Flower Colors?

I am really kicking myself for not putting a list of "standard" flower colors in the last revision to the Plants Database. Because now we have some pretty wacky color descriptions out there ;)

Here's what I've developed as a possible set of standard colors. But since I'm not the only one who adds to the database, I'd like to get your input and comments - did I miss something, or can we describe these better?

Here's my list (in "rainbow" order, give or take)
1. Pale Pink
2. Pink
3. Rose/Mauve
4. Scarlet (Dark Red)
5. Fuchsia (Red-Purple)
6. Red
7. Scarlet (Dark Red)
8. Coral/Apricot
9. Orange
10. Red-Orange
11. Gold (Yellow-Orange)
12. Pale Yellow
13. Bright Yellow
14. Chartreuse (Yellow-Green)
15. Pale Green
16. Green
17. Light Blue
18. Cyan Blue
19. Dark Blue
20. Blue-Violet
21. Violet/Lavender
22. Purple
23. Dark Purple/Black
24. Maroon (Purple-Brown)
25. Brown
26. White
27. Cream
28. Silver/Gray
29. No flower/Inconspicuous

I think getting a standard list (you'll be able to choose as many as are applicable for your entry) will help when someone is searching for plants of a specific hue. I promised Dave I'd have a final list to him by Friday, so please post your comments back here ASAP; I'll post a (hopefully final) list on Thursday.

looks good to me!!

vols,can we select more than one to describe a single entry?
I'm thinking of something like gloriosa daisy with gold/maroon/brown colors.Some of the flowers are solids and others have some of all exhibited on them.

Or sweet peas with streaks and stripes?

Melody, yes - you'll be able to choose any and all colors that you need to describe it. I'm debating on whether we should add descriptive words like "bi-color" or "striped" or "streaked" - it could get a bit confusing, so I'm leaning away from doing that. But if someone has a different opinion, I'm all ears.

I think you're right about the descriptive terms.Everyone sees things differently.Especially with flowers.

The only thing is with tomatoes,bi-color is an accepted term that people are familiar with.

Mel, I suspect tomatoes (and hosta, daylilies, etc.) will be different issues altogether - in fact, I'm hoping that "flower color" doesn't even show up on a tomato entry form (in the near future), since it's not relevant to a tomato.

Gee, we can't wax eliquent anymore...no baby butt pink, no French's mustard yellow? Seriously, how about variegated or marbled? Is this change needed to cross-ref? If a further description is needed, I guess it could be added in the description.

go-vols 4 and 7 are the same on your list and there's no bright red (though i think of scarlet as that) Perhaps vermillion?
Also no true mid blue (cyan is greenish)
It's great to have this feature as a method for people to search, but in many cases extra information in the description will be really welcome as the beauty of many plants is in the subtlety of their colours.
This way we can hopefully keep the best of both worlds (and your baby butt pink and French mustard yellow LOL Weez)

Thanks, philomel. Here's a slightly modified list (my "final" list, unless I get more feedback for any other changes or additions):

1. Pale Pink
2. Pink
3. Rose/Mauve
4. Magenta (Pink-Purple)
5. Fuchsia (Red-Purple)
6. Red
7. Scarlet (Dark Red)
8. Coral/Apricot
9. Orange
10. Red-Orange
11. Gold (Yellow-Orange)
12. Pale Yellow
13. Bright Yellow
14. Chartreuse (Yellow-Green)
15. Pale Green
16. Green
17. Light Blue
18. Medium Blue
19. Dark Blue
20. Blue-Violet
21. Violet/Lavender
22. Purple
23. Dark Purple/Black
24. Maroon (Purple-Brown)
25. Brown
26. White
27. Cream
28. Silver/Gray
29. No flower/Inconspicuous

Weezin, (leaf) variegation will still be in the foliage section; but things like bi-color, picotee etc? I don't know if we need to have it here, so that's part of my question for posting this list.

The descriptive colors are...well, really colorful, LOL. I would encourage anyone adding to the database to describe an unusual coloring pattern within their general description.

I hope that taking away the free-form text field is more than offset by the added benefit of being able to search the database by flower color.

OK, Go_vols, as a bit of an artist, I have a hard time giving up the subtilties of color, but I can see your point. I can always add it to the descriptions, if it is truly important.

One other area I have a problem with is the moisture requirement. Sometimes I'm not sure what to put there. The usual descriptions on seed packets, etc, is "average, well-drained soil" or "rich, well-drained soil". My impression is that the plant likes moist soil, but doesn't want to sit in water.

Of course, that brings up the other question...great to bring all this stuff up on Thursday, isn't it...we don't really have a drop down for soil requirements. Would that be a good addition, or could it be included in the Moisture entry? Moisture/Soil requirements.

Don't you just love a sh*t disturber!

What if we had the pulldown menu of 29 proposed fields from Vols, but then also included a separate free-form field where you can type in a little extra note about the color?

That way, you can select "Pink" but then type in the field: "Pink with very thin white stripes" or something.

Then, the database can still by browsed by color (Show all plants that are pink) and when you land on the plant in question, the text appears in italics below the "Color: Pink" area.

Would that work?

dave

Coooool, Dave!

Ta da! Dave to the rescue - great idea. It will help those who want to describe the flower color changes (some do change dramatically as they fade) or variations in the color. Great idea!

Now weezin, you know what they say - if you are gonna criticize, you have to come up with a solution (at least that's what *they* always told yours truly, anyway!)

So, I think you've just volunteered yourself to help me take a very critical look at that "basic" information we collect when you create an entry, and see what makes sense for the typical plant (roses, daylilies, and a few others notwithstanding, because they have their own peculiarities.)

I'll email you with some details. Anybody else want to volunteer? Or have ideas on what to tweak while we're tweaking?

Bring it on, Go_vols! Let me know who else is working on it, and we can share ideas...do we have to have this done by Friday?

LOL, Weezin - yes of course we must have it done by Friday. The only question is WHICH Friday?

Unless somebody else speaks up real soon, this will be our list of "standard" colors in the database. And for those who are wondering if there isn't some REAL standard out there, yes there is. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has a list of standard flower colors. From what I could find, one must pay a hefty sum to get a color chart, and it appears to be very large and specific (several times the size of this list.)

I was really surprised to find no other industry "standard" short list of flower colors, or even any other database using a list of colors. (If you know of one, speak up - I'd love to take a look before we change the database here.)

The bright side of that discovery was that we can use whatever we choose. My goal is to have a list of colors that covers the spectrum without being too lengthy.

Sounds good to me, Go_vols. Was busy transplanting violas today, so I didn't get to visit the garden until now...9PM my time. Lots of my watched threads have postings, so I'm making the rounds now. Hope I didn't miss any good stuff!