The Refreshing White Garden There is something quite magical about a white garden. White blossoms popping out from green, red, or variegated foliages makes me draw in my breath at the shear beauty of simplicity. Imaging walking under an arbor of Sally Holmes climbing roses and onto a pathway leading you through shades of green, sprinkled with white roses and perennials of your choice.
Peaceful tranquility soothes the soul in a white garden. We all need a quiet spot, one for relaxation, and inspiration... refreshment. The White garden should have a couple of nooks for seating…maybe a garden swing, or a rattan love seat with fluffy cushions…or a glider. A few white patio lights strung in a tree or across an arbor will add to the enchantment you’ve created. Wouldn’t this be the perfect spot for reading, quiet talks, and prayer…a place to clear away tension and busyness from your mind and body with only the music of a wind chime or birds.
* Check our main menu for Roses or Perennials under Plant List for some beautiful “white” selections. Below are a few of my favorites.
Pink is one of my favorite colors in the landscape. There are many shade and hues of pink to help you make just the right statement…or create the perfect impact. Medium to bright tones make me feel happy and add a punch of energy, while soft or pastel tones quiet the plant palette and bring a sense of peacefulness to the garden setting. Here at Daylily Hill, we have an abundance of roses and perennials. Let’s take a look at just a few of my favorites.
Roses-
Irene Watts, Cecile Brunner Bush, and Belle Story are soft pastels and quiet in color, and if they had a language it would be poetry. Feminine might be the best description …like southern beauties all dressed up for a cotillion. They are eye-catching, but subtle…a perfect partner for lavender and cool tones.
Playgirl, Betty Prior and Carefree Beauty are the life of the party with a captivating brilliance that will stand out among their supporting admirers in the garden or landscape. They are a nice contrast for gold and yellow tones.
Pink Cadillac has a large, single blossom that gives your landscape a free and easy feeling; but don’t let that fool you, it’s a very dependable bloomer. This one loves attention and gets it!
Lilian Austin makes you feel warm and welcome with her inner golden glow of sunny stamens and pink ruffled petals. Quite captivating!
Rina Hugo and Perfume Delight are both powerful tea roses. Rina Hugo has long stems and large, never ending blossoms, while Perfume Delight has a seductive fragrance you won’t soon forget.
Perennials-
I think of perennials as “playful” components in the landscape. They usually have a soft grace about them and add a nice punch of color to brighten things up.
Pentas come in two shades of pink – a lighter Bright pink and a deeper Hot Pink. They have a loose rounded form and not only will they take full sun, but partial shade too. Clusters of color bloom most of the year. They take a bit of a break in the coldest part of winter, but before you know it, they are waking up your sleepy winter garden.
Salvia chiapensis is mostly green and gracefully rounded, but sends out “sparks” of tiny, but brilliant magenta pink blossoms to delight you. A wonderfully subtle surprise for your landscape.
Salvia microphylla ‘Big Pink’ has smallish, bright, mint-shaped leaves and covers itself with small, candy pink blossoms year round. SWEET!
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Pink Blush‘ looks like a wildflower. Its wand-like flowering stems of tiny pink butterflies are practically guaranteed to make you smile!
Colors and Moods…the Psychology of Color
Isn’t the role of color interesting? When we first interview customers who would like us to help them with their landscape, one of the first questions we ask is, what colors do you like?...and do you have any colors you find distasteful? We often refer to the plants that have been chosen as a plant palette…just as an artist has a paint palette.
I find that my personality and mood influences my choice of colors…for the rooms in our home, the clothes I buy, and the plants that become my favorites. Some days as I walk through the nursery, I’m drawn to the brilliance of the red and gold, other days it’s the coolness of the bright white and soft pastels, and sometimes I simply have a pink or purple day! You might find the same thing happening as you choose the clothing you want to wear each morning. Could it be your disposition or mood that day that inspires your choice?
I looked up how we are affected by color on the internet and came up with some very interesting facts to share with you! I found it to be fun and enlightening. You can check some out for yourself, but according to the experts at Bloomsburg University, infoplease.com, and Empower Yourself with Color Psychology, here is the consensus.
Blue represents peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, cold, technology, and depression. Blue can “slow the pulse rate, lower body temperature, and reduce appetite”. Yellow represents joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, spirituality and inspiration. Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter and is complimentary to blue. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.
Purple represents royalty, spirituality, nobility, ceremony, mystery, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, and morning. Purple is considered an exotic color and is complimentary to orange. It is also feminine and romantic. Orange is a combination of yellow and red. Orange is considered a warm color like red, but to a lesser extent; orange expresses energy. It has luminous qualities and has been used for attention-getting purposes, such as on caution signs. Orange brings up memories of fall leaves, pumpkins, and Halloween. It symbolizes balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrancy, flamboyancy and is demanding of attention.
Green is one of the most often cited favorite colors and is currently the most popular decorating color. It represents nature, environment, health, good luck, renewal, youth, vigor, spring, generosity, fertility, jealously, inexperience, envy, and misfortune. Greens cool quality soothes, calms, and often is worn in operating rooms by surgeons. Red is the color that we pay the most attention to. It is the warmest and most energetic color in the spectrum. We associate it with love, valentines, danger, desire, speed, strength, violence, anger, emergencies and blood. Red can evoke a fight-or-flight response, raise blood pressure and make the heart beat faster.
Pink is a display of compassion, nurturing, and love, good health and success. It relates to unconditional love and understanding. Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and sweet, intimate, thoughtful and caring, a sign of hope, is positive and inspires tenderness and kindness, empathy and sensitivity. It is the color of uncomplicated emotions, inexperience and naiveté.
Black is the absence of light, therefore…color. It often symbolizes authority, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, depth, remorse, submission, sadness, and evil.
White is what we see when all colors come together in perfect balance. White reflects light. It represents reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, and marriage.
Creating your Landscape…
Choosing a plant palette for your landscape may seem daunting to some of you…but take heart, the key is balance.
Here are a few simple rules to follow loosely, keeping it fun.
• Find a balance of structure and graceful.
• Contrast colors and foliage textures.
• Keep in mind the growth habit of the plant, accounting for its full grown size.
• Balance the highs and lows, without blocking the view of lower specimens by finding a flow, or rhythm to the design.
Have you ever walked or driven through a neighborhood and suddenly had to stop and take a second look at one of the homes because it gave had that “WOW” effect? Realtors call that curb appeal. To be more precise, it’s what keeps your investment dollars at work for you. It draws interest and makes the neighborhood a nicer place to live.
One of the best and most economic ways to give a home curb appeal is with your landscaping. A beautiful or interesting garden will not only enhance your investment, but will make your surroundings comfortable, welcoming and something to put a smile on your face. There are dozens of ways to make your home charming and attractive, but the landscape is what catches the eye first and makes an immediate impression.
We offer design services at Daylily Hill and would be happy to help you invest in a beautiful landscape. Just give our office a call.
Eye-Popping Perennials for the Landscape!
Color is a powerful tool in the landscape and perennials are a wonderful source. They blend beautifully with all landscapes, bringing with them warmth, brilliance and grace. Often they’ll gift you the added charm of fragrance. Close your eyes and take a dreamy walk down a garden path past purples, blues and yellows…with a wave of your imagination add sparks of pink, white and red. Has your world taken on a pleasing sense of splendor? …Is there a smile on your face?... Are your spirits lifted? Come and visit us here at Daylily Hill and transform your world with the pure, simple pleasure of perennials.
A Carpet of Succulents… Another Water-Wise solution
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Sustainable Landscapes
“Sustainable” is a word you will be hearing more and more in the landscaping arena. In a nutshell, it means long-lasting, hard-working, and reliable. We’re talking about a plant palette that won’t wear out and doesn’t wear you out either! In today’s world that has to include drought tolerance, low maintenance, and it should include being “attractive” as well as tough. Here at Daylily Hill, we can provide you with a large selection of choices that meet these requirements. It’s time to make wise choices in your landscape, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be playful at the same time. Choose lively colors, foliage contrasts, and interesting textures…add some “grace” beside plants with structural lines.
The concept of a “sustainable” landscape can be taken a step further by having your landscape work for you! You can blend in herbs for cooking, or add fruit trees and berries to the mix. They are a very practical component and create an element of fun. When company comes for dinner they can enjoy meals with fresh herbs or fruit partially “produced” from your landscape. With proper irrigation techniques, you can make your landscape “work” in a very enjoyable, beautiful, and yes… sustainable fashion.
The photo on the right shows a landscape that was planted 2 years ago. This photo was taken approximately 2 years after the landscape was installed.
* Need a little advice? We’re here to help. Just ask our office for a design consultation.
WHAT DOES "WATER-WISE WITHOUT THE COMPROMISE" ® MEAN TO YOU?
LOWER WATER BILLS
WATER CONSERVATION THOUGH PROPER IRRIGATION
A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE
LESS OR NO LAWN TO MOW
A HUGE DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANT PALETTE TO CHOOSE FROM
INTERESTING OPTIONS-
• OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE
• UNIQUE PATHWAYS
• VEGETABLE OR HERB GARDENS
• WATER FEATURE
ASK US ABOUT OUR IN-HOUSE DESIGN CONSULTATIONS TODAY!
Thoughts for the Day!
There is no legacy as rich as integrity.
Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect - Chinese Proverb
We value the light more fully after we've come through the darkness.
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain
A good test of a person's character is his behavior when he is wrong.
Spend time counting your blessings, not airing your complaints.
Horticulturist One-Man Band
Our own, Tom Jesch, my other half, business partner and horticulturist extraordinaire loves to share his knowledge. We’ve been told he’s quite entertaining when he takes on speaking engagements for Garden Clubs. He’s bursting with facts to share with you on just about anything from Science to Trimming Roses. Plus, he has about a million stories (I know - I’ve heard them all) that will either assault your senses, attack your knowledge base, or just tickle your funny bones. He can really spin a tale, delight children to seniors, and make you look at the world with new wonder. He loves to teach, preach, banter and kill you with his jokes. In all reality, he’s a wealth of knowledge from pollywogs to mulch piles on one hand while he’s teaching you how to cook up a great veggie stir-fry from your garden with the other hand.
Tom is available for speaking engagements. If you have an occasion for a Horticulturist (Story Teller) One-Man Band give our office a call.
*Prices vary depending on situation and time.
GROWER DIRECT SHIPPING
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO VISIT “DAYLILY HILL”, WE CAN SHIP DIRECTLY TO YOU! CHECK OUT OUR LINK FOR SHIPPING. THERE ARE LOTS OF GOODIES TO CHOOSE FROM:
ROSES
SUCCULENTS
CACTUS
DAYLILIES
YOU CAN GET SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOUR GARDEN, OR COLLECTION.
YOU CAN SEND A GIFT TO A FRIEND OR RELATIVE WHO LOVES PLANTS OR HAS A SPECIALTY COLLECTION
