Easy Tips from Suntory Flowers for Creating Patriotic Gardens
Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) July 04, 2013 -- With spring in the rearview mirror, the pastels of the season’s garden are gone. It’s time to herald the colors of summer. For July, that means unfurling the red, white and blue with the creation of a patriotic garden.
Reds, whites and blues burst forth like fireworks from many of the flowers in the Suntory® Collection. Whether in a garden bed or the perfect piece of pottery, patriotic gardeners will find it a breeze to raise the flag.
Professional garden designer and lifestyle expert James Farmer has created many red, white and blue gardens for his clients, particularly in recent years.
“The patriotic garden is often a décor element for backyard barbeques on the 4th of July and all through the month,” Farmer explains. “It may be as simple as a potted centerpiece or as involved as an in-ground planting along a drive or around a mailbox.”
Patriotic Planting Tips
Creating a patriotic flowerpot or in-ground garden truly is as easy as combining reds, whites and blues. But, Farmer points out, not all of those colors have to be flowers.
“I am a fan of blue-glazed pottery and use it as often as I can,” he says. “Suntory’s red and white tropical Sun Parasol® Stars & Stripes™ mandevilla along with a trailing white Million Bells® calibrachoa in my favorite blue container is an easy way to decorate for the holiday.”
Patriotic blooms in hanging baskets are the perfect complement to 4th of July bunting along a porch. For baskets, Farmer recommends flower types that cascade downward or mound gently. Million Bells® in red, white and blue creates a lovely uniform basket. Or, go for some variety by mixing white Sungelonia™ angelonia with a deep blue and a deep red trailing Surfinia® petunia.
For gardeners who don’t want to be tied to a holiday color theme, Farmer has a trick to share.
“Come late July, I remove the white-flowered plants from my patriotic combinations and replace with yellows or oranges, such as gold-colored Summer Wave® torenia or terra cotta Million Bells®,” Farmer says. “When mixed with reds and blues or purples, we call these ‘hot’ colors for a hot time of the summer.”
The combinations, he adds, make the bed or container really pop. Another option is to replace blue flowers with pink for a strawberries-and-cream color scheme.
Test drive some patriotic combinations at Suntory's Virtual Container Combination Designer http://suntorycollection.com/popup/design_it_yourself.html. Mixing and matching other combinations like cream, magenta and deep purple take a new twist on red, white and blue.
In addition to the varieties mentioned above, the Suntory® Collection offers lots of other reds, whites and blues to use in a patriotic planting. To get started with July’s floral fireworks, visit http://www.SuntoryCollection.com.
Stacey Pierson, Garden Media Group, http://www.gardenmediagroup.com, 610-444-3040, [email protected]
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