I live for moments like this. I was at the Wave Hill garden and saw two plants in context there that triggered a profound infatuation - a Dianthus that was the deepest, darkest red and a Smokebush that went from a purplish red to blood Crimson. They are a Dianthus Barbatus "Heart Attack" (I'm pretty sure) and a Cotinus Coggyria'Royal Purple" (I read the label).
Anyone working with color will tell you- if you want to accentuate a particular color- manipulate the colors next to it. The richness and darkness of these reds are without doubt accentuated by the white flowers they co habit with. I'm not the biggest fan of white flowers but I like the work they do here and you can see how, mixed with intermediate colors in the red/magenta range, they tell a bigger story. The other thing I like here is how the greens look, they look sharper somehow for the same reason , they're next to the color that they are diammetrically opposed to on the color wheel- red.
So I have two plants to look for and the reason I live for these moments-seriously good new color ideas.
+ Occasional Oasis:Inside Out
