Tag: yellow

Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Plant Profiles

A Pantone “Color of the Year” Garden

Right on schedule, Pantone has revealed the color of the year for 2021. In a break with tradition, there are actually two colors—a bright, buttery yellow called Illuminating, and Ultimate Gray. The minute I saw the yellow, I thought, perfect choice! It’s cheerful, and after 2020, we need all the cheering up we can get. But gray? Most of 2020 was a dismal, gray year, and the thought of facing yet another year like that is downright depressing. I don’t need to reinforce those bleak feelings.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Uncategorized

Leaves of Gold

Rhus typhina_Staghorn Sumac_DBG_LAH_0350r

When we think of adding warm shades to our garden—yellow and orange, gold, lime and chartreuse—we immediately start listing flowers. But it’s time to think beyond the blooms and consider the leaves. Foliage comes in a variety of warm tones, and the color lasts all season—or longer. We don’t need to wait for fall; many of these plants make spectacular focal points in the landscape all summer long.

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Posted on in Gardening

August’s Yellow Flowers

Sunflowers_RedLionSWA-LoganCo-CO_LAH_2282

What is it with August and yellow flowers? Last week Pete and I revisited the Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat Springs. As I expected, the gardens were in full bloom—dazzling in the clear mountain sunshine. As I strolled the pathways, I noticed expanses of Coreopsis, clumps of Rudbeckia, beds of sulfur-yellow buckwheat (Eriogonum), and sprays of goldenrod. And that’s when I realized that the majority of blooms were in some shade of yellow.

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Posted on in Birds

Paper Wasps and Butterflies

eruopean-paper-wasp__butterflypavilion-co_lah_9129Aliens have invaded Colorado. Once again, a non-native species has moved into our territory and established a thriving population. In this case, it’s the European Paper Wasp (left). You can read all about it at the Colorado State University Extension website.

In this case, having this new insect in town is a mixed blessing. Although they look a lot like a yellow-jacket, European Paper Wasps aren’t aggressive; they can sting, but they seldom do. On the down side, they’ve been known to go after the sweet juices of ripe fruit such as cherries, and pose a threat to the orchards on the Western Slope.

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