Happy Pride Month! Why not show your pride with a rainbow garden? Rainbow gardens can be as flashy or as subtle as you would like, depending on the design and the plants you choose. It’s a great way to add a “wow” factor to the garden and a fun project to do with kids as well! Here are a few design and plant suggestions to get you started.
Rainbow Garden Designs
Whether you want to go all out and turn your entire yard into a rainbow or maybe just add a few accents in a rainbow of colors, there are many ways to create a rainbow garden.
Plant in a Rainbow Shape
This very literal take on the rainbow theme will definitely call attention to your garden and makes a great spring and/or summer focal point. Choose smaller, lower-growing annual and perennial flowers, planted tightly, to create a tidy rainbow that will bloom continuously. Try some of these plants:
Red: geranium, petunia, dwarf zinnia, verbena
Orange: marigold, dwarf cosmos, verbena, pansy, calendula, nasturtium
Yellow: marigold, bidens, primrose, pansy
Green: sweet potato vine, cat grass, parsley, cilantro, basil, lamb’s ear
Blue & Purple: pansy, nemesia, purple sweet potato vine, lobelia, petunia, bachelor’s button
Pink: alyssum, primrose, dwarf zinnia, petunia
White: alyssum, petunia
Brown: bronze carex, pansy, black velvet nasturtium
Black: black mondo grass, leptinella ‘Platt’s Black’
Design with curves, swirls, or lines of color
Incorporate a rainbow of colors into your garden with curved or straight lines of flowers. This works especially well with bulbs such as tulips, which can be planted in a design in the fall for riotous spring blooms. Both annual and perennial flowers and grasses are also great options and you can choose plants of different heights to add more depth to the design. Try any of the plants mentioned in the section above, plus these:
Red: tulip, celosia, geranium, zinnia, salvia, verbena
Orange: tulip, nasturtium, marigold, gaillardia, echinacea, California poppy
Yellow: daffodil, tulip, coreopsis, black-eyed Susan, gerbera daisy, yarrow
Green: bells of Ireland, hosta, carex, lawn, artemisia, euphorbia
Blue/Purple: salvia, scabiosa, heuchera, hardy geranium, hyacinth
Pink: yarrow, echinacea, dianthus, geranium, petunia, hardy geranium
White: geranium, daisy, candytuft, primrose, dianthus
Brown: bronze carex, pansy
Black: black mondo grass
Scatter a rainbow of colors
A more whimsical approach is also one of the easiest: scatter a selection of colorful wildflower and herb seeds to create an informal mixed-color garden. You can supplement with flowering annuals and perennials for more immediate gratification. Many wildflowers are annuals or biennials that reseed themselves to grow again year after year. Try either a wildflower seed mix or, to be sure you are including every color of the rainbow, these individual plants:
Red: poppy, pineapple or honeymelon sage, echinacea, monarda
Orange: cosmos, California poppy, asclepsias (butterfly weed), zinnia, helenium
Yellow: sunflower, coreopsis, echinacea, black-eyed Susan
Green: chives (when not flowering), parsley, cilantro, bells of Ireland
Blue/Purple: chives, salvia, verbena bonariensis, larkspur, delphinium, bachelor’s button, nigella, lupines, chives (when flowering), forget-me-not
Pink: cosmos, annual candytuft, alyssum, sweet pea, gaura
White: cosmos, bishop’s flower, daisy, candytuft
Brown: chocolate cosmos, bronze carex
Intersperse groups of colors
for a somewhat more subtle and naturalistic approach, plant in groups of at least three and intersperse complementary colors for variety and contrast. For example, plant a group of purple salvia next to yellow or orange marigolds and yellow coreopsis, as shown in the photo above. You don’t need to follow the order of the rainbow to still get a beautiful rainbow effect. Use plants with different shaped leaves or flowers and different heights for a more interesting composition. Any of the plants mentioned in the above sections will work well.
Grow a Rainbow Vegetable Garden
A rainbow vegetable garden is colorful, nutritious, and tasty. You know what they say: “Eat a Rainbow of fruits and veggies!” Your vegetable garden can be as bright or as subtle as you would like since many vegetables grow their colorful roots under the soil. Try mixing in flowers and herbs to attract pollinators to the garden. Here are a few colorful vegetables and fruits:
Colorful Leaves, Stems, Flowers, and Fruit
Red: rainbow Swiss chard. red/burgundy lettuce. scarlet runner beans, tomatoes, strawberries
Orange: rainbow Swiss chard, sungold tomatoes, orange cauliflower, orange peppers
Yellow: rainbow Swiss chard, yellow pear tomatoes, yellow pole beans, golden oregano
Green: lettuce, green beans, arugula, parsley, basil, cilantro, cabbage, kale, spinach
Blue/Purple: purple sage, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple cauliflower, purple tomatillos
Pink: rainbow swiss chard, blush lettuce, pink blueberries, magnolia snap peas (in flower)
White: snap or shelling peas (in flower), chamomile, bok choy (green and white), white alpine strawberries
Colorful Roots
Red: radishes, beets, red potatoes
Orange: carrots
Yellow: golden beets, yellow potatoes, yellow carrots
Green: kohlrabi
Blue/Purple: purple carrots, purple radishes, beets, purple potatoes
Pink: pink radishes, pink potatoes
White: white carrots, white radishes, turnips
Brown: potatoes
Black: black-skinned winter radishes
Plant a Rainbow Container Garden
Even if you only have a small patio or balcony, you can create a rainbow garden. Try a rainbow of smaller succulents or annuals in a rectangular pot; paint smaller pots in rainbow colors, plant with herbs or annual flowers, and hang them from a wall; or group three colorful pots of varying sizes together and plant them with contrasting colors.
Plants for a rainbow container garden: petunias, verbena, bidens, nemesia, candytuft, sweet potato vine, alyssum, sedum, sempervivum (hens and chicks)
Plant and pot rainbow color combos: blue pot with orange rudbeckia + white pot with red geranium + purple pot with yellow coreopsis + black pot with white candytuft and green carex + brown pot with pink cosmos.
Add rainbow decor & accents
Colorful Dramm hoses and nozzles, patio umbrellas, and unique glass art make all the difference in a landscape. And, of course, you can add a pride garden flag for the final touch!
Swansons Nursery is a proud supporter and ally of the LGBTQIA2+ community and we wish you a very Happy Pride 2021!