Hello yellow
A COLOUR MANY GARDENERS DISLIKE CAN ADD BRIGHTNESS AND LIGHTNESS TO YOUR PLOT
RECENTLY I had the idea to change the colour of our kitchen walls with a brighter warmer and more welcoming one than the duck egg blue we’ve lived with for years.
So off we went to the paint store and decided yellow was the answer. But what yellow?
I’m sure you’ve been in the same situation – so many choices, each with their own alluring name….from Oat to Sand, to Sandcastle…or Sunshine Yellow… or Saffron or even Lemon Chiffon!
In the end it was a toss up between Furze, a beautiful golden yellow and Sun Dust, similar but a bit brighter.
For me that was the hard part over because, reader, she took over the project and we now have a brilliant paint job all but completed, with Furze winning out in the end.
It got me thinking that yellow in the garden as well as in the paint shop can be a challenge. And as it’s synonymous with spring, while she painted I wandered through our plot to enjoy whatever was yellow outside.
In the garden the acid yellow flowers of our Acacia dealbata (mimosa) is in full bloom and daffodils in their many vibrant shades are to be seen everywhere. Out in the countryside gorse, or furze, is in flower, lighting up hillsides and fields with shimmering shades of gold. The Forsythia bushes are still bare but will soon erupt with colour, forming a gilded ribbon through suburbia. Pale yellow primroses, chartreuse yellow euphorbias, golden winter aconites and tiny yellow crocuses – there are so many shades and varieties but all are welcome, particularly on a dull or grey day. However, yellow is not universally liked by gardeners, particularly those who prefer more subdued or subtle palettes.
But with a little knowhow, it can inject just the right amount of lightness and brightness to your plot.
It’s true that too much can be overwhelming – it is a vibrant colour that demands to be noticed and will need partnering with white to cool it down or with complementary and contrasting colours such as blue, green, pink and orange. Its value lies in its cheerful and sunny qualities – and when it comes to brightening up dull or shaded corners it’s second to none. Hostas spring to mind, particularly cultivars with golden hues such as ‘Gold Standard’, a medium sized hosta whose golden variegated leaves will bring light and interest to dark corners.
Or how about Bowles’ golden grass (Milium effusum), a semievergreen perennial grass with arching yellow leaves happy in shade.
If you’d like to experiment with this colour, you could plant some pots of your favourites but this time try yellow cultivars, for example snapdragons, lupins, columbine, dahlias and lilies.
You can play around by placing these pots through different places in your garden or borders and see the difference adding a few sunbeams can make. Or, as I’ve discovered with the painting, get someone else to plant the pots – it’s easier and just as rewarding.