Seeing Red?

What is red?

        All of these are described as red.

Colour and tone are something 

that are difficult to explain. 

Looking at a flower open in the 

morning it colour will change 

throughout the day depending 

upon the intensity or lack of 

sunlight thus changing the hue.

So what you perceive to be one 

colour may be completely 

different to another persons.

Remember just a scent and taste are personal so is colour, your colour perception and preferences should not be foisted onto others but take into consideration other points of view.

All the following are red of similar hue but vary in appearance due to many factors. The stamen colour where visible is red to orange to yellow, creating a different feel to the red colour. this difference means that it can be placed with many other plant colours. the black spots on the Papaver commutatum or Ladybird poppy draw the eye in.

 The more double the petal formation the more change in the colour due to the amount of surface area for reflection of light. So the soft frilly effect of ruffled petals in the Paeony (P.'Henry Bockstoce') soften the colour. The Monarda 'Jacob Cline' with its fine multi petals again give another feel to the colour.

So from bright reds to those with more of a burgundy tint, but again shape of petals, rainwater and different centres changes how they appear. From the tall elegant Angelica gigas to the black centred Potentilla 'Monarchs Velvet' these will draw the eye forward.

Then when you add in a bit of white or green to the mix they change again and the planting combinations that are possible are again different. How about those reds that border on the pink side as in Trifolium 'Red Feathers'.

I advocate playing an trying out colour combinations to enhance your borders as in the saying "anything goes"

www.hardys-plant.co.uk 
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