Layering color in your flower garden

The easiest way to add texture and personality to your garden is by choosing plants with varied foliage and bloom color. Don't be afraid to go at the garden full-force, planting an array of colors close together. If you hate the effect, simply dig up the plants that don't conform with your vision and move them to another spot.

In this way, garden design is a lot like testing different paint colors on the walls of your house. Sometimes you have to sample quite a few before hitting on the exact shade you like. For every 10 plants I painstakingly get into the ground, about three will get unceremoniously (but carefully) pulled up and placed elsewhere.

It's not always the plant's fault. Sometimes my vision for a certain flowerbed will change. Of course there are times when the plant really IS to blame. If you purchased a Eupatorium (Joe Pye weed) that was supposed to get four feet tall but actually grows to a gigantic 8 in a sun-loving bed (as mine did), you have every right to relocate it (I loved it so much I simply added an arbor to keep the mop-head flowers from bending forward).

When choosing colors and shapes, go with your gut. Want an all-out color assault on your senses? Layer as many colors as you can in one small area as I have done (above). I chose neutrals and brights in pots (foreground), enhanced by the lavendar blooms of white-edged hostas, deep purple Monarda (bee balm) blossoms, orange day lilies, yellow lanceleaf coreopsis and deep blue Hydrangea macrophylla (far background).

Feeling playful? The polka dot leaves of Pulmonaria (AKA lungwort) will brighten up shady spots, and even fare well in partial sun. I paired mine with the stripy Carex (AKA sedge, pictured below) because I wanted a "circles and stripes" theme by my side door.

Is minimalism your thing? Plant a flower garden with just one blossom shade. A great example of this is the White Garden at Sissinghurst in England. Because the foliage hues differ greatly in this grand design, the effect is still one of great variety.

This is the time of year perennials go on deep discount. Purchase a plethora of plants you may never otherwise have considered--and have a field day in your outdoor spaces!