Planting blue Icicle pansies at the base of dusty orange tulips provides a more bracing spring tonic than the usual soft pastels so prevalent at that time of year. A few deep purple hyacinths and the glossy green leaves of Vinca minor fill out the tapestry.
The ‘Prinses Irene’ tulip, an early blooming Triumph tulip, is indispensable. Its fragrant blooms on strong stems are soft orange, streaked with purple flames, a striking combination that’s surprisingly adaptable to many different colour schemes.
Try combining some with orange-and-purple ‘Jolly Joker’ pansies for an even bolder look. Burgundy primroses work well, too.
(Yes, the proper name of this tulip is Prinses, not Princes or Princess, common misspellings in bulb catalogues.)
Lovely Beckie !! This orange and blue colour combo really speaks to me, as I tire quickly of the pastel colour combinations. Any advice on how to keep the hungry deer from feasting on blooming tulips in the spring? Sure, we all know how to protect the tasty bulbs from digging squirrels, but it seems that anyone in my neighbourhood who has attempted to grow tulips in their front yard, has gone out one spring morning only to find their beautiful tulips have mysteriously disappeared over night ! (If only the hybridizers could come out with a tulip bulb that smells like onion !!) Thanks, Sandra Mattina, Hamilton, Ontario