I have to admit: I have a resistance to pink. I am not sure why. Maybe it’s because I had a pink bedroom growing up—Pepto-Bismol pink, that is. When I was given a choice of room color, it was a soft green. Go figure! Green—gardening—was my color choice directing my future path.
As I came into my own by designing flower gardens for our desert landscape, I had similar negative reactions to pinks. I absolutely abhorred pink with orange to the point that I told my staff: Never, ever put pink near orange.
Then, one day … I saw a rich fuchsia-pink bougainvillea as a backdrop to some gorgeous orange lantana. At first, I was resistant, and then, it struck me … I liked it! So I started experimenting in the nursery, putting together some different pinks, oranges, purples or blues and reds to see what I liked. I came up with what you might call jewel tones—a rich, deep pink; and an orange with a red hue, and a deep red. A touch of purple or blue seemed to support the other colors.
I even planted my “pass by every day” pots at my own home with these colors, and I soon became hooked.
Lessons to be learned from this?
- Experiment with plant and color combinations at the nursery.
- Try colors that you might not normally combine.
- Keep it simple with how many colors you put together in one pot. Combine and repeat.
- Enjoy playing with color!
This Week in Your Desert Potted Garden:
- Plant some tomatoes (full-size plants) and other fall vegetables and herbs.
- Use an organic fertilizer along with some time-release fertilizer when planting in containers.
- When you plant the tomatoes, dig a deep hole, and bury as much of the plant as possible.
- Water well after planting.
Marylee Pangman is the Desert’s Potted Garden Expert. Marylee is available for digital consultations, and you can always email her with comments and questions at potteddesert@gmail.com. Follow The Potted Desert on Facebook.
