Colors often evoke emotion. I always smile when I see a yellow flower. They remind me of the big yellow happy faces that were seemed so prevalent during my childhood in the 70s. Flowers also have the ability to evoke a variety of emotions. One look at a Queen Anne’s lace flower immediately brings me back to my grandmother’s farm in Union. It was a very peaceful place. Colorful flowers can be a powerful combination.
The color blue often has a calming effect. Red, on the other hand, can raise our heart rate and may add a sense of excitement. Because the color green is so closely tied with nature, it also has a calming effect on its viewers. The color purple can be associated with the feeling of nostalgia. White tends to symbolize clarity and the color pink may evoke feelings of peace.
Want to add a bit of joy and perhaps emotion to your home? Here is a summary of selected groundcovers, perennial flowers, shrubs and vines, listed by color. I have included the botanical name first and then the common name in parenthesis. In some cases the color is visible in the leaves of the plant but in most cases it is the flowers.
Yellow – Baptisia ‘Vanilla Cream’(Baptisia), Berberis Sunjoy Gold Pillar(Barberry), Coreopsis ‘Crème Brulee’(Coreopsis), Cornus ‘Cato’(Arctic Sun Dogwood), Delosperma nubigenum(Yellow Ice Plant), Echinacea ‘Cleopatra’(Coneflower), Forsythia ‘NIMBUS’(Forsythia), Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’(Japanese Forest Grass), Helenium flexuosum ‘Tiny Dancer’(Sneezeweed), Hemerocallis ‘Going Bananas’(Daylily), Hypericum kalmianum ‘Ames’(St. Johnswort), Liguilaria ‘Bottle Rocket’(Ligularia), Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’(Golden Moneywort), Oenothera macrocarpa(Missouri Evening Primrose), Opuntia humifusa (Eastern Prickly Pear), Paeonia suffruticosa(Tree Peony), Rhododendron ‘Lemon Lights(Azalea)’
White – Achillea New Vintage White(Achillea millefolium ‘Balvinwhite’), Allium schoenoprasum var. album(Flowering Onion), Anemone sylvestris(Snowdrop Anemone), Aruncus ‘Misty Lace’(Goat’s Beard), Asclepias incarnate ‘Ice Ballet’(Milkweed), Astilbe ‘Deutschland’(Astilbe), Buddleia ‘SMNBDW’(Pugster White Butterfly Bush), Cerastium tomentosum(Snow-in-Summer), Clematis terniflora(Sweet Autumn Clematis), Deutzia ‘NDCXI’(Yuki Snowflake Deutzia), Dicentra specabilis ‘Alba’(Bleeding Heart), Echinacea ‘Virgin’(Coneflower), Hydrangea arborescens ‘Abetwo’(Incrediball Hydrangea), Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Munchkin’(Oakleaf Hydrangea), Phlox subulata ‘Snowflake’(Creeping Phlox), Rosa ‘Meizorland’(White Drift Groundcover Rose), Salvia nemorosa ‘Snow Hill’(Salvia), Spirea betulifolia ‘Tor’(Birchleaf Spirea), Viburnum carlessii ‘SMVCB’(Spice Baby Viburnum)
Red – Aquilegia ‘Cardinal’(Columbine), Astilbe arendsii ‘Fanal’(Astilbe), Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’(Sweetshrub), Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Scarlet Storm’(Quince), Clematis ‘Sweet Summer Love(Clematis), Echinacea ‘Hot Papaya’(Coneflower), Hemerocallis ‘Chicago Apache’(Daylily), Heuchera sanguinea ‘Firefly’(Coralbells), Hibiscus var. ‘Cranberry Crush’(Hardy Hibiscus), Hydrangea arborescents ‘NCHA3’ ( Invincebelle Ruby Hydrangea), Lobelia cardinalis ‘Black Truffle’(Cardinal Flower), Mondarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’(Beebalm), Penstemon ‘Red Riding Hood’(Penstemon), Rosa var ‘NOA83100B’ (Flower Carpet Scarlet Rose), Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Fire’(Sedum), Weigela florida ‘Verweig 6’(Sonic Bloom Red Weigela).
Purple – Allium ‘Millenium’(Ornamental Onion), Baptisia x bicolor ‘Starlite’(Prairieblues False Indigo), Buddleia ‘SMNBDL’(Pugster Amethyst Butterfly Bush), Callirhoe involucrate(Mallow), Cercis Canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’(Redbud), Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’ (Smokebush), Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA7’(Mini Mauvette Hydrangea), Iris ensata ‘Variegata’(Variegated Japanese Iris), Lavendula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’(English Lavender), Liatrus spicata ‘Kobold’(Gayfeather), Monarda didyma ‘Pardon My Purple’(Beebalm), Nepeta x faassenii ‘Early Bird’(Catmint), Perovsia a ‘Denim ‘n Lace’(Russian Sage), Phlox paniculata ‘Ditomsur’(Grape Lollipop Phlox), Salvia nemorosa ‘Haeumanarc’(Marcus Salvia), Thymus praecox ‘Purple Carpet (Creeping Thyme), Veronica ‘Wizard of Ahhs’(Magic Show Speedwell), Wisteria macrostachya’ Betty Mathews’(Summer Cascade Wisteria)
Pink – Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’(Anemone), Astilbe chinensis ‘Vision in Pink’(Astilbe), Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’(Turtlehead), Dianthus ‘Neon Star’(Pinks), Eupatorium dubium ‘Little Joe’(Joe Pye Weed), Geranium ‘Karmina’(Perennial Geranium), Hydrangea paniculata ‘DVPPinky’(Pinky Winky Hydrangea), Hydrangea paniculata ‘Rensun’(Strawberry Sundae Hydrangea), Penstemon ‘Novapenlig’(Rock Candy Penstemon), Phlox paniculata ‘Ditomfra’(Bubblegum Pink Phlox), Potentilla fruticosa ‘Hachliss’(Bella Bellissima Potentilla), Stachys x ‘Hummelo’(Betony), Weigela x ‘Dark Horse’(Weigela)
Peach – Coreopsis ‘Novcorcar’(Crème Carmel Coreopsis), Geum ‘Mai Tai’(Geum), Rosa ‘Auswest’(David Austin Carding Mill Rose), Rosa ‘Meidriflora’(Coral Drift Groundcover Rose), Rosa ‘Radgor’(Peachy Knock Out Rose)
Orange – Achillea millefolium ‘Walther Funcke’(Yarrow), Asclepias tuberose(Milkweed), Echinacea ‘Balsomcor’(Coneflower), Rhododendron ‘Mandarin Lights’(Azalea), Potentilla fruticosa ‘Hachdon’(Bella Sol Potentilla)
Burgandy – Helleborus ‘Rome in Red’(Lenten Rose). Cotinus coggygria ‘NCC01’(Winecraft Black Smokebush)
Blue – Ajuga reptans ‘Binblasca’(Ajuga), Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Blue Ice’(Blue Star), Aquilegia ‘Blue Bird’(Columbine), Baptisia ‘Blueberry Sundae’(False Indigo), Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’(Bugloss), Campanula carpatica ‘Pearl Deep Blue’(Carpathia Harebell), Ceratostigma plumbaginoides(Plumbago), Geranium ‘Brookside’(Geranium), Hibiscus syriacus ‘DVPAzurri’(Blue Satin Rose of Sharon), Mertensia virginica(Virginia Bluebells), Polemonuim ‘Stairway to Heaven’(Variegated Jacob’s Ladder)Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Lucerne’(Blue-eyed grass), Veronica spicata ‘Glory’(Speedwell), Vinca minor ‘Bowles Variety’(Periwinkle)
The famous artist ‘Georgia O’Keeffe was quoted as saying “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – I had no words for.”
