A LITTLE BIT OF ORANGE GOES A LONG WAY!

ORANGE can be a difficult color to use.  When you use it in your flower beds, you can actually make your beds seem smaller because of their brightness and intensity.  Try using smaller amounts of them, just enough to add what I've heard of as adding"Sparkle" to your beds.  When you use it, be sure to use a cool color behind it; this will help to 'soften' the look, and actually unifiy the area that it's in.  I've read that warm colors are harder to blend, and that it takes some practice and skill to artfully use them.  I think that orange looks good with shades of purple and blue. I don't have any true, bright, oranges in the beds.  Rather, I have the more muted tones of apricots, peaches and corals. I feel that they do energize the beds, though, and they blend very well with the other colors throughout the beds.  As with the pinks and yellows, I try to have a balanced blend of colors through all the seasons-spring through fall.  The most important thing to remember is that warm colors are powerful, so be sure you use them with paler colors and plenty of greenery.  Pictured are two collages of some of my favorite plants of these shades that grow in my flower beds spring through fall. 

SPECIAL NOTICE!!!  ANOTHER GREAT DEAL FROM SPRING HILL NURSERY!!   Spring Hill Nursery Is offering $20 worth of plants FREE for a limited time only!!  Just go to their site springhillnursery.com  and choose the $20 worth of product you want.  You only pay the S/H.  I ordered 4 more of my favorite yellow Tree Lilies--I got 2 for $9.99, so I got 2 sets for $19.98.  They subtracted that from my order and I pay only the $12 for S/H.  I will plant the bulbs this fall.  This is a super deal!