Wow Them with Red!
It’s said that every room in your home needs a bit of red. We think this applies to the garden as well!
Billie Hayman has compared her garden to a canvas upon which she ‘paints.’ Whether with flowers or Flea market finds, we noticed recently one color she likes to use often, … red! Billie, from Greensburg, Louisiana, says she loves all bright colors, and red and yellow are her favorites. She’s a pretty good photographer in her garden and very busy….she has a talent for composing garden vignettes, this time, with pops of red!
Billie says, “I had to show you what I did with this rusty mailbox! When I painted it red, it was so rusty it was dark underneath and turned out perfectly two-toned!”
Discover the ways Billie used red, both alone and in combination with other colors. You’ll see the most effective framing color for a red-flowered standout is its complement: green. When a flower or shrub border focuses on green foliage, red flowers or red leaves truly shine.
Billie’s pinky-red hedge of Knock-Out roses truly knock you out! When a flower or shrub border focuses on green foliage, red flowers or red leaves truly shines.
“My wheelbarrow garden..”
Red and rust
For my Flea Market Gardening friends…I know how we all love rust!!
Red is the color Billie chose for her garden shed she calls her Christmas House.
Watering cans line up! My bed springs will have morning glories growing up in this year.
Tips for Using Red Flowers in the garden
- Red tends to dominate a scene. Use it sparingly for best results.
- In Spring, red brightens the entire garden and in Summer afternoons, the red just glows having a warming effect.
- Red flowers attract hummingbirds!
- Add red accents, such as linens and candles, for a layered effect in your garden.
A friend of mine gave me a couple of empty crates to do something with. I made a fairy garden!
Billie Hayman’s faded red milk can tucked in between the hydrangea plants echoes the color of her shed.
Painting in the garden
Whether you use spray paint, interior or exterior paint, they all chip and fade after a few years. It’s called a patina and happens very quickly out in the elements. That’s a look that many of us like very much and also the reason why we’re always looking to replace wood items we paint and ‘oopsie’ paint from the hardware store. We can all tell here which of Billie’s garden accents are newly painted and those which she painted a few years ago like this milk can above. Lovely!
Billie’s basket of orangey-red geraniums, she says, have lived in this basket for two years
“This is my ‘work in progress’ flower “bed.” Billie says. It was my baby sister’s bed and in honor of her I’m planting a Black-eyed Susies! I painted it red, her favorite color, with a yellow flower to match.”
“One of my favorite flower buckets, filled with Pentas. I did the stencil myself.”
Billie says, “This chandelier was an awful tan color, but it was inexpensive,
so I bought it and spray painted it red!”
Billie says, “When the sun hits this plant in the morning it is so awesome… it’s a moss rose and what’s great is they come up on their own! I had these in a hanging basket to the side of my knock out roses in the front of my house, that’s when I started seeing them come up all between my roses from the wind blowing the seed. They transplant so easy,… just water them right after.”
Zinnias glow in afternoon light
Best Red Flowers for Your Garden
- Red knock-out roses
- Geraniums
- Moss roses
- ‘Mr Lincoln’ rose
- Zinnias
- Shirley Poppies
- Dianthus
- Pentas
- Verbena
- Bee Balm
*Don’t forget red berries, twigs, fall leaves and bark which, in the winter garden, show off so well against a wintry or snowy background.
This little baby is still blooming beautifully for the holidays
Billie’s still adding red!
Billie, the garden ‘painter’
