At the root of it,
plants inspire all of us.
(How
Plants especially
inspire art and artists.
This year, a most exotic plant inspired the Color of the Year selection.
While the 2013 color
of the year, Pantone Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity,
“this year’s Radiant Orchid reaches
across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination,” said
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®.
“An invitation to
innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality,
which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”
“An enchanting
harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires
confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple,
one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”
According to the
company, “the captivating, magical and enchanting
Radiant Orchid is an invitation to innovation, it’s modern and versatile.
How to use
Radiant Orchid
Pantone offers insight and tips for using Radiant Orchid in three key
lifestyle arenas:
Fashion, Beauty, and Interior Design.
The company omitted landscape or garden design (!), which is most curious
seeing how the Radiant Orchid – a Plant -- inspired this year’s color choice…
No worries, though, as I will take the lead on this pursuit-of-beauty lifestyle
element and offer a guide to some equally inspiring purple flowering plants to
use in your garden.
Pantone: Radiant
Orchid for Fashion
- Radiant
Orchid’s rosy undertones radiate on the skin, producing a healthy glow when
worn by both men and women. A dazzling attention-getter, Radiant Orchid
permeated the runways during the spring 2014-fashion shows and is already
making its way onto the red carpet. Fashion designers featured in the Pantone
Fashion Color Report Spring 2014, including Emerson by Jackie Fraser-Swan,
Juicy Couture and Yoana Baraschi, are incorporating Radiant Orchid into their
spring collections and variations of this hue will carry into men’s and women’s
clothing and accessories throughout next year.
Pantone: Radiant
Orchid for Beauty
- A modern
and surprisingly versatile shade, Radiant Orchid enlivens the skin, making all
who wear it feel more healthy and energetic. Blending both cool and warm
undertones, purple is an appealing hue for distinctive combinations and
flattering to many hair, eye and skin tones.
This multifaceted
hue is seductive when combined with red and pairs well with its sister shades
of lavender, purple and pink, which provides an assortment of lipstick and
blush options. Radiant Orchid’s exuberance also acts as a brilliant finishing
touch to nails.
Pantone: Radiant
Orchid for Interiors
- Spruce
up interior spaces by incorporating this eye-catching hue in paint, accent
pieces and accessories. As adaptable as it is beautiful, Radiant Orchid
complements olive and deeper hunter greens, and offers a gorgeous combination
when paired with turquoise, teal and even light yellows.
Likewise, the vibrant
color is sure to liven up neutrals including gray, beige and taupe. Uplifting
and bold without being overpowering, Radiant Orchid reenergizes almost any
color palette and provides a unifying element for diverse spaces"
Garden Glamour by
Duchess Designs: Radiant Orchid for Garden Design – I use quite a bit of
purple in my garden designs. It’s a
cool, restful color and regal at the same time.
I frequently pair it with shades of yellow for a striking English garden
look – or with shades of orange for a more Mediterranean style.
It works equally with white and all the different
blues.
And greens, of course – from lime green to deep hunter.
The Agastache is not only a pretty purple to look at with its
at-attention spires but also the faint waft of licorice-scent is a bonus.
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| Agastache |
There are many plants that show off purple-veined leaves and
stems too that make for complementary plants in the garden, easing the tension
that an over-planted ornamental garden too often display. These plants work the same way to balance
good container compositions.
Nepeta comes as close to a no-care
plant as you can get – and it comes in two sizes.
 |
| Nepeta |
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| Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum |
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| Sea Lavender/Statice - Limonium |
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| Lavender |
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| Spiderwort: Tradescantia pallida |
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| Baptisia - Photo courtesy of "Dave's Garden" |
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| Lilac |
Bulbs – from
Crocus to allium to sweet, redolent Hyacinths – love the Grape Hyacinth
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| Grape Hyacinth |
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| Hyacinth |
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| Crocus |
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| Allium |
Water Gardens –
water hyacinths and lotus and water lily in purple tones distinguish any water
garden to make the sight as sensual as the sound of a water garden of any size.
Climbers - Wisteria,
Passion Flower, Morning Glory, and Clematis
are the climbing plant “accessories” of the garden that make arbors,
pergolas and arches so glamorous with their punch of color punctuating various
levels and niches.
 |
| Wisteria |
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| Clematis |
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| Passion Flower |
And of course, Orchids
themselves are undeniably the most exotic of plants. I’ve grown many and love them all.
The Vanda orchid
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| Vanda Orchid |
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| Slipper Orchid |
And for those who can’t even muster a moth orchid, try these
orchid-looking perennials that bloom in the autumn.
Toad Lilly – Tricyrtis hirta
- is a perennial flowering plant for the shade garden. A charming plant – especially when it pops
open in the fall when many of the summer beauties have faded. They are great
paired with ferns or bamboo.
They are easy to grown and as one of my garden design
clients wrote me, “They are crazy beautiful!”
Don't you agree?
.jpg) |
| Toad Lily |
Below is the link to the video of Pantone’s Eiseman being interviewed by David Shah, publisher at Metropolitan Publishing in London (Pantone HQ is in The
Garden State/New Jersey so not entirely clear about this connection…)
But here is Eiseman - on a rooftop overlooking buildings and
construction crane.
The obvious question is why?
With the gorgeous color and fashion, interior design tips,
why oh why didn’t they tape the interview in a garden? Surrounded by Orchids – Radiant Orchids -- dripping behind Eiseman.
Or in a room designed and decorated with the energizing
Radiant Orchid?
Why isn’t she wearing radiant orchid-inspired fashion?
Eiseman does introduce the color describing how the name alone
conjures up the image of its radiant, shimmering, exotic beauty.
And that the color is complex.
She goes on to say that purple is also very symbolic.
Purple
is magical. It draws you in.
“It speaks to creativity and wearing it
enhances innovation and imbues uniqueness,” says Eiseman.
And that the color also has a beguiling charm.
It does indeed.
Eiseman and her team claim to comb the
world looking for future design and color influences, watching out for that one
color seen as ascending and building in importance through all creative
sectors. Influences can include the entertainment industry, upcoming films,
art, emerging artists, travel destinations and socio-economic conditions.
Influences may also stem from technology, lifestyles and playstyles, new
textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that
capture worldwide attention.
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