Pink gets a bad rap as an overly feminine color, but in the garden it shines. I love flowers in all shades, but pink really sets off the green. I’m won over by the cheerfulness of a hot pink and the subtlety of a pale pink flower along with everything in between.
How I Use Pink in the Garden
I have several perennials that give my beds various shades of green and texture, as well as other flower colors. I have orange daylilies and lavender hosta blooms, orange poppies, and a few purple columbine.
The most common color, though, is pink. For perennials, I have a bleeding heart with Barbie-pink blooms next to blush-colored astilbe. Pale pink peonies shine in a bed with orange poppies. The star of my garden is a tall, double rose of Sharon, one with white flowers and the other with pink.
I especially enjoy getting pink in my annual containers and beds. Annuals come in such a range of shades, but some of them really stun in bright pink. I always choose the hot pink impatiens for my shady back patio. In the front yard bed along a walkway, I use a mix of petunias in shades from coral pink to pale pink to fuchsia. Bright pink geraniums fill in the front door containers for a splash of color against lime green creeping jenny.
Pink Blooms for Inspiration
The flowers I use in shades of pink are proven in my garden. I would love to try new pink blooms and hope to mix it up a little in years to come. Here are some of the pink flowers I dream of cultivating one day, with names that clearly describe their gorgeous hues:
- ‘Raspberry Wine’ bee balm
- ‘Party Dress’ anemone
- Dianthus, or pinks
- ‘Pink Poodle’ coneflower
- ‘Halo Blush’ hollyhock
- ‘Bedazzled Pink’ phlox
- ‘Rose Shades’ foxglove
- ‘Strawberry’ foxglove
One of my absolute favorite pink flower is the deep magenta hydrangea. Unfortunately, deer roam freely through my garden and nibble on whatever suits them. I have seen my neighbor lose too many baby hydrangeas to the herd to try my own. I think I can settle for all these other gorgeous pink blooms and still have a lovely garden.
