820-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 2, 1994
National Garden Bureau
Everyone likes a bright, color
ful garden, but did you know that
you can use the colors of flowers
and plants to create a mood, short
en or lengthen the look of a gar
den, or really call attention to a
special feature? It’s possible be
cause of the way we perceive
colors.
Hey Look Me Over!
Red and yellow are two colors
that immediately capture our at
tention. Scientists tell us that we
actually see these two colors faster
than others! Our eyes are drawn to
displays of red or yellow, so they
are excellent choices to put around
a fountain, or to plant in a key area
that you want people to see. Like
wise, if you have something in
your garden you DON’T want
people to look at, plant bright yel
low flowers opposite that area to
draw attention away from there.
Ideally, they will look at the yel
low flowers and turn their backs
on whatever eyesore it is you want
to hide.
If you have some steps leading
to your garden or in your garden,
consider planting a border of yel
low flowers next to them. The yel
low will catch people’s eyes and
alert them in an attractive way that
there are steps there and they
should be careful.
One color expat has said that a
house will even sell faster if it has
yellow trim or has borders of yel
low flowers out front This advice
isn’t guaranteed, but if you are try
ing to sell your house quickly, this
is certainly worth a try. Is your
garden area long and narrow and
would you like to “square it off’ a
little with minimal effort? Plant
lots of bright red flowers at the far
end and this will visually “pull”
that end in closer and it won’t
seem so long and narrow. This can
be done with anything you want to
“bring closer,” because red "ad
vances” visually.
Red also physically arouses us
and gets our adrenaline pumping.
If you want to excite people, put
lots of red around. Experiments
have shown that food tastes better
around red, so red flowers around
Needed immediately:
new housing for
■ Pullet Contracts
■ Turkey Contracts
Birds
Two 50'x620' Tom Turksy Houass
V/.A>. ■<■*»%. y _
CALL 1-800-673-2580
For information on new contracts being
offered by local feed and livestock companies
agri
systems
Northeast
Flower Color
your outdoor eating area will
stimulate conversation and make
the food taste better, too.
Masses of red or yellow are
guaranteed attention-getters and
will not go unnoticed. In a full-sun
garden consider the red blooms of
petunias, celosia or wax begonias.
Yellow is most often found in
marigolds, but for taller plants
with golden yellow blooms try
sunflowers.
And, by the way, men tend to
favor yellow-based reds (like scar
let) while women tend to favor
blue-based teds (like burgundy).
If you and your spouse don’t agree
on what “red” to plant, this could
be why.
How Sweet It Is
The color pink is perceived as
being sweet tasting and fragrant.
You may not have noticed it, but
people will usually try to smell
pink flowers even when they don’t
have any fragrance. And pink is a
soothing, calming color as well.
One researcher has said that peo
ple are less likely to argue with
someone who is wearing a lot of
pink, so lots of pink plants around
your outdoor patio could contri
bute to amiable conversation
when you entertain.
In sunny locations consider
pink blooms from dianthus, geran
iums or tall cosmos. In shade, pink
wax begonias or impatiens will
brighten the area.
Crisp and Clean
If you are the type of person
who likes things neat, tidy and
precise, white is the color for you.
We think of doctors in their while
coats and laboratories with while
walls and equipment because we
associate white with cleanliness,
orderliness and precision. Crisp
flower beds or border plantings of
white will give your garden a
well-planned and orderly look.
But don’t expect the color alone to
do all the work you will still
need to tend your garden. Masses
of white can be hard on the eyes,
so you may want to include areas
of other colors as well.
White is also the last color to
fade from sight as darkness falls,
so it’s a good choice for areas you
Pennsylvania’s Authorized Master Distributor
Northeast Agri Systems, Inc.
Flyway Business Park
139 A West Airport Road
Lltltz, PA 17543
Ph; (717) 569-2702 1-800-673*2580 W
Influences Garden Mood
want to look at in the evening, and
also a good choice for bordering
pathways since you can follow
your way. easier even as it gets
dark.'
Garden annuals that deliver
good white blooms are nicodanas,
vincas and zinnias. These three
will perform best in sunny loca
tions.
Green is an excellent comple
ment to white because it actually
helps your eyes recover quickly
from strain. (Old-time engravers,
who had to do very detailed work,
often kept a green gemstone near
by so that they could look at it to
relieve their eye strain honest!)
Mid-tone to deep greens can im
part an air of richness and luxury
to a garden, while lighter and yel
lower greens give a more casual
look. You might want to consider
this if you are planting up some
areas with lots of plants you’ve
chosen more for their foliage than
their flowers.
Keeping Your Cool
Have you ever wondered why
swimming pools arc usually paint
ed “swimming pool blue?” It’s be
cause we perceive blue as being
cool and calming.
If swimming pools were paint
ed red, we’d think the water was
hot
When our field of vision is fill
ed with blue, our bodies actually
slow down and we begin to get
calmer. You can use this attribute
of blue to create a feeling of cool
ness even in full-sun garden by
planting lots of blue flowers
(lighter blues are better than dark
blues). Even if it’s 95 degrees,
you’ll feel cooler in the “blue”
area of your garden.
And blue tones can help you
widen or lengthen the look of a
garden because blue recedes, or
falls back, from our sight. Lots'
blue flowers and blue-toned fol
iage planted on the long sides of a
long and narrow garden will
actually seem to make it wider be
cause the blue “falls back” visual
ly-
Blues are the first colors to fade
from sight as dusk falls, so you
■ Breeder Contracts
■ Layer Contracts
STORE HOURS Mon -Frl 7 30 to 4 30
Sat 8 00 to Noon
24 Hr. 7 Day Repair Service
may want to choose a brighter col
or if there is an area in your garden
that you like to look at in the eve
ning.
Cool blue tones are borne on
salvia, eustoma (lisianthus),
morning glory and ageratum
plants.
There aren’t a lot of plants that
come in gray, but Dusty Miller
(cineraria) and a few other foliage
plants do come in silvery grey
tones. What’s interesting about
gray is that it is the only color that
doesn’t produce an after-image.
Usually, if you stare at a color for
awhile and then close your eyes or
look away, you will “see” its com
plementary color in your mind’s
eye. This doesn’t happen with
gray. Gray is said to promote cre
ativity (you’ll often find gray
walls in an advertising agency), so
if you often go into your garden to
think, consider planting a bed of
gray to lode at •
Using color sffsctlvsly can help you change tha look of
your garden, create a cool, restful area, and even help you
be more creative.
SOLLENBERGER SILO SOMERSET BARN
Chomborabuig, l»A EQUIPMENT
717-264-9568 Sonwratt, PA
814-445-5555
ROVENDALE AO &
BARN SUPPLY
WtUontown, PA
717-538-9564
NISSLEY FEEDING LANCASTER SILO
equipment wSSSTiSS.
Willow », PA 717-299-3721
717-786-7654
M
DETWILER SILO
Nowvlllt, PA
717-776-6321
FICKES SILO CO.
NowvHlo, PA
-717-776-3129
Creative Gray
Summary
...madttbtoAt
Contact your
nearest dealer.
HOOVER EQUIPMENT
Tyrant, pa CEDAR CREST EQUIP.
814-684-1777 Ltbtnon, PA
717-270-6600
BENCE'S FARM
EQUIPMENT
MCMIU JX H ?™ ERS 81^023-8601
717-789-3961
Let The Good Times Roll
What if you like lots of different
colors mixed in among each
other? That’s great
Mixes of bright colors give a
happy, festive look to an area. Mix
different flowers, different colors
and different textures to your
heart’s delight but just be careful
not to overdo it Too much mixing
can look more disorganized than
festive, so using three or four col
ors over and over can help tie the
lode together.
For a wide range of colors, try
mixtures of zinnias, petunias or
portulacas. For a more limited but
still festive look, a marigold mix
ture can display the four colors of
yellow, orange, gold and maroon.
■ If you haven’t thought about the
psychological effects of color be
fore, these tips may give you a
starting point for creating not only
the look you want in your garden,
but also the “feel” you want as
well.
Tiberdome
P.O. Box 11 • UkO MW. Wl 63961
(414) t4l-i378
GNEGY SURGE BADGER SALES
SERVICE t SERVICE
WHhlngton, FA Spring MIH*, FA
412-222*0444 014-422-0279
BRENNER DAIRY
EQUIPMENT
Spnrtnniburg, PA
014-654-7309