As gardeners we are very responsive to color. And it is interesting to see how some people gravitate to certain colors with passionate comments, while others are merely lukewarm and can’t get excited about it. Color can invoke a subtle reaction, or it can make your heart sing. There are soothing colors, that cool us down, and then there are the colors that vibrate excite us, other shades disturb us. I won’t let a certain shade of plum poppy bloom for too long in my garden, it’s just to wussy for me. I can’t stand the half hearted tone with a mixture of purplish blues. Not blue, not purple, not pink. I want to tell it to make up it’s mind, it reminds me too much of the eighties, and dusty rose. Yuk!
I have been known to delete all the photos of orangey red poppies in my photo archives also. I find that Adobe PS makes the colors too jarring for my senses. It’s not that I don’t like red, I did not want to see this shade popping up all the time. Anything green, mossy, cool, or any of the autumn shades works for me. But in the spring we want a clear blue, white, soft yellows, and pinks. During mid summers and beyond, the warm tones of the approaching Fall make us feel contented, that we are slowly slipping into the next season without a abrupt change. The orange of pumpkins, the russet of chestnuts, and the golden hues of the setting light, cling to every falling leaf. The Aubergine watering can invoked such strong feelings in everyone, almost no one complained of that color. If it were to be mixed with Chartreuse foliage, that joyous limey green would make it even more perfect for me.
So how do you feel? What’s your favorite color, combo, what do you dislike, what can’t you stand? What color would you never, ever plant, even if it was on sale more then half price at your local garden centre? Are you willing to pass up a bargain, in order to have color harmony in your garden, or are you a plant all the rainbows colors, they all work for me kind of gardener.