Colour Contrasts: Combos with Punch, Pop and Tssssssss

I got a ton of ideas from the Colour Echoes thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/536597/ and I always like new ideas for combinations of plants, don’t you? Where color echoes was about harmonizing and matching colours, this thread is about contrasting colour combinations.

Contrasting colours i.e. different colours, sometimes opposite on the colour wheel, colours that when partnered together make one or both plants pop. Combinations that have wow-factor. Sometimes strong and exciting, sometimes more subtle and interesting.

But lets not get too technical. Please post your colour contrasts, whether old or recent, flower or foliage, hot or cool……what combinations do you like that say pop, wow or tssssssssssssss yowch?

I’ve found a few in my files so I’ll start us off.

This is Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer' with Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue':

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This message was edited Aug 22, 2005 11:08 AM

Lily 'Medallion' with Monarda 'Gardenview Scarlet':

Taken at the end of May, the contrasting foliage of Dicentra 'Gold Heart' and Cimicifuga 'Black Negligee':

Same corner in August, with the addition of Hosta 'Gold Standard' in front.

Leucanthemum 'Aglaiya' (Shasta Daisy) and Allium sphaerorephalon (Drumstick Allium):

Hosta 'Chinese Sunrise' and Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls':

This pic was taken at our local park. Amaranthus 'Velvet Curtains' and Phlox 'David':

You'll have to use your imagination: A magenta zinnias in front of no longer blooming daylilies, and a glorious groundcover of lysimachia aurea! The good thing about the zinnias - you can buy packets of single color open-pollinated seeds which means you can collect the seeds and plant every year. If you start the zinnias a little later than usual you will have a nice fresh crop of them after daylily season.

Amaranthus 'Velvet Curtains' is beautiful. I'll have to look at that in the plant files. How beautiful.

I love that white and deep red color combo! Do you raise Velvet Curtains from seeds?
Teresa

oh sanannie maybe I'm learning from you. I planted a 20" pot (where I grew veggies earlier in the year) with an amaranthus Velvet Curtains in the center, surrounded by white plumbago. the effect is pretty close to the one in your pix. All plants were 4" pots from my local nursery. In the late fall I will transplant plumbago to their permanent location inground. plumbago is a decidous perennial for me, I think amaranthus is annual?(note to self: ck this fact)

I adore the chinese sunrise hosta. also wish I could grow cimifuga, too hot here, especially today at 99, with a "feels like" 104!!!!

Hi, Sanannie,

I have been frantically searching through my photo album looking for 'punch and pizazz' to add to the new thread and not much is coming to mind. But I do have this one from July that really has a little 'bounce' anyway!

Love the 'contrast' idea and all of your pics, san., Someday I hope you offer DGers a tour of your garden. I'm sure you would have them coming in from all over North America for it!

Happy gardening. t.

Here's another from July--liatris 'kobold' and rudbeckia hirta 'prairie sun'. My liatris were especially bold this year and lots of fun.

caitlinsgarden - Yes I can see it: the magenta with the chartreuse lysimachia aurea would be very exciting!

bluegrass - yes, they are raised from seed. We can get them from Dominion Seed House in Canada....I'm not sure about the U.S. I haven't got into trading yet but I'll try to remember to gather some seed this fall.

hi vossner - A red and white combo is always stunning in my opinion. Here's another pic from the park that shows the red and white contrast (I'm sneaking it in because they are both annuals). Celosia 'New Look Red' with some white petunias.

tabasco - you are very sweet. Don't you love the rudbeckias for their sunny gold faces. It looks great with the liatris.

Here's a pic of it with Lily 'Delight' from earlier in the year.

OOOOOHHHHHH!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!! Where can I get "Lily Delight"?

Sanannie your gardens, your combos, your pics-all so amazing! Better than in so many garden pic coffee table books or calanders or garden magazines! I can't pick a favorite, my jaw dropped with each new pic.

And did I see you "have'nt gotten into trading "YET"-meaning you will be interested later? Oh goody,goody, goody!! I want to be first in line!

Here's rose 'Red Fairy', veronica 'Blue Giant', and orange asiatics.

Fuzzy pic, but the color cotrast of the siberian iris and rhododendron still pops. I really like crimson and violet together, especially with pinks, lavenders and white, which have filled in this area in the months since.

I call this garden "colorful chaos"

Yes it is, but I love it!

caitlansgarden - yep, Lily 'Delight' sure is purdy! I got it from a Canadian supplier called Cruickshank's, which is now out of business, but 'Landini' is probably more widely available and is very dark too (in some light 'Delight' showed red - but not 'Landini'!).

gemini_sage - you made me laugh with your 'goody-goody-goody' comment! What a great name is colorful chaos,,,,please tell me what the reddish tall plant in the background is?

Around here 'goody, goody, goody!' is uaually proceded by 'ooo, ooo!!'.

Sorry, gemini ~ we won't be swapping with sanannie unless you feel like running the border with live goods. :(

Thanks sanannie, I will be on the lookout for "Landini". Gemini, I love your colorful chaos. Do you remember what plants are shown there? I just thought of another easy plant to add color: Purple Cleome. I have only grown white, which self sows easily, but the purple would really zing with some other wild colors...

The tall red in "colorful chaos" pic is Monarda, labeled as 'Gardenview Scarlet', but is much too tall, so I think it's probably 'Jacob Cline'. The hot pink is Rose 'Red Fairy', orange asiatics, and purple veronica and hardy geranium. Things in there have been manicured a bit since that pic, but I do so love the look of crowded, voluminous wads of flowers together, I put off giving the babies a "haircut" till I have to. caitlinsgarden, funny you mentioned cleome; there are some blooming in that spot now!

Moby, I have sent plants to Canada before; have you had a problem sending there? .

I looked into that cross-border trading a little and phew, the regulations and such kinda scare me off!

Here's another pic - this is Lychnis 'Molten Lava' and Lady's Mantle. I love the gorgeous bronze foliage it has in the spring, then it greens up.......but I think the flowers have to be the brightest scarlet around.

sanannie, I have a friend in NS (a phone-friend through work; she's a rep for a cut flower importer) who's a gardening fiend and says she's planning to subscribe here. She grows some great stuff to, so hopefully she'll be a good one to trade with.

Here's a better pic of the monarda. Whatever the variety it's been great; no mildew and stayed in bloom for nearly 2 months.

Really enjoying your great sizzling photos of August color! Need to get me some of those :)

My color placement has evolved in the 3 years I've been gardening here. I had 2 areas separated by a path to plant all the stuff I already had when I moved here, so on one side I used everything "hot"- all the reds, oranges, yellows and on the other I used all the pinks, rosy lavenders, crimsons, and magentas. Then to give the whole picture some continuity, I like to add purples, blues, and white to the whole mix. Silvery and variegated foliages do a lot to add a cohesive quality and give interest between peak bloom times for me.

That of course has given rise to the need for gardens for salmons, peaches and corals, which have been under development this year.

This pic shows that transition fairly well:

Here is a snapdragon and Moonbeam coreopsis from last year.

Bright gold Pumpkin Time, violet annual vinca and coleus The Flume make a wild combination, but for some reason I like it.

Susan

Love the color of those Snaps, Susan.

Gemini ~ how did you trade without a phyto? Believe me, I'd dearly love to trade with our Canadian friends.

Gemini - If that's Jacob Kline, he's certainly very handsome. Your second pic - is that the bed where your tree came down?

Lincolnitess - me too!

Moby, I just sent some bulbs to my phone rep friend as a gift (not knowing any better) and she got them without any problem. I think I must have been lucky and it was one that got through. I had someone else mail it for me and he did'nt know what was in the box. Delivery guy at the shop was going to PO anyway so I sent it with him-they probably assumed it had to do with the shop.

sanannie, yes that's the part that got it. Rain, cooler temps, and the resulting infusion of more sun have been healing it quickly. It will be next year before the zebra grass and sedums look like anything, but the phlox (that were'nt broken) are blooming and the roses are getting lots of new growth. Just makes me all the more excited about next year now!

Here's another from the park:

Artemesia 'Valerie Finnis' really stands out against the Purple Smoke Tree.

I love this thread! I wish I had a pic of my new front yard garden. I designed it specifically for color contrast. Sorry but you'll have to use your imaginations! I have no clue how to post a pic- will have to consult my husband on that.
Anyway- I relandscaped my front entrance and I got the idea driving by a window box in my Downtown. It held reddish-hot pink geraniums, orange marigolds and deep purple lubelia. I thought it was gorgeous but I wanted to "perennial-ize" it for my entrance.
so I used "knockout" red roses, Gaillardia "summer's Kiss" and Salvia "East Friesland" it looks great- I just love those color extremes. But it always makes me think about being an 11 year old girl and wanting to wear purple and red to school- I guess this is a better way to get attention!
He he he!

The pink and orange geraniums are a window box combo seen all over Alsace. When I first saw them, I was not impressed. But after a few weeks of constant exposure it really started to grow on me and, now, I really like it. Throw in that purple, and IMHO I'd say you should be getting loads of welcome attention, epatz. I hope you figure out the picture posting soon so we can see your palette.
Michele

This message was edited Aug 28, 2005 7:10 AM

I wish I had some sizzle to post. The dry weather and hot sun have combined to wash out the punch of everything, as well as keep it from filling out much. I hope yesterday's full day of rain will help that and I can join in with you this coming week! My pinstripe rose and purple verbena is a Tsssssss when it's on. I think I'll add my new 'Love Those Eyes' daylily when it gets here. Thanks for the inspiration.

Yes, epatz, I'd love to see that combination - it sounds positively scorchy (hey did I invent a new word? LOL)

sanannie, the artemisia, lord have mercy!