Gardens need sunshine and what better colour symbolizes the sun than yellow? But yellow, just like the sun, can be intense. Yellow in the garden is not for everyone. But it sure is for me.
Yellow can be found in flower petals, leaves, foliage and branches. Yellow can be butter soft and pale or deep and powerful. If you are thinking of adding yellow to the garden, you should probably keep in mind the same rules we apply to red: shots of colour only or wide swatches in the distance.
The first yellow to appear in my garden will be blooming forsythia bushes. They are at the far end of my property and definitely signal that Spring has arrived. In my area of Southern Ontario, that's usually end of April.
Spring bulbs are next - many different types from the tiny Tete-a-tete to King Alfred to Tahiti.
Small bulbs appear next including Allium moly, which look super under a crown of deep blue Siberian Iris.
I still have a few surviving yellow Bearded Iris - those that haven't been destroyed by borer.
Helenium appear midsummer like yellow daisies.
Yellow roses (and ones that hint of apricot) are such an elegant change to red and pink.
Here's a ruffly yellow begonia - quite unique!
Some of the new succulents I bought last summer had Kalanchoe-type yellow blooms.
Bright yellow mums are glorious in September when so much else has faded.
