Color study; painting with plants

I have been given the opportunity to maintain the garden strip and planter in front of the building in Strawbery Banke where my esthetics studio* is; my own “community garden” if you will.  As a Storekeep I want the entrance to my business to be tidy and beautiful so this is yet another way I can practice creativity, “painting” with plant material.

I just finished this autumn planter and am pleased with how it turned out.  My thought process was, how can I make it most vibrant for the graying days leading up to winter.  So I used one of my most favorite runs of color; the warm side of the color wheel running from red violet all the way to orange.  Then, of course, it is contrasted with the complimentary color of green and the green goes from warm to cool also – it makes all the shades of red-ishness stand out.  

It includes some traditional flowers but also 4 different vegetables; 2 peppers plus chard and kale.  The peppers are planted at an angle so they give the impression of spilling out of the pot and fill in the front.  Because they will only be there for a couple of months and the day light is fading they will not have a chance to straighten themselves back up.

In terms of design, I used the inverted triangle to create the shape of the arrangement; wider and taller at the back narrowing to a lower point in the front.  I used a little asymmetry to mix it up a bit too – rather than the orange of the mum & the pepper and the plum of the other peppers directly across from each other LEFT and RIGHT, I moved them diagonally across from each other.  Makes a more natural look.  Try one for yourself!