by Lydia Holley September 21, 2020
My favorite flower color is pink. And blooms of red are hard to resist. However, when you put a lot of pinks and reds together, you soon notice some blend together well, while others seem to clash. The reason is their undertone. Cool undertones have a bluish tint, while warm undertones lean toward yellow.
Pink goes by many names: blush, rose, carnation, baby, watermelon, cotton candy, fuchsia, magenta, or cherry blossom, while reds can be cherry, crimson, ruby, burgundy, wine, brick, barn, blood, cardinal, carmine, scarlet, maroon, or vermillion, to name a few of their numerous labels. It may be obvious that reds which tend to look orange in strong light and pinks that have a peach cast are warm, but it may be harder to decide which undertone the many other shades of pink and red have in them. What’s a gardener to do?
If your reds or pinks clash, separate them. Place blooms of different colors in between your patches of red or pink. Neutrals also work well to harmonize a balance of warm and cool colors. In the garden, green is considered neutral.
It is not necessary to have a large amount of color in the garden to achieve the idea of bountiful blooms. If just twenty percent of your garden is in bloom, that should be enough to satisfy your craving for color.
If you want a space that is neutral, keep to evergreens and non-flowering plants. Most of my garden is filled with a rainbow of color, but even I have one garden room that is devoid of bright flowers. Filled with evergreens, this space is welcoming at any time of the year, looks soothing and cool in the heat, and is an extremely relaxing area. It is the room I gaze upon when drinking my coffee each morning and the last thing I see at night.
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