how do you plan your flower gardens?

I like planning my flower gardens to match the colors of my house. My house is tan and brown so I do a lot of red, orange, yellow, maroon. Any purples, blues or pinks I try to plant them away from the house. How does everyone else do it??

I plant all colors far from your house. ;^)

HA HA!

I see I'm not the only night owl.

Because I have 2 little girls I tend to have a lot of pinks and purples because they love those colours. I also have some yellow and white. I basically didn't have much of a plan - I just sort of planted what I liked.

Because my main bed is on a slope I tened to plant by height and bloom time as well as color. I found that I seemed to lean toward orange and yellows. Lighter colors might not produce as well because of the length of light (afternoon). I will probley add different colors next year.
Chuck

I try to keep everything in the front yard with yellow, orange or red blooms - except for the herb bed that usually has purple blooms. Ideally the beds are set up to provide flowers in waves - but the daffodil - poppy bed is sorely lacking in blooms right now. In the back yard - it doesn't matter, but I'm working towards everything producing some kind of food -either for me or critters. Then there is the "alley" between the house and the new fence - that is reserved for my ostrich ferns and shade loving plants - even though I just had to build a "sun barrier" for some new plants. I have to get it set up before that diamond-encrusted yellow lady slipper shows up.

Well, for starters, I went to the Better Homes and Gardens web-site and found a plan for a fragrance garden. I changed some of the plants (roses for peonies - that sort of thing) and we changed the configuration from two long rectangular gardens edging a sidewalk, to a garden edging a fence line, and curving lines on the front edge and making a 90 degree corner. (So the garden follows the south and west walls of the fence).

Colours - well, it's supposed to be primarily blues, pinks, and whites, with touches of red and soft yellow. But of course, nothing is perfect! Golden daylilies are at one end. Red poppies I winter-sowed needed a home, so they are at another end - interspersed with blue delphiniums (some actually have flower buds forming!). Other annuals I started this spring fill in blank spots where perennials are supposed to fill in.

And, of course, to totally throw off the colour scheme - I have some orange gladiolas that will almost certainly bloom while we are on vacation!

When you have a conflicting color in your garden, it is a good idea to go on vacation!

Actually, I don't plan around color hardly at all. I just see I part of my yard that I think could use a garden and I make one. I pay more attention to height and texture. On my newest, I'm trying to make "rooms" & paths that make the eye follow them.

I keep changing the house paint color my house to match the flowers.

loll.. That's funny. So if your neighbor doesn't like your current house color, they can just buy you a flowering plant in the color they want your house...

Exactly. It's one way to expand the garden!!

loll.. Create some competition.. Have the neighbor fight over your house color.. :)

I really don't plant to match colors. I will go by the plants that will do the best there, then height and so forth.

That's really what I do too. I try to match colors with surrounding plants when possible, but I am a plant lover and collector first. Design is secondary.

I guess then I'm just the opposite, into the design more and pray I find the plants to fit.
The color coordinating must be still with me from my previous job(a merchandiser for a large retailer)

I'm like flowerjen. Design (paths are always the most important to me), then flowers/plants/trees/shrubs but still the color harmony is uppermost in my mind.

I'm mostly mix and match. I started with a good idea of what I wanted and then did numerous drawings, keeping in mind color, bloom season and height. After that basic plan, which is still going strong, I just filled in spots as I fell in love with a plant or needed something here or there.

I don't usually plan for color, more for having blooms the entire season. By serendipity, the garden to the right of the steps to the driveway turned out darker colors - purples, blues and reds. The garden to the left of the steps to the driveway turned out mostly lighter colors - yellows, oranges, pastel pinks.

A couple of weeks ago I dug up one garden, to the right of my porch because it clashed horribly, dark reds, purples, yellows, a purplish foliage plant, pink bleeding hearts and astilbes. I left the two anchor plants, red astilbe at one end, yellow tickseed at the other end and planted roses that brought the two colors together (the middle of that area has a red/white/yellow Sheila's Delight to tie it all together). This was really an exercise in getting roses planted (got 10 of them out of pots), but that was one area thatI never took pictures of because I was not pleased with it.

However, that is the only area that I have worked with colors intentionally - usually it is about full season interest in each garden area.

Plan a bed out on paper, browse the catalogs all fall and winter for new and just really have to try plants that work together, taking into account color, texture, size and bloom time not to mention critter resistance. Then order and buy locally. Get the whole thing planted, wait about four years then switch everything around to where I really want it. Example: this section has been changed around several times and no doubt will be again.

That is really nice!

Funny how that really does happen, ngam, isn't it? Some gardens remain unchanged from long ago and some change constantly.

The only constant in the garden is change.

And either too much or not enough rain.

Wait a minute! You can move plants? I'll be right back.LOL


Paths and areas to sit and relax are important.

And designated areas where you can scream profanities at the top of your lungs for all the garden problems. Not that I have any.

I plan carefully for color.............Lots and lots of color!


early_bloomer

Wow! that looks amazing, Early_Bloomer.

Very nice EB.

Oooo I love that rustic arbor! Nothing needs changing there, just lovely EB.

Seander....thanks for the heads up on the Better Homes and Gardens fragrance garden. Helpful in getting focused. Never landscaped a lot before and it is somewhat intimidating. Good news is the previous owner was content with a lawn. Nothing was let go and nothing has to be torn up. Bad news is there is a lot of lawn.

"The only constant in the garden is change" A quote from Victorgardener! I tend to agree with this because I tend to change it up every single year! I have only small gardens so I am continually moving things around or changing plants period LOL....I love it though...I hope I am never totally happy so that way I can keep sprucing things up!

Early Bloomer - your garden is gorgeous!!! I have to admit too I really like your fencing!

Thanks Dawn! No need to use my screen name - Victor is fine - at least until another Victor shows up on the Forum! If he does, I'll invoke seniority.

Ok Mr V is that okay with you? Mr V I mean...I kind of like it!

No - that makes me feel old and too important ! Victor works very well.

Okay fine Victor is is then LOL

I've seen that name - you really hate mice don't you.LOL

There's definitely no room for another Victor. lol :)
Earlybloomer....absolutely beautiful.
I haven't had anything to change yet our place was almost completely barren when we bought it and the things they had, yikes! makes me cringe. I did have to rip out every purple and pink that was near the house though it clashed so bad. I think she had just gotten Mother's Day gifts and planted them wily nily(is that how you spell it?)

Jen, I would think the lighter shades of pink would look fine with your house.

Earybloomer, Very nice!

... planning?
that's what happens in my mind at home before i go to the store and find completely different plants i must have. then i come home and try to figure out what to do with them. oh, and then there is part about figuring out where to go with plants that have grown faster/bigger than expected! (i don't have much space...)

sigh...

; )

amy
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