September 2, 2011Friday is all about books
Gardeners might think it blasphemy to give away a Piet Oudolf book, Piet being the rock star of garden design worldwide with his naturalistic landscapes and mass color techniques.
But seriously, I’m looking like a Hoarders episode over here, I have too many.
To win the Piet Oudolf coffee table book by The Monacelli Press, 280 pages of plot plans and color photographs, just leave a comment about your favorite color combinations. A winner will be chosen at random, eyes closed, pinkie promise.
Two winners of last week’s book: Low Impact - High Carbon Gardening: Susie-Torre-Bueno and Jeannette - email your mailing address to: cindy at dirtdujour.com and I’ll plop them in the mail quick-like.
I still need mailing address from these winners: Lisa Mertins, Christine Y, Tami Joplin
suzanne says:
I love lime green (asparagus meyer, sedum hispanicum ‘lime’, astelia chathamica) with pink (gomphrena fireworks, coleus) or burgundy (black lacquer plant, plectranthus ‘troy’s gold’ ` which has gold/lime and burgundy).
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:43 am.
Molly Fisk says:
My favorite color combo has always been any shade of blue with any shade of orange. Turquoise and apricot, teal and persimmon, the palest orange-yellows of a nasturtium with the dark blue of the ocean behind it. Don’t know a thing about the color wheel, but there must be something going on to make these two vibrate so well against each other. 
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:46 am.
Darla Miller says:
I love the look of blues and yellows!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:48 am.
Lynne says:
Yellow and purples—many of each.
Fuchsia and orange with lime between.
Lime and anything, actually.
Blues with white.
Red, white and blue just because to see them together makes me smile.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:51 am.
Heather says:
I love chartreuse, mahogany, and deep blue.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:54 am.
Rebecca says:
White, pink, and purple!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:54 am.
Jana Shuler says:
My favortie color combinations are sunflower yellow with lavender and white : )
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:54 am.
Cathy Hatfield says:
To win the Piet Oudolf book,
My favorite color combination is YELLOW (Julia Childs Rose, Graham Thomas Rose), WHITE (Full Sail Rose, white cosmos, alysum) and BLUE (Bachelor Buttons, Hydrangea, lobelia).
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:59 am.
Susan Olander says:
Blues and oranges !
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:05 am.
Jeanne Rubin says:
My favorites are the silver of artemisia backing up the yellow of yarrow. Very pretty in my garden!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:06 am.
Marjorie Myers says:
I like real contrasting colors, light greens with bright colored flowers along with a plant that has dark—almost black leaves.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:09 am.
Ellen B. says:
I like pale blues, purples, pinks. My vegetable garden should be vibrant with bright colors - green, red, purple, yellow, orange. Unfortunately, right now my tomato plants have mostly brown leaves!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:19 am.
brigitte wurn christensen says:
I love pink, lime green, and the color of a deep red wine. These colors always soothe my soul.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:24 am.
Sharon Katsis says:
My back yard is a lot of cobalt blue and yellow. The front is every shade of purple I can find.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:27 am.
Annie M says:
I love the common, wild brilliance of California poppies and deep blue Bachelors Buttons…
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:29 am.
Norma Yuskos says:
Love cool blues/purlple and chartreusse (to make it pop) and some pink/red (for pizazz) and some white (for the eye to rest)and yellow and orange (to add more warmth). I cannot choose when it comes to colors…more is more.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:31 am.
Grace says:
Definitely the pinks and purples. I love simple combos like catmint ‘Walker’s Low’ with Centranthus ruber in early summer and for mid to late summer, Monarda ‘Raspberry Wine’ with Phlox ‘Eva Cullum’ and Verbena bonariensis. This book looks fabulous. Thank you for offering it. 
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:38 am.
Deb S says:
I love red, white and blue…but whatever the combination, I have to include white in the mix…that way even in the moonlight, I can see my flowers.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:44 am.
Rebecca Sweet says:
Purples and Oranges, hands down! Right outside my window are the most beautiful orange kniphofia snuggling against a mass of salvia ‘nuevo leon’ and every time I pass them my heart melts a little….
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:57 am.
Margaret-Ann Ashton says:
Several of my succulents bloom in magenta and shades of pinks to purples; the startling look of bright red geraniums next to them always catches excitement and comment. The greens of foliage brings balance.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:00 am.
Michelle says:
Some neighbors have a fuchsia-colored Bougainvillea climbing up a fence with purple statice and cream-colored roses in front of it. It is beautiful!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:13 am.
Michelle Derviss says:
Asking a garden designer what their favorite color combination is, is like asking a Mum to pick her favorite child. So hard to do.
My flavor of the week has been deep burgundy foliage ( leucadendron Safari red) accented with chartreuse and yellow ( kniphofia malibu yellow, and a variety of Euphorbias )
Last week it was all about orange and purple - I call it the Andy Warhol scheme.
Who knows what tomorrows favorite will be ? Hot Pants pink and Tiffany box blue ? ... This is why I still have a white house. I can’t decide what color scheme.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:30 am.
Linda Genis says:
Beautiful photos!
A few weeks back you asked if anyone grew kniphofla successfully. Does this count?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65245129@N06/6106235031/
I did have one anemic looking blossom about a year ago.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:31 am.
Karen Mittendorf says:
White, white white with touchscreen of blue and purple
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:04 am.
Linda Mendelssohn says:
Yellows and oranges - love them against the green grass.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:04 am.
Charlotte Owendyk says:
Love seeing Dutch landscape architects impact the design world….
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:15 am.
Jill Patterson says:
I love healthy red tomatoes against green foliage surrounded by more green from sweet basil. Right now, some animal is eating my tomatoes so I only see a bit of chewed up tomato.
In flowers—red roses next to yellow roses with white roses mixed in.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:21 am.
Nina Mueller says:
I love deep purples and blues with dark reds. Also, reds with yellows.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:23 am.
Dawn says:
I’m fascinated by the colors that appear in my succulent garden year round. It’s grounded by purple pottery, deep burgundy of Japanese Maples and tall deep green palms. Though-out the year smaller shrub and plant foliage offer lime green, gray and variegated greens. Depending on the season I have bright orange, intense yellow, lavender and blue. In the hotter months I get super red and hot pinks to jazz things up! It’s amazing how nothing seems to clash. In my book, life’s way too short to have a strict color scheme!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:27 am.
Regina says:
I like lime green and white. It brightens the garden tremendously.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:42 am.
Eve says:
So many. My front gardens are lavender Buddelia bushes in a circle flanked by a long run of pink English shrub roses. Hard to beat the pinks/purples. We mix it up in the rear courtyard gardens with edible nasturtiums, vegetables and very sassy red, orange and yellow Gerbera daisies.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:03 am.
Cathy says:
I love the rose to pink colors with accents of yellow and blue. Also, an area of hot colors, like red, orange, peach, gold, bright yellow, with accents of cool blue, is fun too. All in a natural prairie garden style, as we live in the mountains.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:33 am.
Bracey says:
For me it’s dark blues and bright yellows. It may be a holdover from being a Cal alumna. Although single white flowers with a bright yellow center are awfully nice too. The bright red of epilobium blooms rising over the dark green foliage is special too. Pure colors rather than pastels work best for my eye.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:36 am.
Karen says:
Although I think any combination of colors look great in a garden…I prefer pink and purple combos. Magenta, deep purple and a salmon pink is a favorite of mine!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:52 am.
Andrew Keys says:
Oh, this is one contest I can’t turn down. I love silver foliage with just about anything, but my favorite combos are silver leaves with pastels and a dash of dark color: lamb’s ear, dusky pink flowers (Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’), dark red-purple foliage (Sedums), pale yellow (Cephalaria gigantea), and a little powder blue foliage for good measure (Helictotrichon or Festuca).
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:52 am.
Janna says:
I agree with Michelle when it came to what color to paint the house, I went with a true clear grey with white and hunter green trim - the better to have any color at all in the garden with!
One of my favorite combos is purples, peach, lime green and white. Also love magenta/burgundy/hot pink with lime green and white. But it is too hard to pick just one! Am not familier with this designer, so I would love the book!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 12:05 pm.
Lynn S says:
Burgundy and soft gold always has been a color combo magnet for me. Wonder how this stuff happens?
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 1:04 pm.
Janet C. says:
Love pinks, reds and purples together!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 1:15 pm.
Melissa says:
reds and oranges
yellow and purples
green and greener!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 1:24 pm.
Judy Sundermann says:
I can’t pick one color, just lots of colors with lots of white mixed in.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 2:08 pm.
Tami Joplin says:
I guess I won a book….hooray and thank you!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 2:28 pm.
Ron, the Plant Man says:
You know, I think I must be color blind cause I don’t necessarily plant things by color…I just plant whatever I happen to like at the time and it always looks beautiful to me!!!
I did enjoy reading all the comments above about all the color schemes, and I took notes so maybe one of these days my garden will be “color coordinated”!!!
I sort of hope I don’t win the book however as my wife will shoot me if I put anymore books on the coffee table or try to hind it under the bed!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 4:43 pm.
Ron, the Plant Man says:
Opps, meant to say ‘hide’it under the bed!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 4:45 pm.
BARBARA LIVINGSTON says:
JUST LOVE ALL THE COLORS TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY YELLOWS AND BLUES! EVERYTHING EXCEPT ORANGES!!
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 4:51 pm.
Diane says:
I love all the shades of purple with yellows in the spring.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 6:31 pm.
Gayle Ackerman says:
I love blue and yellow
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:29 pm.
Harriet Roop says:
The lavenders and pinks together with a splash of white is my preference!
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 11:53 am.
Garden Goddess says:
My favorite colors in the garden are blues, purples, pinks and whites. I seem to keep buying pink flowers though…I think I ought to concentrate more on the blue and purple…<grin>
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 2:34 pm.
Kate Wiseman says:
Right now I am loving mixing chartreuse or golden foliage with sea-green or blue green foliage, like Dianella Little Rev with Campanula Dickson’s Gold.
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 5:24 pm.
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Kathy Davis says:
Love the deep pink in the foreground against the purple.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:39 am.