Peachy keen - color in gardening - use of the color peach - Column

Country Living Gardener, Dec, 2001 by Rob Proctor

the big stretch

To fulfill my client's wishes, I couldn't rely only on warm pink flowers. I considered which other colors to include. To maximize them, I used mainly lavender-blue flowers and bronze foliage, with a small number of maroon flowers, such as iris and burgundy pincushion flower Knautia macedonica). This not only keeps the disparate shades from coming into direct contact, but gives them center stage as well. Catmints, butterfly bushes, and scabiosas provide a subtle floral contrast that never upstages the peachy floral of roses, daylilies, or twinspurs. And the deep-toned bronze leaves of coral bells, barberries, purpleleaf sand cherry (Prunus x cistena), and burgundy fountain grass flatter the flowers as well. To keep the whole works from appearing too somber, a few silver highlights are spotted about, such as dwarf blue spruce and lamb's ears.

My client's garden has one ideal thing going for it: it is walled on three sides by warm pink sandstone. In addition, the borders surrounding the central lawn are edged with one-foot squares of flagstone. I added rolled-rim terra-cotta pots on this edge, spaced 10 feet apart. This provides symmetry and rhythm to the space. The borders are planted with repeating elements, but it's the uniformity of the pots (brimming with arctotis and fountain grass) that tie it all together. I think it gives the illusion that I've used much more peach color than is actually in there.

the end of the day

Did this peach parfait of a garden end up being a success? Yes. My clients are happy and I think it's one of the prettiest designs I've assembled. Even though I relied on some of my favorite trademarks--lavender flowers and bronze foliage--did it stretch me as a designer? True, it's the sort of fluffy, densely planted garden I always seem to do. Meeting the challenge was the reward, even if it wasn't a complete tour de force. At least I don't wake each morning worrying about which Campbell's soup can to paint next.

Rob Proctor, director of horticulture at Denver Botanic Gardens, is coauthor of Passionate Gardening (Fulcrum, 2000), with Lauren Springer.