Hey everyone,
I'm very impatiently waiting for the arrival of a container ideas book/CD I just purchased. Will it ever get here??? In the mean time I've been looking through this forum at all of your great plantings and ideas. I've also gone online to Proven Winners and all the other sites I can find for ideas.
Someone here had posted pics of their "high contrast" containers. The colors were lime green and black (or very dark purple). I LOVED the look of it. I'm pretty sure there was a Key Lime SPV, a Blackie SPV and some gorgeous Coleus in there too. Last year, by fluke, I mixed up some orange-ish and magenta-purple Impatiens and it really revved things up in the garden. I've always done pastel colors...pinks, lavender/purple, blues, soft yellow. Last year I found out that DH loves yellow, orange and bright colors...who knew?? So, I tried to incorporate that into a lot of my containers. He's not a flower guy, and if there's anything I can do to make it more fun or enjoyable for him I try to. I also found out that the brighter your flowers are the more they get noticed (sounds so obvious, huh? LOL). I never got as many compliments on the garden and containers as I did last year. Soooooo....
This year I'm thinking of trying for the high contrast again. I'd really like to copy the green/black pics I saw here...if I can find the plants. I'm also thinking of doing the orange and purple again...it really doesn't look as Halloween-ish as it sounds! Anyone have any suggestions for the thriller, filler, spillers I could use? I'm looking for sun/part shade plants, that way my window boxes and baskets can all match no matter where they are. Watering isn't a problem because it's one of my favorite things to do in the garden.
Please post any pics you have, I would love to see them. Even if they aren't of the colors I mentioned, please post away!!
Thanks everyone!
Heather
Thinking High Contrast...Purple and Orange
Here is one of my favorites. It has purple, but no orange. You could add orange easily though.
Some ideas of plants I'm starting to gather up in my mind (and from looking at Lowe's and a local nursery) are...
Orange & Purple Impatiens (of course! that's what started this whole thing!)
Coleus - comes in both orange and with purple markings
Osteopermum - there's some gorgeous orange ones from Proven Winners that actually has a small purple band around the eye. There's purple too, but it always looks faded to me.
Lobelia - there's some purplish ones I had last year...was it something Moon (Ruby Moon?)
Verbena - great purples there too
Petunias - I know some of you aren't too fond of Petunias, but I just can't imagine my baskets without them! I just wish there was an orange Petunia, that would make this so simple.
Sage - great purples
Nemesia - just about every color of the rainbow for these little cuties...but they didn't do too great for me last year.
I've kinda crossed Marigolds off of my list. They just seem overdone to me and it makes me feel blah. I'm sure I'll end up getting some though, because who can resist the good old "staple" flowers that we've come to depend on? Like my Petunias and Impatiens, LOL!
Thanks again everyone!
JLP, that is goregous! I was thinking about some Persian Shield. I had one about 2 yrs ago and DH loved to look at it from every angle to see the color changes...just like a little kid, LOL! They are also very easy to take starts from. Great idea.
I already picked up some Moss Rose (Portulaca) in tangerine and fuchsia. Those would probably mix great with the Persian Shield. Maybe I'll just end up using the PS as my upright thriller in the boxes and baskets. Finding a thriller has been my hardest part so far.
Funny you should start this thread, Heather! Last summer, quite by accident, I ended up with an orange something - gazania, maybe? - and something purple that was already in there grew back, but I can't remember what it was. Bear in mind, DH is a little green/blue color blind. Anyway, I thought it looked a little garish, but DH adored it, he could not stop talking about how nice it looked. I'll try to find a picture.
This year, I've planted purple and orange zinnia seeds with the dill seeds - hope they all germinate and grow!
Last year I planted the front of my house with primarily purple, orange, and chartreuse. There are only a few containers, but I'd be happy to show you how the colors meshed.
Different View
And from the west......
(That's all. I promise!)
oooooh, very nice! Thanks for sharing. Carrie, if those seeds do germinate well (I'm hoping too!) you'll have to send along pics.
DH and I were sitting out back tonight and suddenly I realized that orange and purple just will NOT look too good on the red barn. Does just the sound of that turn anyone else's stomach?? I'm thinking maybe red and yellow for on the barn.
Hmmm, no red barn here, so no similar problem. Red barns don't count as neutral, like blue jeans?
My thought was I could enjoy the feathery foliage and the fragrance of the dill while he enjoys the ORANGE and PURPLE zinnias. Fingers crossed. I guess in a worst case, I could buy tall orange and purple zinnias and tall dill or basil or something already started and plant them together, but this is my lazy winter sowing idea, mixing seeds together that ought to grow well together and just planting them together.
Here's a shot from a couple of years ago with the colors you're looking for. I loved this combo.
Pretty, Stella, very pretty.
I am trying to fill some large containers on my patio with a similar color scheme. Here are some of the plants I am trying to combine: [not all in one container :>) ]
Thrillers:
Purple leaved cannas like Wyoming (orange flowers), Durban (reddish orange flowers)
Species lillies with orange flowers like henryii and others
Spillers:
Purple Sweet potato vine--Blackie
Hanging begonias that can take some sun like Skaugum and bertini boliviensis--red and reddish orange
Nasturtiums with orange flowers
Fillers:
Short orange dahlias
Tithonia
short orange zinnias
Probably will need some light colored things to lighten up all the deep colors.
Chris
The lime or chartreuse sweet potato vine?
Yellow, orange and purple in late June.
One more.
Wrong! I'll try again.
Gorgeous pics Pirl. I was wondering when we were going to hear from you, you always have great ideas!! Chris, those combos sound stunning, but a little bit more tropical than I was looking for. Our season is sooo short here that I need stuff that's going to get growing fast and stay a while.
Actually, after looking and looking I think I've decided to go with purple and white...unless I find something great when I go to pick up the flowers. I just can't seem to find a yellow or orange bloomer that is exactly what I want. A lot of it has to do with prices, of course. I've got 7 window boxes on the house and 2 on the barn. Plus about 50 other containers (and some new ones to add to the total). I really should have started some seeds indoors...but I didn't do any this year. Next year there will either be seeds started indoors or a "flower fund", LOL!
I'm thinking I'll probably do purple and white on the house and out front and then do red and white (with green) on the barn and out back. I'm hoping that having the white in common will tie them together a bit so it won't look too odd. I've never really done white flowers before so that'll be fun. I'm just hoping the red, white and green doesn't look too Christmas-y. But, hey, if it does maybe I can just put up some ornaments and stockings and maybe Santa will come early and bring me the lawn mower I've been wanting! ^_^
Thanks everyone for your input, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone. I think we could still keep this thread going...just because I may not do these colors we can still talk about high contrast...and other want some ideas too!
Good idea. Purple and white is a lovely combination.
Thanks Pirl!! I really like that pic and it's making me feel better about choosing white to go with the purple.