Pretty in Pink

by Tom Hewitt

 “Pink isn’t just a color, it’s an attitude” – Miley Cyrus

I don’t often quote rock stars, but in this case, Miley Cyrus is right.  In the fashion world, pink can cop an attitude.  But in the world of gardening, things are a bit different.  Pink flowers are the peacemakers of the garden, generally more interested in creating harmony than drama.   

Some scientists claim pink isn’t even a real color.  Since it lies outside the visible spectrum, objects only appear pink because certain wavelengths of light are reflected while others are absorbed. In other words, pink is just a pigment of our imagination.

Real or not, pink puts me in a melancholy mood, taking me back to my childhood.  I remember pink crocuses pushing their way through snow, sweet Williams (Dianthus barbatus) blooming in my grandmother’s yard, and pink Gladiolas growing in neat little rows in my aunt’s vegetable garden. 

Because pink is such a romantic color, it’s an absolute must for an English garden. As Penelope Hobhouse explains in her book Color in Your Garden: “The pinks and mauves traditional in the cottage garden blend and weave, mixing and paling as distance increases into a soft unregimented blur.”  But pinks also need darker colors to play against, she notes, since “there is a fine line between the subtle and the insipid.”

The English know a thing or two about using color.  Gertrude Jekyll considered it to be part of the difference between “commonplace” gardening and gardening as a fine art. Though her book Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden was written over a hundred years ago, I still find it useful today.  It has a special place on my shelf, along with Colors for the Garden by P. Allen Smith, and several other books on the topic.

I find it hard to use too much pink in the garden, since it seems to go with everything.  A scene can appear a bit boring or maudlin if too much is used, but this is easily corrected by adding white, blue or purple.  I have seen some exciting monochromatic combos made with hot pinks and reds (this is where attitude comes in).

One of my favorite pink-blooming shrubs is tropical hydrangea (Dombeya ‘Seminole Pink’).  ‘Calusa Red’ is a cultivar with darker pink flowers, but we now have ‘Miccosukee Pink’ that blooms in light pink.  There are specimens of all three on the grounds of Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach.  

Though I’m somewhat limited on my small, suburban lot, I love my hot pink crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) that blooms in late spring through early summer.  If I had the room, I’d plant an apple blossom tree (Cassia javanica), though I wouldn’t recommend it north of zone 10. 

Even though I don’t have my beloved crocuses down here, I do have pink rain lilies (Zephyranthes spp.) that pop up after thunderstorms.  I even like the blooms of pink sorrel (Oxalis debilis), though I wouldn’t introduce it on purpose.  Ditto for the lovely Mexican coral vine (Antigonon leptopus), which is now classified as a Category II invasive statewide. 

My favorite pink rose down here continues to be ‘Belinda’s Dream’, simply because it blooms so prolifically and is incredibly robust and care-free.  But ‘Dames de Chenonceau’, a floribunda with romantic double blooms, comes in second.  I don’t get that many blooms, but the ones I do get are worth the wait.

Panama rose (Rondeletia leucophylla) is one of my favorite pink-blooming shrubs, which I often train into small trees.  It blooms all year for me here in South Florida.  Another attractive bloomer is pink pride-of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima ‘Compton’), which tops out at 8 feet or so and can actually be grown in a large container.

A nice perennial I’ve been growing for over 30 years now is an heirloom variety of hot pink penta (Pentas lanceolata).  It grows from three to five feet, and seems to produce much more nectar than newer, compact varieties.  The red heirloom variety is easy to come by, but this pink one can be hard to find.   

Some of my favorite pink bloomers, like Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), oleander (Nerium oleander), Brugmansias and Anthuriums are toxic to some degree.  You might want to be careful where you put them if you have children or pets.     

Trailing geraniums, begonias, tropical hollyhocks, Christmas kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana), angelonias, bougainvillea; my list of pink favorites goes on and on.  With so much to offer, who can blame them for having a bit of an attitude now and then?

Tom Hewitt is a gardening consultant and freelance writer from West Palm Beach. 

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