Pink for spring? Groundbreaking. There’s no shortage of inspiration in the garden this time of year.
Blush pink, bright pink, fuchsia pink, just about everywhere you look, flashes of pretty pink are winking back at you this time of year. There’s actually some clever science behind why so many flowers are pink. Pink, along with red, purple and blue, is often created by pigments called anthocyanins. These pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others, giving petals the colours we see.
Flower colour also plays an important role in attracting pollinators. Bees and other insects can see colours differently to us, so those bright petals are the plant’s way of advertising its flowers and guiding pollinators towards them. And anthocyanins have another trick up their sleeves. They can help protect plants from environmental stresses, including excessive light and UV radiation. Even the colour of a flower can be doing more work than we realise.
And pink doesn’t have to mean pink flowers. Some of the most interesting pinks in the garden come from foliage, new growth and even the stems of plants, giving you colour that lasts well beyond flowering time.
October is a wonderful time to think ahead about where you’d like to see more of it. As the spring display begins to fade, summer-flowering plants are just getting ready to take over, giving you the opportunity to introduce colour at different heights and throughout different layers of the garden.
Start with a tree
A tree can be an unexpected place to introduce pink, and Cedrela sinensis is a particularly beautiful example. Its young foliage emerges in shades of soft pink before maturing to green, creating a fleeting spring display high above the garden.
For something more permanent, Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ combines deep, colourful foliage with flowers along its bare branches in spring. Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Hana Matoi’ also favours the garden with lacy leaves of rose pink to variegated leaves with speckles of magenta through summer and autumn.
Toona sinensis by Leonora (Ellie) Enking, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Cercis canadensis Forest Pansy by Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Acer palmatum dissectum Hana Matoi. Image courtesy of: Plantmark
Bring pink into the middle layer
Shrubs and roses are where pink really begins to weave through the garden. Camellia × williamsii ‘Buttons n Bows’ brings soft, romantic flowers and evergreen structure, while roses such as ‘Emily Brontë’ carry the colour through the warmer months. Hydrangeas and flowering spiraeas can add another layer of structure and seasonal interest.
Look for different shades rather than trying to match everything exactly. Soft blushes can sit beautifully alongside white and green, while deeper pinks can create a stronger focal point.
Spiraea Anthony Waterer by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Emily Bronte rose. Photo courtesy of: David Austin Roses
Camellia x williamsii Buttons n Bows
Add pink lower down
Summer-flowering perennials are an easy way to fill the spaces between shrubs and bring colour closer to the ground. Salvias, echinaceas, gaura, penstemons and dahlias all offer plenty of options, with different heights and flowering times to keep the display moving through summer. Phlox ‘McDaniel’s Cushion’ is another lovely choice for adding a splash of pink lower down, while Supertunia ‘Jazzberry’ brings a generous flush of colour that keeps going through the warmer months.
For smaller spaces, pots are another easy way to experiment with colour. You can move them around the garden as the seasons change, or use them to add a splash of pink to a patio, entrance or quiet corner. A dahlia like ‘Dalina Cadena’ works beautifully in a pot, too, where its flowers can be enjoyed up close.
Dahlia Dalina Cadena
Pink gaura
Salvia Velour Pink. Image courtesy of Plant Growers Australia
Think beyond the flowers
The best gardens don’t rely on flowers alone. Pink foliage, new growth and colourful stems can give you moments of colour even when nothing is in bloom.
Try combining pink flowers with silvery foliage, deep burgundy leaves or fresh greens to make the colour sing. Repeating a shade in several parts of the garden will also make it feel intentional, rather than as though a collection of pink flowers simply happened to find their way into the same border.
This October, look for a few places where pink could find a home. You don’t need to transform the whole garden. One beautiful tree, a handful of shrubs or a few pots may be all it takes to give the garden a new rhythm for summer.
