Saturday, February 9, 2008

Color In My Garden

At Gardening Gone Wild they have another Garden BLogger's Design Workshop going. It is about Color In the Garden. If you go there you can find many other gardens that have lots of color. This time of year is a great time to be thinking about this. It has certainly given me something more to think about regarding my garden.

Since they have asked the question about color in the garden I have realized I don't think I have a real color theme in my garden anyplace. I have looked through all my pictures trying to find such a thing. As you can see I mix native plants with non-natives. It seems to me that the colors just all go together. Looking at these pictures would make you think I tend to lean toward the softer values of color.
Yet when you walk around to the other side of the flower bed you will find a darker value of color. These daylilies all have bird names which is how I got hooked on daylilies. The tall golden yellow ones are named Song Sparrow and the red ones vary slightly but have names like Screech Owl, Baltimore Oriole etc... How could I resist??
More of the muted values...
And more yet...
Then when you walk into the back garden it is even more muted except for the yard barn that is your typical yard barn except it is painted in a not so typical color. The purple color is called Purple Hawk. It is a nice backdrop to all the greens that seem to florish in our back garden. It almost looked like a black hole sitting there so toliven it up a little I painted some old windows chartreuse and hung them on the outside of the barn along with some of those architectural stars which I also painted.
I also put a window on the end of the barn. I thought about actually installing them but I am so rarely inside the barn I decided not to do so. I was going to use the windows for a cold frame but obviously that didn't happen. What with all this talk about winter sowing I am on the lookout for more windows. OOps I digressed.
The back garden is mostly shades of green that have occasional shots of color when the various plants bloom. I try to get a lot of different types of foilage. It seems to work for me. I think it is why I really treasure all the blooms that pop up here and there at different times of the year.
Here is my open pallete. I am putting in a new garden bed right smack in the middle of my back garden. So what with all this talk about color. I might be a little more attentive to color as I choose plants for this area. I have more choices now that there will be more light in this area with that big limb off the Locust tree on the right. I won't have all day sun of course but I will have much more than there was.
I have often been told that my back garden was cool and calming but I can feel my garden changing. All gardens do so but with the exchange of ideas about color, arbors, paths etc getting tossed around it is very exhilerating having all the more inspiration and ideas. I am looking forward to change and more color.
I want to thank everyone for sharing their ideas, pictures etc about their gardens. I have been on garden tours where you can't take pictures of a feature you like due to the possibility of 'stealing a design'. I don't think anyone wants to duplicate a design, at least I haven't wanted to, but those designs that catch my eye sure do get me to thinking out of the box.

27 comments:

  1. Your garden, and especially your back yard, looks like a place I could get lost all day long and be so content. Just beautiful Lisa!

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  2. Lisa, Garden tours where you can't take photos of the gardens. Sheesh! I, too, have enjoyed the exchange of ideas on this subject and the previous ones. I think your garden is lovely, and I really enjoyed the hot bed. I also like daylilies, and have far too many of them.~~Dee

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  3. I love the color in YOUR garden! Especially the orange lilies. And the cottage style with lots of different colors and textures and heights. I'm working on getting that dimension in my front beds, but it takes a lot of time to layer like that. Your gardens are beautiful!

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  4. Lisa, maybe you don't have a real color scheme in your garden, but you have a beautiful garden! Congratulations!
    I also prefer softer colors, and my garden is made mainly with them until winter time when the orange kniphophias bloom, then we have a burst of color!

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  5. Oh boy oh boy, let me get my sketchbook and come over and get lost in all these gorgeous flowers! It all looks fabulous.

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  6. I'm with gintoino: You may not intentionally plan color themes, but you obviously have an intuitive sense of how to create pleasing combinations. That bed with the soft colors on one side and the brights on the other is brilliant. And what a wonderful garden barn! One must wonder about the person who chose the name "Purple Hawk," but I guess that's better than some of the very eccentric color names I've seen on paint chips. It looks fantastic in your garden, anyway, especially with the chartreuse stars and window.

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  7. Hi there, Lisa :-)

    Your borders look great - I enjoyed seeing more of your garden. I believe colour in the end of the day is purely a personal thing :-D

    You go for it girl with your new bed - we will all look forward to seeing what you do :-D

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  8. The gardens are lovely indeed.
    Love Jeanne ^j^

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  9. lisa - is that a purple shed???? that is awesome!! I love it!

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  10. I want to thank everyone for the kind comments about my garden colors.

    Teri you pop in any time you pass through IN. I will sketch with you.

    Yes Gina, the barn is purple. That was my Dearly Beloveds response when he first saw it. Ha...

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  11. Your garden looks very inviting and warm. I much desire to have a great garden like yours.

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  12. Lisa, I love the walk around your garden. It's interesting to see how gardening is so much an expression of the moods and desires of the gardener. I especially enjoy the park feel of your back garden.

    Heirloom Gardener

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  13. Whoa! That was quite a tour! I love your gardens...I like the style of everything blending in and flowing on to the next.

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  14. I love your front garden! This is the first time I've seen long shots of it, and it looks so cheerful and welcoming. Do you have any lawn at all in the front? I did away with my front lawn long ago, and it's fun to just garden in all that space.

    And of course I love a purple garden shed. (Mine is purple too.)

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  15. You have it all! No need for a theme. It looks cool and comfortable and very inviting. It's beautiful!!!!!!

    We have only been in this house for two years - we have little. When I see a garden like yours, I drool.

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  16. Your garden is beautiful. I don’t think much about color when planting in my garden. I like the eclectic look

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  17. What lovely color... and btw I think you make great use of groundcovers, too. I can't wait until mine fill in more so my garden looks more lush and finished like yours does.

    (And really, you weren't allowed to take photos for fear of "design stealing"?!?! Wow.)

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  18. That softly colored native bed near the drive looks great - I'm trying to guess the plants and think it's Filipendula, Veronicastrum and Liatris? And then the contrast of the hot colors on the other side is just beautiful, Lisa!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  19. Your gardens look full of color to me! How very beautiful. I bet you have lots of butterflies!
    Do you grow any herbs? Slowly I have moved my herb garden so that each garden bed has herbs.
    Gardens do change over time. I am looking forward to seeing what you do with your new sun bed.
    Sherry

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  20. Hi Pam, Yes, I do have lawn in the front. There isn't much of it but I don't mind it. It is zoysia. It mostly sits there looking pretty. I don't have to do much to it other than mow.

    My garden is slowly going to the flowers. There won't be much lawn to deal with in years to come.

    I must have missed your purple barn. I will look for it.

    Mary it does take awhile to get gardens established unless you can afford to do things in one fell swoop. It is nice that a garden can evolve with time. So don't worry your garden will grow up around you and you will wonder how it came to be.

    Annie, there is no Liatris in this front bed but the other two are there. Plus there is a Golden Alexandra and I have forgotten its botanical name.

    Yes Q, I have some herbs in the garden. They don't have a bed of their own but are sprinkled in throughout. I grow Bronze fennel, chives, the Parsleys, Pennyroyal, the Tansys and several mints. I try to have butterfly larval host plants as well as blossoms for the adults. I just love butterflies.

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  21. Lisa,
    Your gardens are beautiful. I know you have worked hard and long(and DB has helped some). You really do desreve praise! Can't wait to see it in person.

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  22. Lisa, you did see my garden shed post because you commented on it. Remember Green Hall, the remodeled shed? It's purple, like your garden barn.

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  23. Pam I just went back to your blog to look at your shed. On my computer it looks a like a shade or two lighter blue than your bottles. It could be my eyes or more likely my computer. I would rather blame the computer.

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  24. Lisa, love the use of color in your garden, including the wonderful shed. Brilliant idea with the windows just hanging there with the yellow trim, much easier carpentry work.

    Frances at Faire Garden

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  25. I'm glad you included photos of your front garden - I love the way it flows. You may not have consciously planned color schemes, but subconsciously you put together some great combinations. Can't wait to see what new things you come up with.

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  26. Your garden looks lovely and colourful. There's no need for a colour scheme, your garden proves that point very well indeed! Thanks for that wonderful tour around your garden. I like the colour of your shed, purple is a big favourite of mine. Chartreuse stars and window eh, now who does that remind me of? ;-)

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  27. Oh Lisa, how pretty everything is! I especially love the area shown as your back garden, the one with the large terra cotta pot. That's a wonderful shaded spot. You are amazing - everything is just lovely!

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