Atlanta House Painting Information & Atlanta News

Last May, I started a new garden and decided to devote one area to hot colors, both foliage and flowers. These are not colors I have used in my garden before, preferring the cooler hues. But in the new garden, a smoke tree, Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple,' is the focal point, with maroon leaves that darken as the season progresses. It provides the perfect backdrop for a group of hardy red Amaryllis x johnsonii, underplanted with the annual Verbena 'Aztec Dark Red,' both in full bloom in May. Next to the smoke tree, a coralbark maple, Acer palmatum 'Sangu kaku,' offers red stems, a red trunk and bright green leaves. Later in the summer, red-leaf hibiscus, Hibiscus 'Kopper King,' will keep things heated up with its foliage, green with red tinges, and huge pink flowers with a red eye. Other shades of red that would work in this same bed include Crocosmia 'Lucifer '; the yarrow Achillea 'Paprika'; the fragrant and charming Salvia elegans, also known as pineapple sage, with lipstick-red flowers; and a red-hot poker with orange flowers called Kniphofia x 'Firelight.'

Annual vines are easy to grow from seed (or from purchased plants, too), and unlike perennial types you can experiment with different selections each year or plant your favorites again and again. Use them to add punch to your summer border or to give it a tropical flair. Annual vines also provide an opportunity to introduce bright colors into your garden like the vivid red orange daisies of Mexican Flame vine, Senecio confusus, or the multicolored flowers of Spanish flag, Mina lobata. Train them to grow on a structure like a fence, arbor, trellis or obelisk. If you don't want to allocate garden space for twiners and climbers, grow them in containers or hanging baskets in combination with other annuals.