The Garden Sage logo The Garden Sage Landscape • Lawn • Garden
Vibrant summer bedding of petunias, alyssum, and geraniums at sunrise

Summer Color Portfolio

The Garden Sage summer palette in full bloom.

Explore the combinations we return to season after season—warm golds, berry brights, cooling greens, and moonlit whites—blended to keep patios, porches, and entryways electric from April through October.

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Color Language

How we compose bold yet balanced summer displays.

Summer annuals are our opportunity to storyboard your property. We start with tried-and-true perennial anchors, then layer in sculptural foliage, pollinator favorites, and punchy blooms that thrive in our mountain microclimates.

Below, you’ll find real installs spanning estates, porches, and edible landscapes. Each palette is tuned for longevity, irrigation realities, and the moods you want to inspire—whether it’s a sunrise welcome or a twilight dinner glow.

  • Sunset Golds

    Warm marigolds, Rudbeckia, and daylily blooms frame many of our summer compositions.

  • Berry Brights

    Fuchsia impatiens, coleus, and calibrachoa add energy without overwhelming a space.

  • Shaded Greens

    Hostas, ferns, and creeping Jenny keep porches cool and architectural.

  • Moonlit Whites

    White caladium, alyssum, and impatiens become elegant foils for saturated tones.

Color Studies

Every image links to a full-size view. Click through to study planting densities, stone integration, and the foliage pairings we lean on when building high-performance color programs.

Double black-eyed Susans in peak bloom with layered golden petals

Double Gold Rudbeckia Glow

Double-tiered Rudbeckia showcase our love of native perennials that burn bright right through the dog days, offering months of effortless sunshine beside woodland edges.

Palette: Amber, saffron, woodland green

Deep maroon daylilies with glowing yellow throats and lush foliage

Crimson Daylily Drama

Rich maroon daylilies, edged in golden throats, bring bold contrast to sunny banks and illustrate how we build drama with reliable repeat bloomers.

Palette: Garnet, gold, glossy green

Black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, and white daisies in bloom

Native Meadow Quilt

Black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, and Shasta daisies mingle for a pollinator-packed tapestry—our nod to heirloom prairie color with modern maintenance.

Palette: Sunflower gold, raspberry, crisp white

Raised stone bed of gold marigolds and burgundy coleus

Marigold & Coleus Mosaic

Golden marigolds and burgundy coleus spill over hand-built stone, illustrating how we lean on foliage contrast to anchor a long-lasting seasonal edge.

Palette: Marigold, wine, sandstone

Soft pink and white New Guinea impatiens cascading over stone

Lavender Drift Impatiens

Layered New Guinea impatiens in whisper-soft pinks and whites deliver cooling color in shade—perfect for mountain porches that deserve a gentle glow.

Palette: Powder pink, soft lavender, moonlit white

Lavender and blanket flowers lining a mulched border

Pollinator Ribbon Border

Lavender and Gaillardia weave cool purples with fiery oranges, balancing calm and energy so bees and butterflies never have to choose.

Palette: Lavender, ember orange, silvery green

Perennial border with black-eyed Susans, daisies, and coneflowers

Classic Cottage Spectrum

We layer strong swaths of black-eyed Susans, daisies, and echinacea to keep cottage borders glowing from early summer through first frost.

Palette: Harvest gold, fuchsia, porcelain white

Vegetable beds with trellised crops beside blooming perennials

Edible & Ornamental Harmony

Trellised cucumbers and tomatoes share the stage with coneflowers and Rudbeckia, showing how food and flowers can co-exist in one lush hillside.

Palette: Tomato red, lime green, goldenrod

Stone-edged bed with Rudbeckia, Dusty Miller, and Lamium

Stone-Edged Jewel Box

A petite bed of Rudbeckia, Dusty Miller, and Lamium proves that texture swaps—in silver, chartreuse, and amber—can make any foundation planting sing.

Palette: Amber, silver sage, chartreuse

Crocosmia Lucifer arching above rocks with fiery blooms

Crocosmia Ember Arc

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ arcs over river rock in flaming orange-red, a favorite accent when we want kinetic movement in tight perennial spaces.

Palette: Fire orange, scarlet, deep green

Raised vegetable garden with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and flowers

Productive Raised Terraces

Tomatoes, peppers, and onions align with blooming blanket flowers—our blueprint for clients who crave both harvest baskets and bouquet-ready beds.

Palette: Crimson, golden yellow, earthy brown

Shade garden of variegated hostas near a mossy boulder

Shadowed Hosta Gallery

Variegated hostas ripple through shade in blue, chartreuse, and cream, showcasing structure-rich plantings built to glow without a single blossom.

Palette: Blue-green, chartreuse, ivory

Mass planting of yellow daylilies along a roadside berm

Berm of Gold Daylilies

Daylilies massed along a roadside berm create living sunshine—proof of how repetition and rhythm elevate everyday slopes.

Palette: Lemon yellow, fresh green, warm bronze

Linear bed of marigolds with purple fountain grass along a stone wall

Marigold & Fountain Grass Rhythm

Sunrise lights up marigolds and purple fountain grass, a pairing we lean on for formal edges that still feel wild and painterly.

Palette: Sunset gold, burgundy plume, warm stone

Multi-layered bed of petunias, alyssum, and geraniums

Entryway Jewel Bedding

Petunias, alyssum, and geraniums layer low mounding color with bold focal pops—ideal for front walks that need instant summer impact.

Palette: Royal purple, bright red, cloud white

Container with Caladium White Queen, coleus, and creeping Jenny

Caladium Morning Glow

Caladium ‘White Queen’ partners with coleus and creeping Jenny for dappled porch light, showcasing foliage-first design.

Palette: Chalk white, ruby vein, lime cascade

Stone-framed bed of pink, fuchsia, and white impatiens

Impatiens Waves in Stone

Symmetrical drifts of impatiens in pinks and fuchsias spill over stacked stone, bringing soft symmetry to shaded arrival courts.

Palette: Blush pink, fuchsia, glacier white

Railing planter filled with coral and red calibrachoa spilling over

Coral Cascade Planter

Calibrachoa in coral and ember hues cascade over a stone balcony, ideal for clients who want color without sacrificing architecture.

Palette: Coral, paprika red, slate stone

Bed of purple and magenta pansies with neat edging

Cool-Season Jewel Bed

Pansies and violas in royal purples and magentas kick off spring color rotations while beds await their summer counterparts.

Palette: Violet, magenta, deep teal

Stone stair garden lined with chartreuse and blue hostas

Terraced Hosta Staircase

Chartreuse, blue, and variegated hostas stair-step down a stone walk, illustrating our dedication to layered shade structure.

Palette: Chartreuse, blue-green, stone gray

Terracotta planter with coleus, angelonia, fountain grass, and marigolds

Sunlit Container Orchestra

Coleus, angelonia, purple fountain grass, and marigolds join forces in a terracotta vessel to give entryways an all-angle showpiece.

Palette: Cerise, saffron, deep plum

Three containers with fern, coleus, caladium, and creeping Jenny

Trio for a Shaded Porch

Boston fern, coleus, caladium, and creeping Jenny create a foyer of foliage—welcoming guests with texture over flash.

Palette: Fern green, blush pink, chartreuse trailing

Mass of pink impatiens flowing over a stone retaining wall

Hillside Impatiens River

Massed impatiens in layered pinks flow like water over stone terraces, an example of how we achieve uniform color in challenging exposures.

Palette: Fuchsia, rose, cool stone

Ready for a refresh?

Let’s craft your next seasonal color story.

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