Color coding flowers

For a while now I have been waiting for the kalanchoe to bloom.  They just love this time of year,and bloom for extended periods throughout the dry season. One of my favorite plants.  So easy to propagate too, and I often will break up a  big clump and fill in empty areas.  without much thought so it seems.....
As I have happily been adding more and more pink tinged plants to the front garden, the kalanchoe has been waiting silently in the background to pounce.  Oh dear, that red just does not go with any of the other colors around there.  Some of the reds I have out in the front seem to do OK with the pinks, but not that one.
I did take photos, but the light was very bright and quite honestly I didn't want to share as they really clashed.....   But they are lovely long flowering plants and they attract .... butterflies:)
so out they came, and have now got a new home in the butterfly garden which in actual fact is turning out to have more reds and yellows.  With a bit of blue, and of course green, but no Pink!
  I have the flu, so my sense of smell and taste is compromised - is my sense of color gone as well?  
   The cannas are gone too - they are moved to the swale area, more coming soon on that.
Does anyone else move their plants around as much as I do?  Does anyone else make mistakes by not thinking of the colors they are planting and how they will look alongside other colors?

Comments

  1. KJTue Jul 12, 01:56:00 PM

    You really have a lovely garden. How much time do you spend working on it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LauraTue Jul 12, 02:42:00 PM

    Oh Dear - did you say something about making a mistake by not coordinating colours? I am pretty much convinced that living plants can never clash with other living plants. In nature all kinds of reds, yellow, purples, greens.... cohabitate and it looks lovely. Think spring time in the Alps or the wild flowers of the SW of Australia - no one coordinates a thing there.

    I almost never move plants. I do break up and spread around things that grow like mad and that I want to use as some sort of cover (like spider plants, bromeliads and prayer plants). I suppose this might change as time goes by - I've become much more of an avid gardener over the past few months so anything is possible.

    And for the record, I stand my ground that it would be impossible to find any spot where those fantastic flowers didn't make me stop and smile at their beauty. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. KarenTue Jul 12, 03:33:00 PM

    Oh, you have such a lovely garden and I can see why--you color-coordinate everything! I am so guilty of sort of mishmashing everything together and my garden is rather hodge-podged most of the time. I love all colors, so it doesn't matter much to me, but whenever I see a garden where the colors are artfully arranged, it is as beautiful as piece of artwork!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Solitude RisingTue Jul 12, 04:11:00 PM

    I understand why some want to color-coordinate. It makes the garden look well maintained, colors don't clash and plants with flowers of the same or complementing colors pop out instead of getting lost in the background.

    I guess we have our own methods. I too do not color-coordinate plants, just like nature. I think of nature's gardening style as "organized chaos."

    I hope you get well soon from the flu.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ANGELTue Jul 12, 07:25:00 PM

    hi! i don't color coordinate, it makes the garden look more natural :)

    don't worry too much about colors, they're still lovely...because they were made by YOU.. you have a very nice garden too.

    get well soon! have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Malay-Kadazan girlTue Jul 12, 10:11:00 PM

    I never did think of colour that much nowadays. I just fit in any plants in any available space. Its wonderful what you do to make a garden dedicated for butterfly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. africanaussieWed Jul 13, 10:16:00 AM

    KJ,
    Thank you, setting up the garden was quite time consuming, but right now it is mainly just maintenance. I would say a half to one day a week.
    Laura,
    Normally I don't stress about colors clashing, but somehow these did not look right where they were. Actually I have also been looking for an edging in the butterfly garden, so it was an answer to two of my dilemmas.
    Karen,
    oh your garden is gorgeous! I don't like a contrived look, but sometimes things just don't look right...
    Solitude rising,
    I like that term organised chaos, and always hanker after those gardens with flowers and plants spilling over their edges.
    Angel awww thank you yes I am pretty sure all my plants know how much they are loved and admired!
    Malay Kadazan,
    You have such a productive vegetable garden. I love to provide for nature as well!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carolyn ♥Thu Jul 14, 04:18:00 AM

    Your beautiful Kalancho would never survive in my gardens. I have given it as a house plant a time or two. As for moving plants... I do it often, especially in my perennial gardens when seedlings sprout in places I don't want them to be. I feel that a garden is best when it pleases the gardener... so if you want to move those vibrant reds to another spot... go right ahead my dear.

    ReplyDelete
  9. diane bSun Jul 17, 09:53:00 PM

    I agree with Laura. nature doesn't colour code. However, I do think of colours when planting.

    ReplyDelete

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