As I continue sharing photographs from past seasons at Oak Lawn Cheese Factory, I thought it might be effective to create some general color groupings in my Garden Review posts... my use of color is for the most part based on instinct as I really find it difficult to label subtle variations as they occur throughout the gardens... something missing in my 'youth and childhood' education apparently!
Today is red day or at least as red as my gardens get. A true red is the hottest color of the warm palette and is very powerful emotionally... after all, it is the color of seemingly opposite emotions... warmth, even passionate love but also hostility and evil, for example. Red can raise the pulse and shorten the breath, it's often a color of celebration. Many gardeners are very involved in the color palette when designing their spaces but I am much more of a primitive soul... as noted before, I use what instinct I can muster and go for what I personally find appealing. There aren't many combinations that I don't like... however, I once had orange poppies combined with blue lupines... I hated it and to this day don't care for orange and blue combined. The only other combination that I recall really bothering me was a Pink Spire malus blooming next to a Redbud... eventually I cut the redbud down even though the overlap was only a few days... it was unbearable.
I do really like some gardens that feature red, however.
Check out the site of my blogging friend Alistair from Scotland...
http://www.aberdeengardening.co.uk/diary/index.php/our-aberdeen-garden/
I love the way he has used red in his gardens... note the combination with grays!
Here then is a compendium of my use of "sort of reds" in my gardens...
Aesculus carnea 'Briotti' is a wonderful addition to the late May garden and its blooms stay fresh for a goodly period of time. Not bone hardy in our climate, bark fissures have occurred from earlier seasons when the temperatures reached minus 20 degrees or colder. I find occasional fruits that have germinated in the area of this chestnut relative, but the jury is still out on whether they come true to form.
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| Aesculus carnea 'Briotti' |
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| Aesculus carnea 'Briotti' |
My Taiyo (the sun) tree peony is but one of several that I grow. The tissue papery texture of the blooms is amazing and the color lights up the gardens. I grow this plant in the shade of Pinus strobus 'Contorta' with the goal being light shade which will aide in the longevity of the peony blooms. Tree peonies bloom in early June here and almost without fail there is a hot spell when they are at their peak. A good technique for providing shade is to bury a piece of plastic PVC pipe well into the ground vertically and setting a beach umbrella into said pipe during the tree peony bloom period to provide shade. Tree peonies are heavy feeders and for the past couple years I've been using a three inch layer of Llama beans spread about their base in the fall. With this variety of manure there is no smell or concern about burning. Yes the bloom period is short on tree peonies, but there is really nothing to compare with this well-grown "Queen of the Garden' whose history can be traced back to 518 a.d. in Chinese gardens.
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| Taiyo is to the right and blooms earlier than some of my other tree peonies |
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A common ajuga blooms at the same time as Taiyo and by virtue of the fact that it is
a hummingbird magnet, adds new dimension to this garden... both on the ground and in the air |
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| 'Taiyo' tree peony |
I've had a very pleasant experience with growing nasturtium 'Cherry's Jubilee' from Renee's Garden in California. I particularly like this cultivar because it has less orange than some. If you are a cottage gardener, you would be well advised to check out some of Renee Shepherd's offerings!
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| Nasturtium 'Cherry Jubilee' |
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| Nasturtium 'Cherry Jubilee' |
Dahlias have always been a problem for me... that is until I started growing them in containers... no more blackened buds that don't open or large green aphids... from here on out, it will be a few containerized dahlias in an eastern exposure every year...
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| Dahlia |
Hardy hibiscus do very well in our zone five climate. My biggest concern is that several are now growing in too much shade as the gardens have developed, and are in need of a move... symptoms include prematurely yellowing foliage. This will be no small task as the plants are fairly old. Since I didn't keep a record of most of the cultivars, it isn't possible to purchase younger versions and I question the wisdom of doing so as the dreaded japanese beetle moves closer and closer to our area... they are partial to these large and apparently tasty blooms...
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| Lord Baltimore in full sun |
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| Hardy hibiscus |
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I realize some of these photos have been posted previously... I just can't resist...
especially this shot which is my all time favorite hibiscus photo to date |
Oriental and orienpet lilies provide some nice colors in this color range... here are a couple favorites...
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| Oriental Lily 'Rio Negro' |
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| Orienpet Lily 'Scheherazade' |
One of my favorite primrose is Primula 'Radical Red'...
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| Primula 'Radical Red' |
Always high on my list of reds is oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermore'...
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| Oriental Poppy 'Beauty of Livermore' |
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| Oriental Poppy 'Beauty of Livermore' |
I'll close with the tulip 'Red Impression'. In retrospect, I really don't have all that much red in my gardens... however, a little bit can go a long way... Larry
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| 'Red Impression' Darwin hybrid tulip |
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