Karen first off about color, imo I think gardens with 2 or 3 color pallets look the best. With that being said, there are always exceptions to the rule. I have seen multi color gardens that look fabulous due to the gardeners understanding of color despersment.

There is no "cottage" color palette, more the use of certain plants and the way they are planted. Less rigid, free flowing and use of old favorites like roses, hollyhocks, iris, peony etc, the list is long.

For me I tend to dabble in all shades of pink for subtle to bright pinks, purples and yellow with a couple hits of red and white in there...

I do love reds and yellows with blues/purples too.

I think color is a personal choice and anything works as long as the colors work together. Don't know if that is any help.

I stick to the 3 color rule. I have reds, yellows and purples in my beds. From the pale colors to the bold ones. I also mix in some silver foliage plants for contrast.

Also remember to plant at least 3 of a kind together. Masses of the same color look better than small dots here and there.

Don't move plants now wait until fall for best results. I would take pictures so you will remember what you want to move.

Good luck,
faye

I agree with Faye with planting at least 3 of one plant to make them more prominent. I usually plants in 3's or 5's. Keeping an odd number...

I have finally started adding some shrubbery to my beds too. I think they look better then just flowers.

Remember too to look at foliage of plants you are considering. If you are planting perennials their time will come and go so you want the plants to look nice before they bloom as well as after.

Most of all just have fun. You do learn as you go along. The best lessons are ones you learn from your own mistakes. It will come to you and you will learn what you like and don't like in plants, foliage, color combo's etc. It just takes practice.

This is one of those areas where a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Go to the Gallery and scroll down to the search box. Look for posts from the following members:

Color Specialists
gottagarden
wonbyherwits
jkom51

then look at Texas Gardens:
happyintexas
natvtxn

PNW gardeners; you can't grow all their plants, but you can steal their colors:
aftermidnight
libbyshome

For really fun gardens with subtle color combos, look for:
girlgroupgirl

Last I'll repeat advice from lorna-organic:
"Make beds of one color. Other colors will sneak in."
-- I find this to be a super way to create a bed. Several shades of yellow, say. Some blue will find its way in there and maybe some dark purple or one bold apricot.
I had a daylily in a kind of odd yellow/tan blend that fought with every yellow/orange/pink/red in the garden until I moved it into a bed of blue hydrangeas edged with blue stokesia and they lived happily ever after.
Nell

P.S. I didn't leave out anybody intentionally. Look at every post in the gallery when you have time.

The only rule is there are no rules...
However, your pink rose makes me think of removing the oranges, and then maybe the red-oranges.
Some colors can act as "magic blenders" between strongly contrasting colors; for me, it's the pale yellows and creamy whites; also, plants with gray or burgundy foliage, and those with masses of very small flowers.
Some annual plants never seem to "blend in"- very deep blue lobelias, bright red begonias, and orange tagetes, so I'd avoid these, unless I designed a bed with these in mind from the start.

There aren't rules, but keep in mind this, cool colors make a garden space seem bigger, while warm colors really draw your eye to a space you want noticed.
I agree with the three to five ratio too, it really makes more of an impact and you can repeat this in different ways in your garden. Don't forget to think about foliage as well, they add texture and depth to the garden as well.
Stagger plants, you don't have to line them all up.
Have fun with it.

I'm not one to give advice on color since I don't worry too much about it... other than to begin with around three basic colors... other colors creep in, though, and it all makes for a very cottage-y look.

I do concur with the planting of an odd number, though, three or five or more... and I never line up anything except in the veggie beds and the mini rose garden! I stagger plantings, or triangulate if the number is three. This gives a much more natural look to the beds.

I will mention, though, that colors stand out nicely if you use ones from opposite sides of the color wheel, and plant them next to each other... such as yellow next to purple, and so on... for a more subtle look, I'd stick to shades of the same color.

Texture and shape also play key roles in eye-catching plantings... so, you may want to consider that, as well, when choosing plant material.

Thanks so much everyone for the advice! With color in mind, I bought three 3 gallon black and blue salvia that I'm thinking, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, could go between the pink roses and the red (I didn't do this one!) crapemyrtle bush. Do you think that would be okay? I'ts about a 4x4 space.
I'm going to try not to buy so many smaller perennials as they really need to have a more than a fighting chance to survive in my garden.
The orangey ones can go, but then I seem to have a lot of yellows and lavenders.
Any further thoughts/comments are SO very much appreciated, and thank you for all your kind help, you may just have given me some enthusiasm back!
Karen

Karen, I think those Black and Blue Saliva's will look great with both pink and red. I would suggest that you make a list of what you have in that bed, what color they are and how many of them there are. Then draw out a little map of blobs and start sorting the list and filling in the blobs on your map so you can get a better idea of what you have, what would look good as neighbors etc. Don't forget to consider height. In the fall when you start moving things, you'll already know what you will need more of, to get more impact, and you can fill in accordingly. Have fun!

MeMo

Hey- just reading everyone's posts and everyone is certainly more talented and has better gardens than i do.. BUT- i didnt see anyone mention bloom time?

Color of the bloom wont matter much if they match or not if they are blooming at different times! So if your pink roses blom all the time ( i shoudl be so lucky) then maybe you need to worry more about it) but I have one bed that has oranges, reds, blues, and pinks- but the pink doenst come till way after the others are faded.. so.. who cares.!? hah

for some reason my gardens tend to bit a bit more pastel in spring and get hotter ( yellow and reds and oranges) by late summer..

I havent mastered fall much yet! workin on it.