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Pretty in Pink (and Purple, Too)

By: Karen Weir-Jimerson
Published: 3/1/2015Source: Better Homes and Gardens

From soft blush to bright fuchsia, the soothing colors in this Hamptons garden shine against trim greenery and subdued hardscaping. Photos: Costas Picadas

EYE CANDY
“I wanted something that popped,” owner Jack Pearson says of his billowy Leonardo da Vinci roses. In a delicate balance of restraint and excess, the stacked-stone raised bed is edged with sheared boxwood and topped with a garden version of cotton candy. How sweet it is!

STAY CALM
Neutral pots and woven furnishings set a soothing tone. “I use a lot of bluestone, zinc, and concrete pots,” Jack says. Everything is a variation of gray or tan. “I don’t want competition with the garden.”

SOCIAL CLIMBER
Leonardo da Vinci roses make a second appearance around the door.

ROMANCE IN THE AIR
Choose vines that bloom at the same time, such as Jackmanii clematis and The Fairy rose.

BE EDGY WITH COLOR
A swirl of Frosted Violet heuchera acts as a swipe of dark eyeliner in front of the long green lashes of Siberian iris. Its pearly pink flower spikes create a dainty contrast with the fuchsia-hued iris blooms. After flowers fade, contrasting foliage provides architectural staying power.

FROST THE LAYERS
Jack strategically plants flowers where they’ll provide hits of color that delineate the swaths of green. Astilbe ( far left) is one of his favorites. “They’re short, they have spiky tops, and they add a little architecture,” he says. Here, the airy bloom spires of Catherine Deneuve astilbe glow against chartreuse boxwood.

THE PALETTE
 “It’s funny, but when I was in the fashion business, I didn’t like purples and pink there,” Jack says. In the garden, he takes a different view, loving their contrast against greens and grays.

GREEN CAN STEAL A SCENE WITH DRAMATIC DIVERSITY
Compose striking vignettes with bold foliage and distinctive garden decor for a season-long show sans flowers.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Big Daddy hosta, spiky New Zealand flax, and bigleaf hydrangea embrace a verdigris wire sphere. The scene is accentuated by the soft-gray exterior wall behind it.

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