If a vibrant, sizzling garden color is what you’re looking for, this design is made to order. Fiery shades of golden-yellow, orange, and scarlet are the attention-getters here, but it is the addition of complementary rich purple and cooling lavender that makes the combination distinctive. Silvery Artemisia and Buddleia foliage, along with feathery ornamental Grasses, serve not only as mediators between the bold colors but also as structural elements that will lend year-round beauty to the border. Reaching its full glory at the height of summer, the show will continue well into early fall, thanks to late-flowering Asters and ornamental Grasses joining the parade of prolific summer bloomers.
To use this strong color scheme most effectively, remember that bright colors appear darker than they actually are. So a garden area viewed from a distance is a perfect location for your hot-color border. The beauty of this energizing combination is not only its visual appeal but its ease of upkeep. All of the plants chosen for this list do well in normal garden soil and don’t need much water. These tough, easy-care varieties will give you year after year of low-maintenance, long-season enjoyment.
Helpful hints
- Bright Colorful is a garden to be viewed from a distance. Plant away from paths and entry ways to capture the visual appeal of intense colors.
- If you are fond of Grasses, add more, such as Calamagrostis ‘Ka rl Foerster,’Stipa tenuissima, and Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’
- You can have a hummingbird haven by adding more Buddleia of different colors, such as ‘Sungold,”Harlequin,’ and ‘White Profusion’
- Be sure to give the larger Grasses and Buddleias plenty of space, at least three feet between plants.
a. Achillea ‘paprike’
b. Artemisia ‘powis castle’
c. Artemisia ‘silver brocade’
d. Aster ‘purple dome’
e. Buddies ‘nanho purple’
f. Calamagrostis arun. Var. brach.
g. Coreepsis ‘baby sun’
h. Deschampsia ‘Bronze Veli’
i. Euphotbia polychroma
j. Heliopsis ‘summer sun’
k. Knautia macedonica
l. Miscanthus ‘sarabande’
m. Monarda ‘mahogany’
n. Nepta ‘six hills giant’
o. Penstemon ‘scarlet queen’
p. Rudbeckia ‘goldstrum’
q. Salvia ‘may night’
33 Garden Designs for your home:
Shady Oasis
Gaining Ground
Front Door Enterance Design
Coastal Perennial Garden Design
White Flower Garden Design
Grass Garden Design
Pastel Flower Garden Design
Rose & Perennial Garden Design
Bright Colorful Garden Design
Perennial Corner Garden Design
Butterfly Hummingbird Design
Silver & Blue Garden Design
Bog Garden Design
Pink Flowers Garden Design
All Year Flower Garden Design
Privacy Matter
Woodland Border
Hosta Shade Garden Design
Rock Garden Design
Cold Hardy Perennial Garden Design
English Garden Border Garden Design
Driveway Sidewalk Garden Design
Prairie Garden Design
Flower Garden Design
Entry Shade Garden Design
Hot & Humid Garden Design
Flowering Fiesta
Red White Blue Garden Design
Late Season Garden Design
Southwest Dry Garden Design
Garden for Children
Butterfly Garden Design
Hummingbird Garden Design
Shady Solutions
