Thursday, March 30, 2017

Color Our World Round-Up March: The Many Roles of Green in the Garden!

Banner Credit: Terri Steffes from Our Good Life
Welcome! It's time for another Color Our World Round-Up post. Each month the knowledgeable bloggers from Project Beautiful get creative by writing articles with focus on a particular color. Posts cover a multitude of topics including gardening, home remedies, decor and culinary delights. March is the month of "green", which is very fitting with the arrival of St. Patrick's Day and spring! The authors are sharing their thoughts on all the possibilities and uses of green in the garden, and not just for spring, but all year round. Simply click on the links to read each article in full.

First up for our March Round-Up is Lynee Cherot from Sensible Gardening with her delightful post on the Unexpected Green Flower. "As much as I love the riot of color in a garden, I’ve lately become intrigued and attracted to the sophistication of the uncommon green flower. The color green is prominent in nature, usually in foliage, but quite unusual as a flower color. The green of plants is produced by chlorophyll, which converts light into energy the plant can use for growth. Colorful blooms serve as attractors for pollinators which will spread the plants pollen for reproduction. Green flowers have no need for bright colors as they reproduce themselves through asexual reproduction or rely on the wind to spread themselves around." See all the various types of green blooms with their descriptions here...

Next is Susan Brandt from Blooming Secrets, who brings thoughts of green all year round with The Year in Color: Wearing of the Green. "Green seems like a most appropriate color for the month of March. In many areas of the country the grass starts growing and by the end of the month, the first official “mowing of the lawn” occurs. The Daffodils that we planted last fall begin to make an appearance and the first green shoots on many trees and shrubs become the first leaves of spring. Finally, the “wearing of the green” on St. Patrick’s Day lets us know that spring is literally right around the corner and that the “long winter’s nap” for our garden is coming to an end. Green truly takes “center stage” in the spring; the lawn and leaves dominate the early landscape, but there are other signs that green isn’t just limited to grass, shrubs and trees." Read more about the use of green in the garden here...

Garden and food blogger Terri Steffes from the Good Life shares her knowledge of how to plant a Salad Bowl Garden with her post Time to Plant the Salad Bowl! "One of my favorite spring activities is to plant the Salad Bowl.  The Salad Bowl is a huge planter that I sow several kinds of lettuce, spinach, kale and swiss chard.  It is time to plant it and I am looking forward to eating fresh greens in a few weeks! Tip #1  To speed up the process, I plant a few plants as well as seeds.  That way my crop is spread out and I get a longer run of greens.  Last year's crop was wonderful, as you can see in the picture below. Tip # 2  Use good seeds!  This year we are planting using heirloom seeds that we purchased from the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  They have a wonderful seed selection and I am eager to see if we can tell the difference between the seeds we get at the Dollar Store and the seeds were purchased from MoBot. Tip #3 We will plant 2 or so weeks before the last frost.  The soil does best when it is above 60 degrees. Sometimes we've guessed wrong about the last frost and still have had a good crop of greens. When someone tells me that they want to start gardening, this is what I tell them to start with! The seeds germinate quickly (usually within 5-10 days) and you can eat the ones that you thin out in a salad!" Read up on more salad bowl gardening tips here...

Green is a major color in Japanese Garden design. Here is my post, This Month's Color in the Garden: The Role of Green in Japanese Garden Design. "When I think of a predominately green garden, Japanese Garden style comes to mind. The color green has been a basic element in Japanese garden design over the centuries and has also been an element found in both formal and informal gardens throughout horticultural history. Greenery provides architecture in the landscape in the form of hedges, trees, shrubs, grass and moss. The color green is a neutral color, one that can be used with any other color without changing the desired effect for a space. It is the perfect combination of the basic primary colors yellow (warm, energizing) and blue (cool, calming) creating a perfect balance. Conifers which are commonly used in Japanese Garden design provide soothing shades of green and grow in a variety of structural forms for year-round interest. In Japanese Garden design, evergreens are used for their simplicity, ability to mimic the natural landscape, and to provide structure all year round. Typical plant species used in Japanese Gardens are juniper, Hinoki Cypress, pine, bamboo, maple, cherry, azalea, camellia, and iris. Moss is another element that has especially played a major role in Japanese garden design, and is regarded as a symbol of harmony, age, and tradition." Read more about Japanese Garden design here...

My Author Page
Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed #PB Color Our World Round-Up for the month of March. If you are enjoying these monthly Round-Ups, please leave a comment, and do share your thoughts about the color GREEN!

Also, be sure to visit these wonderful bloggers regularly for their inspiring articles on gardening, home remedies, DIY projects, decorating, culinary delights and more! I am also linking to Floral Friday Fotos. Be sure to check out their weekly meme!

NEXT UP is This Month's Color in the Garden on the 7th, where it's all about the color yellow. Then, join me for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-Up each month on the 15th, and Round Up posts at the end of the month! 

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2017. All rights reserved

4 comments:

  1. You introduced me to such interesting authors, Lee. You're right green color is traditional for Japanese garden. I am often amazed with green hellebore, they look so strange among other flowers.

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    1. I am glad you enjoyed the Round-Up Nadezda. I met this wonderful group of bloggers about a year ago and we started the Round-Up near the beginning of the year. They have so much knowledge and expertise, so the Round-Up is a nice way of sharing. I am also enjoying doing the monthly color posts!

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  2. A great collection of posts. I must see if I can participate once things settle down here and return to normal.

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    1. Thank you Jennifer. You are welcome to join our little group whenever your schedule allows. We would love to have you!

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Thank you for visiting. I love reading your comments and knowing you have been here, and will try to reciprocate on your blog. If you have any questions I will try my very best to answer them. As always...HAPPY GARDENING!