Actually, I was looking at that earlier and it occurred to me that - YES! - I am planning a red bed. The funny thing is that I hadn't even remembered Gottagarden's magnificent red bed when I came up with this scheme. Duh.

I have an island bed out front with a small water feature and had decided to plant red celosia, red spider zinnias, and red pomponette English daisies. I'll probably add some dusty miller or alyssum just for that bit of contrast that most beds need. It already contains a few ornamental grasses including four red Shenandoah switchgrasses. That's where the "red" idea came from for me.

Obviously my small bed will not even suggest competition with hers but now I'm tempted to add a few more red things that she has used so effectively.

Really enjoyed those photos...thanks for posting that link. Red is my favorite color, but it never occurred to me to do an all red bed. Hers is lovely. May have to give it a try.
Jan

Yes I am going to try a red bed! I ordered a bunch of red colored flowers to winter sow and they just came. It will not be as lovely as gottagardens but I can't wait to get sowing! Here are some of the seeds I am planning on sowing
Amaranthus Hopi Red dye
Scarlet Flax
Red Larkspur
Red Scabiosa
Red Snapdragons
Red Strawflower
Scarlet Tassel Flower
Mahogany Midget zinnia
Globe Amaranth
Ladybird red poppy
Gift Zinnia

Joann

I am planning one too, on a much smaller scale. The planting area surrounding my front porch already has some established small shrubs, and space for flowers is somewhat limited. I have collected an assortment of red seeds, some of which are Yvonne's Salvia, lobelia cardinalis, zinnias, amaranth pygmy torch, red celosia, black prince snaps, and probably more which I can't recall. Since the space is limited, I won't be able to fit much more than a few of each.

I am also on a mission to find true red (not orange) trailing nasties, but haven't found one yet. I planned to buy fresh, to increase the liklihood of being true to color and type. Anyone know of a commercial source for true red trailing nasturtium?

Karen

WOW Gail, thanks for posting! That's a colour I'm definitely missing in the gardens. Lots of ideas there!

Yes, I am! I had a bed with some reds in it last year, and this year I'm going to try for a true red bed. I'm trying to keep pinkish reds out of it, but purples and "black" flowers in. I'm going to use some orange cosmos, and maybe zinnia, as a highlight.

I agree--Gottagarden's red bed is really inspiring.

I am not planning an entire red bed, but I am one of the only people I know that doesn't care for pink or blue flowers, so my entire garden is done in reds, yellows, shades of orange (including pale shades like peach or mango) and touches of white.

One thing I noticed while looking at the photos of Gottagarden's red bed was how great the sedum (not in bloom) looked against the red. I'm thinking that I need to add some chartreuse greens in next to the reds I already have.

For those that are planning red beds, here is my list:

Achillea 'Paprika'
Aquilegia 'Ruby Port'
Asclepias tuberosa 'Gay Butterflies' (it's a mix of red, orange, and yellow)
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Dianthus 'Ideal Select Red'
Gaillardia 'Burgandy'
Geum 'Blazing Sunset' (WSing this year)
Hemerocallis 'Merle Kent'
Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'
Hemerocallis 'Principal Wife'
Heuchera 'Marmalade'
Lychnis 'Lumina Bronzeleaf Red' (WSing this year)
Penstemon barbatus 'Coccineus'
Penstemon pinifolius 'Compactum'
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Coppertina' (foliage is reddish copper)
Sedum 'Postman's Pride'
Sedum 'Lynda Windsor' (new from Bluestone this year)
Weigela 'Ruby Queen'

Those are just the perennials and shrubs!

For my containers on the porch I am using a lot of red/burgandy foliage annuals, such as:

Alternanthera 'Purple Knight'
Amaranth 'Pygmy Torch'
Coleus 'Wizard Sunset'
Millet 'Jester'

Can't wait to see everyone's pictures this summer!

Bonnie

Ooops! I forgot I also have a red Peony 'Francis Ortegot'. Last year was its first year, so I didn't get any blooms.

Kqcrna - I had some favorite bright red nasturtiums last year that were the star of my gardens. They were from Renee's Seeds, called "Copper Sunset". I'd describe their color as scarlet. They get large, so a few seeds went a long way in the ground. In containers, they stayed fairly small but so bright.

I am planning a red garden by a gravel courtyard by an old wooden shed--probably start that one in fall.

One of my favorites is Crocosmia reds.

I find the blackish reds and burgundys to be to depressing in photos, so I will probably opt for a different companion color. Since I tend to go for old fashioned combinations, my first choice of companion color would be pale, washed-out, yellow--a color not so easy to find--to go with the scarlets.

My dream red courtyard:
gallardia
crocosmia
red poppies
nasturtiums
geum
pale yellow yarrow
pale yellow correopsis (moonbeam)
Just a little blue fescue

Hi Kqcrna - I bought some nasties last night at Home Depot called 'Gleaming Mahogany', by Mr Fothergill's.

I'm inspired by Bonnie & Tansy Moon's lists, (I'm ALL about lists!!) so here's mine:

Seeds I have from trade, saving or bought at stores:
Coreopsis ÂMahogany MidgetÂ
Crocosmia montbretia ÂLuciferÂ
Dianthus barbatus ÂSweet William wine/red
Dianthus Superbus ÂCrimsonÂ
Foeniculum purpureum - bronze fennel
Lobelia cardinalis - red
Perilla Frutescens ÂShisoÂ
Petunia - Easy Wave Red
Salvia coccinea  red Texas Sage
Snapdragon ÂBlack PrinceÂ
Grass - Ornamental Millet
LLB
Grass  ÂBronzinaÂ
Sage  scarlet
Trumpet Vine  red
monarda red
Amaranthus Burgandy Torch
Antirrhinum majus, Snapdragon Burgandy Red
Celosia cristata - Cockscomb - Red
Salvia 2 ft tall red
Pentemon Digitalis "Huskers Red"
YvonneÂs Salvia
Cosmos ÂGazebo RedÂ
Nasturtium ÂGleaming MahoganyÂ

My new cheques are finally in so, so I can send in my seed orders. T&T & VeseyÂs are going in the mail today, & William Dam in a couple of weeks to spread them out. The lists from each are longer than whatÂs below  these are just for the red beds :).

Ordering From T&T seeds:

Amaranthus ÂEarly SplendorÂ
Coleus ÂWizard Velvet RedÂ

Ordering from Veseys (Free shipping, yay!):

Hibiscus ÂRed Shield
Kochia
Nicotiana ÂRed Domino
Lupin  red
Pansy  red snow
Sweet William ÂSootyÂ
Flax  scarlet
Helianthus ÂPrado RedÂ
Zinnia ÂOklahoma scarletÂ
Nasturtium ÂEmpress of IndiaÂ
Ricinus Carmencita

Ordering From William Dam:

Amaranthus ÂRed PygmyÂ
Amaranthus ÂVelvet CurtainsÂ
Celosia ÂNew LookÂ
Dianthus ÂConfetti RedÂ
Grass  melica ÂRed SpireÂ
Grass  Oryza ÂBlack MadrasÂ
Morning glory  cardinal climber

Planning to buy once the nurseries open:

Astilbes
Barberry bush
Daylilies
Fritallaria
Geraniums
Impatiens
Lilies
Peonies
Primrose Âcherry redÂ
Roses
Smokebush
Sweet potato vine ÂBlackieÂ
Tulips  Tarda, Darwin, Lily

Plan to divide from my garden:

Several different kinds of Sedums, mostly tall, fall types, but also including the creeping ÂDragonÂs bloodÂ
Gaillardia  burgundy  if it overwintered. It wasnÂt looking too happy last fall.
Chrysanthemums & lobelia Cardinalis  same thing, if they over wintered
Red & black hollyhocks and poppies  I have them all mixed up & canÂt seem to find that I saved any seeds from the red ones, so IÂll have to wait until they flower & move them. Or save the seeds & plant for next year

All the best,
Gail

Another great red plant I had in my garden that is also very hardy is chard.

From a row of rainbow chard, I transplanted the deep red chard plants in the fall and put them in my big deck containers. Even in an ice storm, you can still see them holding up, wanting to bounce back!

Well, I'm not sure they'll make it, but I'll be planting more for the veggie garden and containers.

They are very decorative and nice that they are edible.

I remember someone posting a picture of a red hardy hibiscus plant that was absolutely breathtaking. I purchased some mixed color hibiscus seeds on ebay. If they manage to germinate, I hope at least one of them is red.

Red is my favorite color, so I would like to have more red plants. I guess I just don't think that far in advance or plan. I probably should have thought about color coordinating. I just bought a bunch of varieties that looked pretty, but in no way thought about how they'd look together, lol. I could end up with an, ummm, interesting yard this year :)

re: Red Nasties..I just ordered some "Empress of India" from William Dam. Foliage is a dark green/black, and the flowers look like a true red, though we all know how catalogues 'pimp' the photos.
Can't wait to see if they really are like their picture. (It's kinda like using online dating!) LOL

... my first try at picture posting.

This is the "Copper Sunset" nasturtium from Renee's Seeds, along with some other edible flowers I had last summer. It was a great flower all season and I didn't see any pests and minimal yellowing as the season wore on.

{{gwi:358671}}

Tansy, if you are wanting pale yellows to pair up with your reds, in addition to the Yarrow and Coreopsis, try Dianthus knappii, Scabiosa ochroleuca, and maybe Echinacea 'Sunrise'.

Bonnie

Hi, Bonnie,
Yes, I will check out those flowers, since I have always been intrigued, but have never grown any of them except yarrow.
I am going to use very pale--like moonbeam yellow, not intense yellow, so that the scarlets really, and that little touch of fescue does too.
But of course "the best laid plans" ... I'm sure other colors will jump into the red bed as I go along, because I've found that what looks good in my head can really be approved upon when I look at them later in pictures, etc.

I'm planting red celosia, 'Scarlet Flame' zinnias and hardy red hibiscus, but I think that's it for the reds. I don't really do any color schemes but research what the butterflies like and go from there. Not that I planned the colors, but my gardens seem to have mostly turned out purple, orange, and blue and in no particular order other than by height. Someday when I have everything I want here for the butterflies (if there is such a thing as being done...ha), I might just do a flower bed planning colors, not caring if the butterflies go to those flowers or not because I'll already have plenty of flowers for that. I think the red idea is neat and might just try that one since I think it is very pretty. I have a red car so I must like the color. :-) Oh, I just thought of two more reds that I'll be trying here this year, Cardinal Climber Vine and Cardinal Flower! I bought those for the hummingbirds because I heard that they like the nectar from those flowers.

After seeing those beautiful photos, I have to have a red bed. I will be starting a lasagna bed this weekend for my red bed. I have two red roses I can transplant into it. I just picked up some new seeds, Empress of India nasturtium, Chianti sunflowers, and red velvet celosia. I have some Castor beans and a red salvia waiting to WS in my stash. I will add other red plants as time goes on. I have a nice large place for a 6'by 50' bed. I am getting excited about it now.

Thanks for sharing the link Gail. I wasn't planning a red bed, I never even thought about it, until I read your post and saw the pics. I love this idea and now I want a red bed too.

Another nice red is Pineapple Sage. Thanks for posting the pictures of gottagarden's beds. I saw this last year, and loved it. I've got just the spot for my own red border, and I'm going to do it this year!

This thread is such an inspiration, it's making me see red :). I think I'll go through the seed boxes to see what I can find, probably lots of things.

I know I have a pack of Yvonne's Salvia. I hope I saved enough Pineapple Sage seeds to get at least one plant; I LOVE that plant. Bakemom's Penstemon Husker's Red should bloom for me this year, thanks Karen!

I seem to remember having Amaranth, Shiso, Purple Millet, and red Poppies in there too. This is beginning to sound like a plan. I even have some red Nicotiana seeds! I may have saved some red Balsam and red Million Bells and...and...I better get off this computer and go check the boxes now that I'm practically salivating!

Thanks Gail_ish, this is a winner.

Isn't million bells propagated by cuttings? I didn't think you could propagate by seed? Am I wrong?

Karen

Gee Karen, I didn't look into propagating million bells, I bought the plants last year and thought they might re-seed, and I may have saved seeds too. I'm not done checking my see box. You're probably right, and I'll probably need to buy plants again, they bloomed all summer in my hanging baskets and I want them again this year.

Mary

Just happy to share the obsession - now I don't feel so lonely :)