GBDW – Color in the Garden Wrap-Up

– Posted in: Garden Design

Coleus ‘Sedona’ with Lobelia cardinalis and Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ Aug 9 07Even though February was a short month, we managed to squeeze in a whole lot of posts on color! I think I’ve included everyone who left links here, and I found a few more of you in my travels around the garden-blogging community, but I’m sure I’ve missed some other great offerings. If you have any color-related posts that you’d like to have listed here, please leave a link below, and I’ll add it to the main list. Now, on to the summary, starting with…

Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop – Color in the Garden (Nan at Gardening Gone Wild): Kick-off post for this month’s topic.

Sitting Pretty (Steve at Gardening Gone Wild): Looking for fun ways to add more color to your garden? Check out Steve’s gallery of paint-and-plant combinations.

In Defense of Wacky Garden Stuff (Pam at Digging): Even more fun with paint in the garden!

Let’s Hear It for Color Echoes (Steve at Gardening Gone Wild): If your plant combinations seem to lack a certain something, echoing’s an easy way to increase your odds of success.

Color – Flying Solo (Fran at Gardening Gone Wild): You don’t need to go all out to create eye-catching color effects; sometimes, less is more.

Color Palette – Should It Change Every Year? (Greg at Utah Valley Gardens): If you plan your gardens with specific color themes, do you find they get boring after a few years, or do you enjoy the dependability of your design? Let Greg know what you think!

Hue – And Cry! (Chookie at Chookie’s Back Yard): Having trouble figuring out how to put color theory into gardening practice? You’re not the only one; come commiserate with Chookie.

Color in the Garden (Phillip at Dirt Therapy): Phillip shares some of his thoughts on using color in the garden, along with photos of some of his favorite combinations.

Someone Said Color? (Jim at Art of Gardening): Jim’s musings on how he uses color in his garden, with a great series of photos showing different color effects in his front yard.

Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop – Color in the Garden (Craig at Ellis Hollow): Craig weighs in with his own theories on gardening with color, then treats us to a rainbow gallery of blooms, berries, foliage, and more.

Colour in the Garden – Be Bold! (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): Jodi makes a good case for being adventurous with color in borders and containers, and she shares some of her favorite books and combinations, too.

Color Blasts and Bursts (Shirl at Shirl’s Gardenwatch): Looking for ways to add color to your garden besides foliage and flowers? Shirl’s post is packed with a bounty of exciting ideas.

Colors of Springs Past 2003 (Dave at The Home Garden): Desperate for spring to arrive? Get a preview of the glory with Dave’s look back at some early-blooming beauties.

Twelve Months of Color in New Jersey (Heirloom Gardener): A month-by month gallery of highlights from HG’s garden in Zone 6b.

Letting It Rip with Color (Fran at Gardening Gone Wild): Who cares about color rules? The point of gardening is to have fun!

Color My World (Pam at Digging): Pam’s favorite pinks, reds, and silvers for her Austin garden.

Color My World (Diana at Sharing Nature’s Garden): Another Austinite with a bounty of bright blooms to drive away our winter blues!

Garden Color: Inspiration from Chanticleer in Wayne, Pennsylvania (Heirloom Gardener): Take a tour of combinations in a colorist’s paradise in PA.

Color in My Garden (Lisa at Greenbow): Even if you don’t deliberately plan for particular color schemes, you may find, as Lisa did, that you create some great color affects by happy accident.

Shouting Out with Red in the Garden (Fran at Gardening Gone Wild): Tips for making the most of red flowers and foliage in Part 1 and Part 2.

Red Flowers for the Holidays (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): Need more red? See Jodi’s selection of rousing reds in Part 1 and Part 2.

Valentine’s Day – Thinkin’ Pink (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): If you think you’re not a big fan of this color in the garden, you may need to think again after seeing Jodi’s pretty-in-pinks.

An Ode to Orange (Steve at Gardening Gone Wild): Steve tackles a color that has daunted many a gardener and shows how to use it with style.

Armora Sun Coleus and Other Peach Flowers (Anna at FlowerGardenGirl): Prefer your orange a bit on the softer side? Check out Anna’s gallery of some pretty peach flowers and leaves.

Color in the Garden (Mr. McGregor’s Daughter): A celebration of chartreuse foliage!

Colour in the Garden – Acid Green, Chartreuse, or Yellow? (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): By any name, this foliage color is a beauty in the garden. This post covers some of Jodi’s shrubby favorites; for her herbaceous picks, see Chartreuse 2…the New Neutral?

The Softer Side of Yellow (Nan at Hayefield): Combinations of yellow-and-green, yellow-and-yellow, and yellow-and-blue.

Blue in the Garden (Frances at Faire Garden): Three posts showing a gallery of France’s favorite blue flowers and accents: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

The Blues (Shirl at Shirl’s Gardenwatch): A gallery of beautiful blues from Shirl’s garden, with her suggestions on how to make the most of the blues in your own garden. And if that’s not enough blue for you, check out her Meconopsis Magic. (I’m still not sure if that counts as sharing or taunting, Shirl!)

Blue Poppies – Love Them or Love Them? (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): Oh, yes, more meconopsis, just in case those of us who love blue but can’t grow them want to wallow in more self-pity enjoy more of their amazing color.

Colour in the Garden (Green Thumb at India Garden): A gallery of predominantly purple blooms, fruits, and leaves in Green Thumb’s garden.

Color in the Garden – GBDW (Frances at Faire Garden): A sumptuous offering of France’s favorite black berries, blooms, leaves, and ornaments in four posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Chocolate (Plants) for Valentine’s Day (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): A feast for the eyes, featuring some of Jodi’s favorite plants for her chocolate-and-wine garden.

The Dark Side (Steve at Gardening Gone Wild): Some of Steve’s favorite plants with purple-to-black foliage.

Purple Prose (Nan at Hayefield): Part 1 covers combinations of dark foliage with bright colors; Part 2 covers dark foliage with white flowers and silver and blue foliage; and Part 3 covers dark foliage with greens, purples, and pinks.

Dark and Light (Nan at Hayefield): Combinations of purple and chartreuse foliage spread over several posts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3).

Almost “Wordless Wednesday” (Shirl at Shirl’s Gardenwatch): A gallery of wonderful white flowers for all seasons.

Cooling It with White and Green (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): More beautiful white blooms, along with variegated and silvery foliage.

I Don’t Like White (Nan at Gardening Gone Wild): Ruminations on the bad and good points of this often difficult garden color.

Brown’s Not So Bad (Nan at Gardening Gone Wild): One gardener’s attempt to make the best of a boring situation.

Nancy J. Ondra
Nan gardens on 4 acres in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In the firm belief that every garden ought to have a pretentious-sounding (or at least pretentious-looking) name, she refers to her home grounds as "Hayefield." There, she experiments with a wide variety of plants and planting styles, from cottage gardens and color-based borders to managed meadows, naturalistic plantings, and veggies--all under the watchful eyes of her two pet alpacas, Daniel and Duncan.
Nancy J. Ondra

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8 comments… add one

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Frances February 29, 2008, 7:48 am

This was the most wonderful topic, everyone seemed to find an aspect of their own garden to relate to the theme. Maybe a yearly ritual for the uncolorful month of February?

Frances at Faire Garden

Great idea, Frances! It’s a plan.

I wonder if there’d be interest in my setting up the schedule of topics now for the next six months or so? If there is, I’d be glad to do that. And if there are design topics any of you are especially interested in, leave a note here and I’ll try to work them in!
-Nan

Lisa at Greenbow February 29, 2008, 4:07 pm

Color was great success. So many directions and choices. Great fun and so informative.

Glad you enjoyed it too, Lisa!
-Nan

Brenda Kula February 29, 2008, 6:15 pm

Glad I found you. I am in love with color. Took some pics today of my purple pansies, and they seemed so cheerful, how can you not be happy?
I’ll be back to visit soon.
Brenda Kula

Welcome, Brenda! You’re so lucky to have pansies handy; they’re a sure cure for the winter blahs.
-Nan

Curtis February 29, 2008, 8:42 pm

A whole bunch of post about color for our gardens. This is very helpful.

Yep, it sure seemed to be a popular topic!
-Nan

jodi February 29, 2008, 9:02 pm

I meant to do a post on brown too, but I didn’t make it in time for February, mostly because I’ve been putting some thought into it and had to set it aside for ‘real’ work (the kind that pays the bills so I can buy more plants.
I think it would be a lovely thing to set up some design topics for a few months, if it’s not too much work, Nan. We’re sure having a lot of fun with these! So glad you all are acting as cheerleaders for the discussion as well as teaching us more about designing interests.

Whenever you get around to posting about brown, Jodi, just leave a link here and we’ll add it to the list.

And yes, we’ll go ahead and work out the GBDW topics for the rest of this year. Look for an announcement in the next two weeks!
-Nan

Kim March 1, 2008, 12:38 am

I am admittedly late to the party this month… but I put up a color post today here:
http://blackswampgirl.blogspot.com/2008/02/color-in-garden-chameleon-color.html

Hey, many thanks, Kim! I’ll add you to the list.
-Nan

Dee/reddirtramblings March 5, 2008, 10:22 am

I did one too on Color: Garden Navigator at http://reddirtramblings.com/?p=181 . Would you add it to the list? Please? BTW, it was a great idea for a post.~~Dee

Of course I’ll add it, Dee! I’m sorry I missed it the first time. For some reason, your blog won’t let me leave a comment there, so I’ll say here that I think you’re more successful than you’re giving yourself credit for. Your shade garden combination with the chartreuse and the hostas, plus the touch of blue, is especially lovely.
-Nan

kerri March 9, 2008, 2:59 pm

I have a couple of color-related posts from my archives Nan. I don’t know whether they’d count, or if it’s too late to add them, but here they are, just in case:
http://colorsofthegarden.blogspot.com/2006/09/thinking-pink.html
http://colorsofthegarden.blogspot.com/2007/06/pink-and-white-delight.html
This has been an informative and fun topic. Thanks for all your wonderful posts and hard work!

Great, Kerri! Thanks for the links; they certainly do count, and it’s never too late. I will add them to the main list when I do the update.
-Nan

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