raisingirl writes "Things that are described as white turn out to be pale pink, and 'purple' or 'mauve' often turns out to be magenta. But if they thrive, it would be churlish to get rid of them, [...]"
I beg to disagree, being a gardener for whom colour scheme is of paramount importance.
I love looking at the show gardens on tv with such carefully thought out colour schemes. But I garden on a windswept hill with acidic clay soil and I lose many plants every year that just can't tolerate the conditions. I used to have a little town garden, where every plant was a critical part of the whole and each was tweaked and moved around to follow a plan. I once had a rainbow bed - deep violet at one end, through black, blue, green, yellow, orange and red at the other. But where I am now I follow Lyn's thought - if it grows for me then that's the plant for me. Colour is a secondary consideration.
To care about colour is not wrong, it's a privilege I don't share. I envy those of you who can pick and chose and have plants or colours you don't like. I grow roses and crocosmia and plants with yellow flowers and day lilies and cornus and conifers and heathers and even hydrangeas (which I used to turn my nose up at) because they grow here - all of which have been condemned by people on this site for one reason or another in the short time I've been around here. Beautiful salvias, scented witch hazels, almost any evergreen (including laurel), most clematis, 50% of the lavender I've planted - all dead.
So you may disagree Papi Jo - that is entirely your choice for your garden. But from where I am, I stand by my comment - if it thrives, it stays and I am grateful, whatever colour it is.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I started with very strictly coordinated borders (the OH called me the colour police) and a big lack of understanding about height, shapes etc. It didnt really work.
id think about what style you want and how formal you want to be. All colours anywhere really does suit some gardens. Think about distance from the house and views too. I find yellow works well far away, but you cant see purple, for example.
Papa Jo, don't ever think that my explosion in a paint factory way of gardening is easier, everything here is grown from seeds and cutting, begged borrowed or stolen, we'll sort of?
I am out there all day everyday to keep it in control, that's only a small border compared with 100' long one on the other side. It's a constant round of seed sowing, in preparation for two years time, or cutting taking, then there's the grass, don't even want to think about that yet.?
Seems we have similar situations raisingirl, I'm on the West side of Dartmoor, Atlantic winds and always in the clouds.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
It looks very good Lyn and your colours and plants are very similar to what I had in Belgium where it was more a question of what would grow and flourish and what would struggle or just turn up its toes.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Really interesting replies, thank you! I am in awe of anyone who can manage to consider all of colour, height, texture, changing seasons, along with light levels, soil pH, moisture, etc. I think I'm going to have to stick with a more random approach- though I'll probably carry on avoiding yellows.
Judy - it comes with experience. You can begin by choosing a colour and then finding out which plants will give you that colour and suit your conditions and then, having selected them, you play with foliage forms and textures and plant heights and shapes to make a pleasing border.
Or you start with a plant you love and find out what will co-ordinate, contrast and compliment it and which also likes your conditions.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I'm on the southern edge of Exmoor - sheltered from the worst of the southwesterly gales but blasted by the northwesterlies that roar off the moors. Drier here, I should think, and probably colder as a result.
I like to tell myself it would be no fun it was easy
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I can imagine the difficulty of gardening on moors. We often holiday in Cornwall and the change in weather when we cross Exmoor, and then Bodmin, is scary at times!
Obelixx, I'm 55 and have been fiddling with this garden for 22 years - you'd think I'd have enough experience by now but no, I'm still clueless Maybe by the time I'm 90 I'll have it sussed....
I find it hard to combine plants. I loved Rudbeckia Goldstrum my front garden last year but found it clashed with almost anything. I normally prefer cooler colours but like yellow also. I suppose rudbeckia is closer to orange
Posts
I love looking at the show gardens on tv with such carefully thought out colour schemes. But I garden on a windswept hill with acidic clay soil and I lose many plants every year that just can't tolerate the conditions. I used to have a little town garden, where every plant was a critical part of the whole and each was tweaked and moved around to follow a plan. I once had a rainbow bed - deep violet at one end, through black, blue, green, yellow, orange and red at the other. But where I am now I follow Lyn's thought - if it grows for me then that's the plant for me. Colour is a secondary consideration.
To care about colour is not wrong, it's a privilege I don't share. I envy those of you who can pick and chose and have plants or colours you don't like. I grow roses and crocosmia and plants with yellow flowers and day lilies and cornus and conifers and heathers and even hydrangeas (which I used to turn my nose up at) because they grow here - all of which have been condemned by people on this site for one reason or another in the short time I've been around here. Beautiful salvias, scented witch hazels, almost any evergreen (including laurel), most clematis, 50% of the lavender I've planted - all dead.
So you may disagree Papi Jo - that is entirely your choice for your garden. But from where I am, I stand by my comment - if it thrives, it stays and I am grateful, whatever colour it is.
I started with very strictly coordinated borders (the OH called me the colour police) and a big lack of understanding about height, shapes etc. It didnt really work.
id think about what style you want and how formal you want to be. All colours anywhere really does suit some gardens. Think about distance from the house and views too. I find yellow works well far away, but you cant see purple, for example.
Papa Jo, don't ever think that my explosion in a paint factory way of gardening is easier, everything here is grown from seeds and cutting, begged borrowed or stolen, we'll sort of?
I am out there all day everyday to keep it in control, that's only a small border compared with 100' long one on the other side. It's a constant round of seed sowing, in preparation for two years time, or cutting taking, then there's the grass, don't even want to think about that yet.?
Seems we have similar situations raisingirl, I'm on the West side of Dartmoor, Atlantic winds and always in the clouds.
It looks very good Lyn and your colours and plants are very similar to what I had in Belgium where it was more a question of what would grow and flourish and what would struggle or just turn up its toes.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Really interesting replies, thank you! I am in awe of anyone who can manage to consider all of colour, height, texture, changing seasons, along with light levels, soil pH, moisture, etc. I think I'm going to have to stick with a more random approach- though I'll probably carry on avoiding yellows.
Lyn, your border is beautiful!
Judy - it comes with experience. You can begin by choosing a colour and then finding out which plants will give you that colour and suit your conditions and then, having selected them, you play with foliage forms and textures and plant heights and shapes to make a pleasing border.
Or you start with a plant you love and find out what will co-ordinate, contrast and compliment it and which also likes your conditions.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I'm on the southern edge of Exmoor - sheltered from the worst of the southwesterly gales but blasted by the northwesterlies that roar off the moors. Drier here, I should think, and probably colder as a result.
I like to tell myself it would be no fun it was easy
Moors are very bleak places to live. Pretty, but bleak.?
I can imagine the difficulty of gardening on moors. We often holiday in Cornwall and the change in weather when we cross Exmoor, and then Bodmin, is scary at times!
Obelixx, I'm 55 and have been fiddling with this garden for 22 years - you'd think I'd have enough experience by now but no, I'm still clueless
Maybe by the time I'm 90 I'll have it sussed....
I find it hard to combine plants. I loved Rudbeckia Goldstrum my front garden last year but found it clashed with almost anything. I normally prefer cooler colours but like yellow also. I suppose rudbeckia is closer to orange