Monday, August 1, 2011

My “Hippy” Flower Bed

 
I am going to date myself here but as many of my  friends know I shy away from certain colors of blooms in my garden. Mainly those colors from the 60’s and 70’s days of my youth and those awful colors of yellow, orange, brown’s and  hideous drab olive green’s. The psychedelic hot pinks I could handle. Back then these colors were all the rage but I came to cringe when I saw them or even heard the word orange. I think I was traumatized by those huge flowered prints that were everywhere and on everything from clothes, upholstery, curtains, wall coverings and even outdoor furniture cushions. It was all too much but then everyone was high back then and did not know the difference. Well not everyone maybe because I was not even high or never have been for that matter but it was just the shades of those colors at the time that were so terrible. So I just naturally stayed away from flowers that had those colors in them. 

HotPapaya_ApricotDelight

When I started blogging and visiting the gardens that other gardeners had I would see a different shade of orange and think “that is kind of pretty” or “that yellow is not bad and even cheerful”.
So when I came across a beautiful flower that had these colors  in a shade I really liked and wanted to add it to the garden I knew it was time to make a new flowerbed.Most of my flowers ran in the pinks and reds then and adding orange with them just made me have flash backs. LOL!
SUmmerSky_Coneflowers So I have added many flowers to that newer flower bed that I have named my “Hippy” bed over the last couple of years and yellows show up more and more it seems in my other beds.

Coreopsis2_SiennaSunset

The ‘Hippy’ bed has echinacea’s of orange in the Hot Papaya and the peach-orange of Summer Sky.
Coreposis   with the rust color in Sienna Sunset.

Anthea_Achillea_Yarrow 
The colors of Apricot Delight and and the yellow of Anthea yarrows.

Helenium 
The yellow Helenium’s are starting to bloom there.

Lily_PardonMe2

The “Pardon Me” daylilies were moved into this bed.

Lily_Bungei_Foxtail_Yellow 
Sadly the bungei yellow Foxtail lily died on me this year so it will have to be replaced.

VariegatedYellowLoosestrife_Alexander_Lysimachia_punctata 
“Alexander” variegated yellow loosestrife will be blooming there.

 Orange_Perfection_Phlox

  The yarrows are done blooming but  the ‘Orange Perfection’  tall phlox is starting to bloom to take its time of blooming in the '”Hippy” bed.

Lily_hemerocallis_eldesperadoPicture Courtesy of American Meadows


And pretty new  hemerocallis  daylily was just plant called
“ El Desperado” to add more yellow to the bed.

Daisy_Shadows And some Becky Shasta daisies are also stuck into the mix.
You may look at all of this and think it is a mess of colors but with each blooming in their own time and layering they all blend well with each other.

Echinacea_Harvestmoon echinacea-sunset2
Pictures Courtesy of Gorge Top Gardens


Others that  will soon be planted in the “Hippy” bed will be more echinaceas like Harvest Moon, Sunrise or Sunset.
Maybe a division from the Stella d’ Oro lily would look good here also.

So I have begun  to like some of these colors that once I cringed at but I still cannot grow an orange marigold but not because that they lack a variety of orange, rust and yellow hues but because they just…
smell terrible folks! LOL!

What colors do you shy away from in your garden?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

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25 comments:

Sunray Gardens said...

Looks like some great choices for your hippy bed. Nice name. :)
Cher Sunray Gardens

The Sage Butterfly said...

Your blooming colors are beautiful--so soft, and yet, distinct. I have issues with colors from time to time. I grew up loving pink, but then avoided it later. In the last 10 to 15 years, pink has become another favorite of mine. Isn't that strange how we come full circle?

Anonymous said...

Funny you should blog this. Within the last year or two, I'm finally beginning to have a change of heart about orange, as long as it isn't polyester! ;)

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

I never got over my love of exciting (or harsh, depending on viewpoint) hippy colors. Hot pink and deep purple make me smile. I love the few flowers that appear in my planted "wildflower" patches that are true orange. That is what is so great about our garden blogs. We get to see so many views that result from so many different inspirations.
nellie

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Lona,

I am afraid, like you, I kept away from all of those 60's and 70's colors and only used pink, white and purple.

Needless to say, I have now gone hog wild with just about every color in the rainbow plus all of those combinations. I have even begun bringing in the browns and burgundies, not black though.

Eileen

Amy said...

I like your hippy garden and your photos are very pretty. I really don't like marigolds either. However if they would bloom in our hot weather... I will consider them smell and all. I really like orange blooms.

Nic said...

The flowers in your "Hippy" bed are beautiful - especially those echinaceas in the first two pictures. I love cone flowers and am completely enamored of all the new shades they are coming up with and would love to buy one - or half a dozen - of each new variety, if only they were not so expensive. Just the other day I finally got an orange one, though unfortunately not one quite as cool as the double one that you so beautifully combined with the achillea.

Unknown said...

Piękne jeżówki ,jestem nimi zauroczona ,,może dlatego ,że ja mam tylko różowy kolor ...pozdrawiam...

Meems said...

That's so funny... I felt the same way about yellows and oranges from those days but my garden has opened me back up to them gradually. I still shy away from oranges but have a few very exciting ones. Love all the flowers you have in your "hippie" bed.

(Side note: IMHO The way the colors you mentioned are put together today and some of the shades of them are so much better than they were WAY BACK WHEN.)
Meems

Dirt Princess said...

But oh how beautiful they are!!!! I always stayed away from red flowers for some reason...not sure why. Like you...I leaned more towards pinks and purples.

Masha said...

Funny - when you were being traumatized by hippy colors I was sitting behind the iron curtain with nothing bright to look at - everybody was supposed to wear "practical" grey, brown and black. Fortunately not a lot of garden plants come in those colors :). I actually tend to shy away from orange too because I find it hard to blend into the garden, but I like looking at them, and your pictures are lovely, great photography and a wonderful exuberance of color.

Anonymous said...

Lona, This is funny. I should probably be embarrassed to admit this, but I always liked all those "hippy" colors. Somehow, though, I have very few of them in my garden; and I've been dreaming about a bed with reds, oranges and yellows when I redo my front garden in a few years. -Jean

ANGEL said...

beautiful flowers! :) great choices you have there. thanks for sharing!

-angel

Greggo said...

none.

Jordyn said...

I love the idea of a themed flower bed like that! Great idea!

GRACE PETERSON said...

Hi Lona, Groovy man! Your 'El Desperado' Daylilies are the quintessence of hippy-ness. They remind me of those long, Gunny Sax dresses with the lacy collar and calico print, remember? Anyway, I'm loving your Hippy Flower Bed.

Landbohaven said...

Jeg kom lige forbi din blog.
Hvor har du mange smukke blomster.
Tak for kigget.

Balisha said...

Love that hippy flower bed! My hubbie's favorite flower is a marigold...I don't like them at all. I'm so glad that the earwigs love them too. I just explained to him that we really couldn't have any in the garden anymore, because the earwigs won't leave them alone.
Balisha

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

I am kind of fond of those color combinations! Very nice.

Ginny said...

Sienna Sunset coreopsis is one of my favorites in my garden. Somehow the colors are very different when seen in the garden as opposed to on hip hugger bell bottoms, kitchen appliances, and bedspreads :) I never have cared for those colors outside of the garden, but am fond of them in the natural world.

Giga said...

Nie boje się żadnego koloru w moim ogrodzie. Mam kolory, które bardzo lubię ( niebieski, żółty i odcienie jego,czerwony, biały, fiolet),a resztę lubię. U Ciebie podoba mi się, a nawet bardzo. Pozdrawiam ciepło

Patsy said...

I hated the 1960's!
As always your gardens are beautiful.

HolleyGarden said...

Oh, i love orange. I don't think there is a color I shy away from! Now that's probably my biggest problem!

HolleyGarden said...

I love those hippy colors!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

OMG girl !!!!!
You have made me LAUGH this morning!!
Yes .. I remember those awful bold colours and BIG flowers .. my parent's house had outrageous wall paper in yellows and oranges .. avocado coloured appliances and bathroom fixtures .. and a shag carpet that had to be raked to have the pile HIGH ! hehehehe
TOO FUNNY eh ? .. I'm not sure if I have a "Hippy Bed" but I will work on it ?? LOL .. This was COOL MAN!!
Joy hehehehehe ! Halloween 91 days away !!!