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hot peppers, and the copper-with-pink- splotches of acalypha foliage with pink gomphrena flowers (brown and pink is one of Koehn's favorite color combinations). These combinations were sited within the transitioning color zones so skillfully that they enhanced, rather than detracted from, the perception of color gradation. In 2014, Koehn ran with the theme, "South of the Border." He envisioned the more colorful agaves and other showy large succulents in terra cotta containers elevated at different heights. He wanted to plant as many different kinds of decorative hot peppers as he could. "I saw us using hot colors in stripes, because when I think of Mexican serapes/blankets, everything's striped and louder than loud," he said. "What I mean by stripes was not that there would be many stripes of color within a bed — that would be too forced and busy — but rather, if there was a band of blue in one bed, it would show up in an adjacent bed. I knew this would be our hottest and loudest show garden yet in terms of color. The terra cotta pots — which can look pink or orange depending on the clay — and the succulents would cool things down." Since dahlia is the Mexican national flower, Koehn planned to use many varieties of dahlias, with ornamental hot peppers growing underneath them. GLOBAL COLOR Koehn has many other gardens to tend to as well, including a blue-and-white- themed perennial border and a white- themed shrub and perennial border against a dark green section of Mohonk Mountain House. Here he reflects on what makes such monochromatic plays on color — and other facets of color selection — successful. "Look at your foreground and your background before you pick the color scheme. For instance, white borders don't look good against white houses, they look good against dark houses or green foliage. And the prettiest white border in the world does not look good unless it's adjacent to a green lawn. It's gotta be framed." If using blue in a monochrome border, "Blue gets lost in overly sunny or open spaces; find a partly shady situation and, again, think about framing," said Koehn. "Be careful with red. It's a great color but it startles people. It's not something that people look at for long. It helps to use dark leaves in contrast to the red." (Koehn used a lot of red flower/ black foliage combinations in the "Box of Crayons" garden. He also recommends using chartreuse foliage to cool hot colors down.) "Or a red border doesn't have to be as large as a blue, white, or purple border. Likewise, yellow is a color you have to use strategically. A little yellow goes a long way." "If you have a small space, keep the color palette simple so you don't end up with confetti. Pick at most a trio of colors that are complementary on the color wheel to play with. Group colors, don't dot them." "Play with form; so, let's say, if you're doing a small yellow-themed garden, mix up the forms, like billowing yellow daisies contrasting with spiky yellow snapdragons, or with a plant with yellow fruit like a yellow ornamental pepper. There's much more to a plant than a flower." Michelle Sutton (michellejudysutton. com) is a horticulturist, writer, and editor. LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION LI 14 October 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com Andrew Koehn's Pick Within the display gardens at Mohonk Mountain House is a group of echinacea introductions from Terra Nova Nurseries that Koehn previously trialed for beauty, vigor, and winter hardiness. Koehn says, "For our site, 'Tangerine Dream' was the hands-down winner of the echinacea trials. The flowers are five inches wide and the color is a true burnt orange." — Michelle Sutton Interplay of a colorful 'Sunkiss' Neoregelia bromeliad with Echinacea 'Secret Glow' in the South of the Border theme. Koehn uses dark foliage to both highlight and cool down bright red flowers. A color play in the South of the Border display: Gomphrena 'Fireworks', Agastache 'Summer Love', and Euphorbia 'Fire Sticks'. South of the Border theme bed featuring terra cotta and succulents. PHOTO BY LARRY DECKER PHOTO BY LARRY DECKER PHOTO BY LARRY DECKER PHOTO BY LARRY DECKER Echinacea 'Tangerine Dream' PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRA NOVA NURSERIES, INC. WWW.TERRANOVANURSERIES.COM