Well, this game was a bust LOL Life is better in living color, so here they are (click on to enlarge). I have to agree, I like these versions better.

Rhonda

Rhonda, I was surprised how very unpleasant I felt looking at the photographs in black and white. How very pleasant I felt looking at them in color. (Wonder if it is possible to suddenly lose total color perception... would possible "drive me mad"?!)

I actually knew all the colors Rhonda, would have gotten a 100 % score. Just didn't want to depress everyone else ! ( smile )

Me too, but I wanted to give someone else a chance.

Irma,

I do a lot of portrait photography and always do each picture in color and also create a b&w for each as well. It's amazing how the b&w version evokes emotions, good or bad, that don't appear in the color versions. Obviously they evoked a negative emotion from you. I normally don't do "happy" pics like flowers in b&w for that reason. Thanks for your input

Joe and Deb,

I know you two are super smart and most surely would score 100% :) I also know that you are trying to be nice cause you felt bad that no one had responded lol. No need, I can "handle the truth" to put a twist on Jack Nicholson's famous line. I put on my big girl panties :)

Thank you Joe! Pentas are definitely a top tier butterfly nectar plant.

I loved these photos, too, especially the ones in color.

So now I have a color question for you guys:

With pentas, do you mix up all the colors in one garden? I know the butterflies don't worry about what colors "go together", but when I look at my rag-tag assemblage of flowers, they just look chaotic. The lavenders clash with the reds; the pale pink pentas look awful with the bright orange Lion's Mane. And I have a bunch of gaillardia seedlings to edge with, but they are a rusty color. In the middle are vibrant yellow bush daisies. . . . but they kinda go with everything.

And the same with my backyard corner ; the Red Firespike, the Red Cloak and the red pentas are all different shades of red. Towering nearby is my Clerodendrum Minnahasse with its red stars - an altogether different shade. Climbing up the telephone pole is my Bleeding Heart vine (kinda burgundy).To my eyes, it isn't a very pleasant picture. It looked really bad with the potted crossandra plants in front, so I moved them out. These are all plants I started from cuttings before I knew what they would look like in bloom, and now that they are all in bloom, and all at the same time - Yuck!

Well, what do you guys think?

Susie

Thanks Susie! Sounds as if you have some great butterfly plants. I did the same thing that you did and am now digging up and moving plants to better spots with the appropriate companion plants. I buy what I like and then try to find a place for it :) I will say though, that sometimes chaotic just looks more natural as long as you have 3 or so of each plant grouped , not 20 different plants.

I personally like purple and blue flowers pared with gold or orange flowers. A favorite combo is purple penta with orange Lion's ear. I know what you mean about the reds, there are so many shades and many have an orange cast which in my opinion don't look good with the pinkish casted reds.

Now that you know what colors the blooms are, you can dig up and replant with the colors that you find pleasing together. A good rule of thumb if you're not sure what colors to pair, use a color wheel....it takes a lot of the guessing out of the equation. I learned this years ago in art class. I found this simple one on the web. The easiest thing to remember is that you can't go wrong if you:

1) Pick 2 to 3 analogous colors (touch each other on the wheel)

2) Pick 2 complimentary colors (across from each other on the wheel)

3) Pick 3 triadic colors (equal distance apart on the wheel)

Rhonda

Rhonda, I love your photos! thanks for posting.

Silvia

Thanks Silvia!

Thanks Rhonda

It's good to know I'm not the only one who likes certain colors to compliment each other. And I have always been able to place things in what I think are suitable combos in the past and have enjoyed the final outcome immensely. Your color wheel is a big help and I will use it as I redo these gardens in the months to come.

If there is space to do it, I think I will put in some of my porterweed seedlings in between some of the garish reds to see if the blues and purples will soften them down. I tried daylilies but there's not enough sun.

And the pentas garden was planted by someone else so I will do some maneuvering so that there are big drifts of each color instead of a checkerboard.

Thanks again,

Susie

Susie,

You're very welcome. Sounds like you have some hard but fun work ahead of you. I don't know why, but in Ohio I was much better at picking the right plants for the right places, not just colors but shapes, heights, bloom season, etc. Maybe it's because I had 50 years to learn there. I've been in Florida for 8 and of course many plants were new to me. But, after 5 or so years of experimenting and failing often, I'm finally starting to get the hang of it :)

I would think the purple porterweeds with the green leaves would look good with the reds with an orange tint.

Rhonda