Orange Crush

For years, orange was a color that I often overlooked. However, these days I've been adding orange to my interiors, my wardrobe and even my Hamptons garden.

A few weeks ago at East Hampton Gardens, a local garden nursery and gift shop, I was intrigued by an orange-blooming Crocosmia. It was named 'Distant Planet'. Its bright color did make it look like something from Mars. I was familiar with the red 'Lucifer' cultivar and had even been searching for a bright yellow cultivar, but I really wasn't aware of the orange varieties. Therefore, I had to have it.

After bringing it home, this "Martian" sat for a day in the side entry shade garden with its dappled sun. The orange color significantly brightened the mostly green patch. I wished I could leave it there, but Crocosmia supposedly do best in full to partial sun so I planted it in the bed above the main dining patio among green Ostrich ferns and pale yellow daylilies. There it will receive adequate sun and stand out among its green backdrop.

So far, I only bought the one gallon pot with three to four corms but think it may be a plant and color that I add more of down the road. Since it blooms in July and August, its bright color will definitely add a tropical punch to the warmest days of summer. Now if I could just find a bright orange-blooming plant for the shade garden.

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