Garden red alert

Imagine how red in the garden can add that dimension to our lives. What better month than February, the month of love and romance, to bring nature’s most vibrant colour into the garden?

It is said by interior decorators, that a room without a dash of red somewhere lacks excitement. The same surely applies to the garden, even in summer.

There are many shades of red, but they can be divided into two groups: “cool” reds (with a blue undertone) and “hot” reds (with a yellow undertone). Each produces a different effect and can clash with other colours if one is not careful. For instance, blue-red goes with a mauve pink but not a salmon pink. Warm red blends with other warm colours, especially shades of gold, peach, and deep yellow. A dash of blue for contrast brings it alive.

You almost cannot go wrong if you mix red with purple, blue, or white. Red and purple produces a rich, sumptuous effect, while red, white and blue is light and crisp. Using silver foliage plants with red and blue is another lovely combination.

In February, red roses are always associated with love. Large beds of red roses are superb in open parks or large gardens, but red roses can be a bit too dominant in a small garden.

One option is to plant red standard roses, like “Satchmo” or “City of Belfast” with an under-planting of mauve or blue annuals or perennials. Three red rose bushes planted close together (50 to 60cm apart) will stand out and can be complemented by softer plantings of white or pink ‘Iceberg’, bordered with mauve and grey catmint.

Some suggestions of red flowers and foliage that can be used in the garden:

• Roses: “‘Ingrid Bergman” (hybrid tea), “Red Ayoba” (floribunda), “Mister Lincoln” (fragrant Hybrid Tea), “Ecstasy” (fragrant Hybrid Tea), and “Red and Fragrant” (hybrid tea)
• Perennials: Argyranthemum “Madeira” merlot and cherry red, Begonia “Dragon Wings” red, Begonia “Mistral” red, Canna “Tropical” red, Geranium “Bulls Eye” Scarlet, Hibiscus “Luna red”, Penstemon “Tubular Bells” wine red, Pentas “New Look” red, Salvia “Lady in Red” and “Forest Fire”, and Verbena “Wildfire” red velvet.
• Annuals: Alstroemeria “Inticancha” Doba, Calibrachoa “Mini-famous” compact dark red and Calibrachoa “Cabaret” bright red, Gazania “New Day” red shades, Osteospermum “Flower Power” double red, New Guinea Impatiens “Divine” red, and Vinca “Cooler” red.
• Foliage: Acalypha “Tropica”, Berberis “Rose Glow”, Coleus “Red Head”, Ice-cream bush, Nandina pygmaea (sacred bamboo) in winter and Japanese “Blood Grass”.