please, and to heck with the rest! But sometimes even I cringe at the combinations. I find that red has a tendency to clash in my garden, and in the future I should not include it.

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  4. I love your rainbow garden, Robin. I have similar problems ... good intentions but somehow the colors get mixed up. When I teach garden design classes, I use the statement, "Do as I say, not as I do." It all look amazing in the end, as you proved. P. x

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    1. I know one of my problems is when I plant things that are not currently blooming. Beware of Cheyenne Spirit echinacea, by the way. It blooms in all crazy colors, and while it looks good planted all together, if you spread them around your garden, you may get an unpleasant surprise. Trust me, the tomato soup color does not look good with a traditionally colored lavender coneflower. Ick.

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  5. Hello Robin girl .. you asked how I keep my plants relatively well behaved ? .. I do a LOT of selective pruning because I get unnerved when things get too crazy and over grown. An example is my Lambs Ears row .. I never let it flower .. when I see the stalks starting I just prune them out.
    Look at the plants you want to keep on the smaller side .. just stand back and and think of what cuts will keep them looking nice but control that awkward over growth .. once you start you will get the hang of it quickly ...
    Even if you make a mistake or think you cut too much out .. it will grow again .. so no worries !
    It is a learning curve and I still make mistakes ... so just go with your gut and you will soon be comfortable with it !
    Joy

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    1. I thought you must be heavily into pruning. There's no way that a garden can be that controlled by nature! LOL I always think that I want my plants to get bigger, but sometimes, they just get TOO big! My sunset hyssop is a favorite, but my goodness, this year, it has turned into a shrub, not a plant. And I just planted three more. Yikes!

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  6. I have contemplated an orange and purple garden. I love the butterfly weed but have trouble finding any.

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    1. Orange and purple seem to scare a lot of people, but they are complimentary colors after all. I love how they look together!

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  7. Hi Robin's Nest, I'm Dressing our Nest and it's so nice to 'meet' you. What an amazing header and your garden is lovely. You fully captured the true beauty of each and every flower... bravo. I'm glad I found your blog today because I really enjoyed the visit. Have a wonderful weekend... :)

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    1. Dee, I'm so glad you found me here! My header is always one of my photos of the charming little beach town where I grew up, called St. Joseph Michigan. I don't live there now, but I do love it so!

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  8. But isn't the joy of gardening the fact that we can each plant and nurture what makes us happy? LOL. Your garden is cheerful and colorful, a gorgeous combination of happy.

    Jen

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    1. I'm generally very much into the philosophy of everyone doing what they please, especially in the garden. But sometimes I accidentally plant some clashing colors, and then I regret it!

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