As magical and romantic as synaesthesia might seem, I believe that it's simply a congenital "cross-wiring" malfunction of the brain, in which messages from the aural and optic nerves inadvertantly are transmitted to the wrong parts of the brain for interpretation. I liken it to schizophrenia, which is now thought to be an inability of the brain to differentiate between outside-real sounds and images, and the creations of the inner-imaginary brain. It is organic and neurological in nature.

I think that the "colour is not merely a visual" concept is very much subjective, based on this. Be that as it may, color -- like melodic formulas -- stimulate different emotional responses in people depending upon the culture from which they come. Non-primary, "pastel" colors are generally associated with femininity in Western cultures, while strong, saturated primaries are "bold and male." Many of the hues we concoct and ascribe meaning to, don't even exist in non-industrial cultures where hues are derived from oxide earths, berry juice and other organic sources. In fact, many languages don't contain words for certain colors that are commonplace in our own culture(s), but absent in many other cultures.

As for our personal reaction toward a given color, it may be steeped in a variety of causes -- some forgotten childhood experiences, others very conscious associations as in cultural influences (for example, black being associated with death in the West; white being the funerary color in the East). Having been stung as a toddler by a vividly black-and-yellow striped hornet might make us alert and reactive to that color combination for the rest of our life. Throwing up after drinking a blue-tinted punch might cause us to feel nausea evermore when we see that shade of blue. (This has been known to be a reaction of rats that have eaten poisoned bait that made them ill, but which didn't kill them.) Pink cotton candy/candy floss bought for us by a beloved grandparent at a carnival may forever make that shade a favorite. The puce-green walls of the highschool cafeteria, where the food was hideous, may turn us off to puce for life. Ug.

So, I'm more inclined to say that it's experiential association, not some kind of snaesthesia, that causes such subjective responses to a color. Personally, I can't stand pink. My parents papered my bedroom with pink wallpaper festooned with ballerinas. Being a tomboy of the first water at age 5, I drew cowboy boots, hats and gun-laden holsters on every dancer I could reach with my pencil. Today there is nary a pink item to be found in my home, although some pink geraniums have weaseled their way into my raised perennial bed, I know not how.

The psychology of color is a well-researched and well-used area of study. Marketers in particular make great use out of the fact that color can impact mood, attention and motivation. Think of Burger King and the bright orange it uses everywhere; bright orange is found to be an appetite stimulant. Nefarious plots abound with the use of color!

Of course, there is personal experience too and that's the salvation for those of us who not wish to be manipulated. Nature, nurture.

On another note, I have a dear friend who is synesthetic. Although I had studied it in graduate school, I was so astounded to actually meet someone with this condition that I pestered her with questions as if she were a study subject. We got over it and although it's pretty interesting to be with her sometimes, most often it never comes up...just a part of her experience in the world. The funny thing about her is that she adores high contrast in color. She has in her garden (not a big gardener though) Gallardia Goblin right next to Liriope Big Blue. The combination gives me the willies, but she loves it. She likes contrast because she says it is cleaner and clearer for her senses.

Patty

Childhood programming aside, it seems to me that cultural expectations and popular fancies are heavily responsible for the way many gardeners box themselves in on what colors they'll permit in a garden. Or not even the colors themselves, but particular hues that are permissible or to be shunned.

Odd that we don't see more attempts to micromanage green foliage colors ("I can't abide that shade of green."). Maybe on some level this has to do with the awareness that foliage is neuter and flowers are for reproduction. :)

I had never heard that mauve was the Italian color of death - at least, the mourning widows in all those Godfather movies seem to go for basic black. On the other hand, I had a relative who went to medical school in the 1930s, and a preferred illicit drink among the students (consisting of 190 proof grain alcohol and grape juice) was known as "Purple Death".

I'm not that crazy about those pinks, myself, but wonder about the age factor. If the recently bereaved woman is over 65 or so, maybe she doesn't see the flowers the same as you do. In health and science columns I've read about some studies in color perception. There's a possibility that colors look different as eyes age, so that brighter ones come to be preferred over previously loved pastels. There's also supposed to be some yellowing of the corneas with time.

Personally it's the pinks with a hint of apricot that seem more feminine, like the inside of some sea shells. It's a color I've seen in azaleas, but not in lilacs.

Annie

Boy, there is some meat on these bones and colour is an interesting subject. I had never thought of leaf and flower in quite that way Eric but it is an interesting idea, thankyou for that suggestion. I wonder, does any other colour than pink suggest so much sexual division and whatever it is, Annie says "it's the pinks with a hint of apricot that seem more feminine, like the inside of some sea shells" which sounds very Georgia O'Keefe to me. I once worked with a lady who wanted only pink in her garden, thinking only of sea shells I ran this by her husband and he put me straight by saying that women like pink because it is the colour of the labia, an idea that gives me the willies Patty.

Sometimes it's not color but its saturation or even absence. Earlier in the spring we installed a peony border for a client who is extremely exacting. She wanted pinks & whites ONLY! So I went to the nursery and handpicked the dozen or so plants, making sure they were the specific colors she wanted. When they bloomed about three weeks ago she called me and wanted 3 of them replaced--they were an unacceptable shade of pink. She wanted 'Shocking Pink' ala Schiaparelli--not the 'bright pink' I had given her. There is an extremely subtle difference in the two colors, but I did replace her peonies and the unwanted others? They now happily reside in my garden of misfits.

I've recently been watching how shadows and light also affect the colour. I recently moved some purple iris to a new sunnier spot. Previously they were one of my favourites. Now... ewwww.

Another iris is rather unimpressive during the day, but at twilight, the colour is divine. Silver and blue comes out of the pale purple in the evening. I recently made the decision to include more shade in my yard, for the wonderful improvement it does to all the colours, at least to my middle-aged eyes. I may sacrifice some bloom, but better to have fewer blooms with better colour than washed out masses. For me anyway.

There's a great Bobs song about synasthesia. Link to lyrics provided!

Now that the non-sequiter is out of the way...

Eric, I place plants with attention to greens. And there ARE some that just don't "go together." Perhaps because so many of my beds are shade beds? Chartreuse can be particularly wonderful--and challenging. And if you get a blue-based green up against a yellow-based green, the effect can be great--or not-so-much. And I HAVE been known to shuffle plants just on their foliage.

melanie

Here is a link that might be useful: Synaesthesia

Women like pink because it's the "colour of the labia"? Which set, Tony? If the facial one, that makes sense. Just look at all of the lipstick and lip gloss hues and tints, from flaming scarlet and rich brown to seashell pink... and Goth jet-black (for the shock value) that are available to enhance the facial lips of women. Maybe it's men who love shades of pink -- on women's faces -- because it reminds them of the other set of labia... I don't know of any women who go into body contortions to check out the colors of their nether regions and determine whether they like those shades... Well, unless you saw the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes."

The comment from Ms. Rumphius about different hues and shades is interesting. I wonder whether people are so indundated with marketing of color, that they get it in their heads that they must have a specific shade. You walk into a paint store and look at sheets upon sheets of color swaths. Plant nurseries announce the latest shade of pink rose or clematis, and the magazines tout it as "must-have." Are our tastes in color -- as in fashion and style -- being shaped by marketing strategy?

Coincidentally, I'm doing a garden this week for a client who wants pink. She didn't specify any shade or tint, just that she wants "a lot of pink." She also indicated that yellow is welcome, so I have some flexibility. It will be a challenge to work with flowering perennials in shades of pink and yellow that won't make her garden look like a Pez dispenser. One absolute, though, is she wants an annual bed of pink New Guinea impatiens and begonias. But the rich chocolate foliage of the impatiens, along with some of the more interesting bedding begonias, will provide some complexity.

Restricting peonies to pink and white is like restricting Rudbeckias to yellow.

I agree with mjsee that mixing greens can be problematic. I use a lot of plants with patterned leaves, and they definitely don't all look good together! I had an alocasia amazonica that didn't look good *anywhere* in my garden, something about the dark dark green and contrasting veins just did not work. It died, solving the problem.

Pink, well, I used to avoid it, considering it too wimpy. But I have warmed up to absolutely-shocking-pink, and especially to pink-leaved plants, such as cordyline terminalis, certain coleus and perillia magilla, irisene herbstii, and many bromeliads.

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Patty is right about marketers using color to whet our appetites. Think of the logos of all the fast food joints: McDonald's, In-N-Out, Burger King, Carl's Jr., Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc. They are all yellow and red. This is not a coincidence.

Katkim,
You've mentioned some of my favorite plants with hot pink/red colored foliage, and I agree they get me visually excited and in a tropical mood. Great shot of the Neoregelia carolinae tricolor, one of my favorites as well. When dealing with pink, others that come to mind would include Nerine bowdenii, Sedum spectabile 'Brilliant', and the pink tones of some of the Alstroemeria 'Ligtu Hybrids' flowers, in full bloom in my own garden, and one of the delights of June in a california no-water garden.

Ouch! That plant hurts my eyes! And makes me feel a little panicy. Yet it is exactly the kind of plant my friend, the synesthetic, would adore. If I saw that plant at a flower show I would say "Wow-Whee!", but don't put it anywhere near my gardens. It scares me.

Aha! There should be a projective test for landscape designers. Show the potential client several photos of different plants. Note their reactions and plan their gardens accordingly. For example, if the plant illicits screaming and running from the room you should avoid it.

Patty

Eric, I can't believe everyone has let that comment slide. There are peonies that are definitely more purple, magenta, fushcia or just plain red, than pink. And there are peonies that are very much more yellow than white.

Just wanted to say.
Patty

Nor is pink my chosen color. Always an exception though...just love my Blood Lilies (Heamanthus multiflorus) which thrive is this climate. Generally, in my own gardens, I am color blind. Always new plants to try, new ideas to play with and all is tossed together with no thought of landscape rules. Here in the south much of the landscape is green during the summer as many of our shrubs are fall/ winter/early spring blooming. My interest is 'the green garden' and how to design them around seasonal color.

OK Socrates alert: it seems that 'pink' as a colour was quite yellow, once upon a time and referred to the 'pinked' edge on dianthus also known as 'pinks'. Something melanie might have a look at and somethng cady would shudder at given the labia connection. Do you remember who it was that was hauled over the coals because she could only supply rudbeckia in the one colour eric?

When you walk out into your garden (yard) what is it that you feel? "I like the way this looks" "I am pleased that my hard work is bearing fruition" "What is that smell?" "As I meet my love under yonder bower our hearts and lips will join in a warm embrace." or what? Is it all mixed up.

Depends on which part I walk out to. Could be "oh, this is going to look so nice in a couple of years (anticipation)", or "when am I going to get a chance to work on this area (frustration)", or "these woods are so beautiful without my messing with them (spiritual)" or "I can't believe I live on such a wonderful piece of property (thankfulness)" or "let's play croquet (joy)" or .... depends on the part of the yard and my mood and who might or might not be with me. occassionally I feel pride, but not often.

Others have referred to my garden as "magical," but when I walk in it, all I notice are the things that need "fixing." I scarcely take time to just sit and relax in it. Certain vignettes and scenes are exactly as I want them for a couple weeks, then they need to be moved, shaped, divided, deadheaded, tweaked. You know.

Is there any hope for me? ;^)

Cady, Cady, Cady. You need to go out in your garden at DUSK. Then you don't notice the stuff that needs tweaking. (That is for the early morning coffee jaunt.) I don't know if they'll survive in your zone, but I highly reccommend a gardenia or four. ('Frostproof' might make it up there.) NOTHING will slow you down like the scent of gardenia wafting. The Black spot is even less distressing at dusk...and Peter Mayle smells SO nice...

;~)

melanie

Melanie,
Yes, dusk softens the harsh imperfections and makes everything look much better -- including my aging self. But the skeeters make it darned near impossible to stroll in the garden then. If I DEET myself to the max, maybe I'll be able to hazard a visit to the garden by nightfall.

Of course, I'll be stooping to pick off night-stalking slugs from the hostas every step of the path.

"What is that smell?"

That's a question at least as likely to spring to mind at work, as in the garden.

Fascinating thread. I'm very interested in color theory and have read some about it, but I seem to have a hard time implementing it in a planned way. It's more of a "I know it when I see it" thing for me.

Ink, I'll give my input as a relatively new gardener and mostly lurker here. For me it's about the way my yard looks as I'm going out in the morning and coming home in the evening. I don't have much (or really any) leisure time during the day. I love walking past my garden beds on the way to my car and driving away while looking at the fruits of my labor, then returning to it as the first "welcome home" in the evening. Something to consider for the pros out there who are designing for people who work long hours away from home . . .

As far as what pleases me visually, I think I'm with Patty in that I prefer things that are more soft or subtle. Not wimpy, just not too tropical or harsh looking. But I have no problem mixing lots of color - - it pleases me immensely. So I have my Nikko Blue hydrangea next to a pink fern-leaf bleeding heart, lime-green creeping jenny (planted my first year and now regretting it for its invasiveness), and purple spiderwort. The colors all seem to have the same value, so I think it works in a smallish space without being shocking. In areas with more space or where I want to make a bold statement without using too many colors I might mix color values.

I've never been much of a pastel pink gal, although I love a vibrant fuchsia or magenta pink. Even as a little girl, I wanted to wear blue, not pink. Finding true blue flowers has always been a real challenge, although I currently have a really nice cobalt colored lobelia.

I love the shocking tropical colors and did so even before it became trendy. I'm sure it's because I love travelling in the tropics and fantasize about living there.

However, lately I've been working on my shade border and it is rapidly leaning towards white and cream flowers (and similarly variegated foliage) because they show up nicely from a distance and they are just so soothing in the hot summer. But the shade bed and the tropical beds are not very close together, and that's what makes it work, I think.

Forgot to add that with my nikko blue, purple spiderwort and pink bleeding heart are two clumps of moonbeam coreopsis. They add a little more of a refreshing neutral to the other colors, which alone would be too overwhelming I think.

In the past year I can remember many posts regarding colour combos or colour wheels or how to arrange plants for their visual impact but only one that asked about involving the other senses (moods). This item about synaesthesia had me wondering if there is too much importance given to the colour wheel or theoretical approach. My previous question that ended "is it all mixed up" was about feelings or emotions that are connected with the senses and I wonder if we sell ourselves short when we limit our involvement with a garden to only what we see?

Ink, We sell ourselves short in all manner of ways when we limit ourselves to only what we see, not just in the garden. Any of us are at our most genius when we can combine input from all 5 senses for a complete experience and thus understanding.

However, we must have had experience in order to know what sensory experiences we appreciate and have resonance for us as individuals. This points out the trouble when a person who has spent no time in any garden, even overlooking the gardens one sees in the center of town or in front of the grocery store, attempts to "landscape" their home from suggestions in a book or a GW forum only. Wandering around a good nursery...even taking plants in hand (or wagon) and moving them around with other plants...can be one way for the beginner (or anyone) to get a feeling for what will excite, soothe, or please. But ultimately, I think it is just trial and error as most of us have found out.

The epistemology of gardening. Love it.

Patty