Here’s how you can adjust your soil to affect the bloom color:
Purple Paint Schemes
Purple paint is the unexpected workhorse of the Farrow & Ball palette, ranging from understated almost-greys to deep plums and indigos to offer a huge array of styles and moods. Dark purple shades, whose royal connections date back to antiquity, still have a tangibly luxe feel that suits guest rooms and entertaining spaces down the ground, while lighter shades of purple are soothing and subtly playful.
How to Use Purple Paint
A very pale lilac paint looks at home in almost any space, creating a nearly neutral scheme with a just-tangible twist – try Calluna to transform home offices and communal rooms into minimal yet inspiring spaces. Light to mid-toned purples like Sugared Almond and Brassica are great fun for kids’ and teenagers’ rooms, while the richness and depth of Brinjal, Pelt and Paean Black make for thoroughly grown-up dining rooms, living rooms and master bedrooms.
Walls: Calluna No.270 in Estate Emulsion; Trim: Mahogany No.36 in Estate Eggshell; Ceiling and Cornice: All White No.2005 in Estate Emulsion
Image from Recipes for Decorating
Image from Recipes for Decorating
Between them, our three shades of light purple paint can create a whole range of looks and feels. Delicate Calluna treads the line between purple and grey, making it an unexpected yet fitting choice for this elegant dining room. Try it with a much darker trim colour, as our Colour Consultant has done here with Mahogany, for a stylish, high contrast look that keeps the whole effect from being too “pastel”.
For fun kids’ rooms and entertaining spaces, try our more pink-toned Archive colour Sugared Almond alongside bright yellow accents (yes, really!), while for older kids’ rooms, Brassica strikes the perfect balance between playful and grown-up.
Calluna
No.270
Brassica
No.271
Archive Collection: Sugared Almond
No.9913
Calluna
No.270
Brassica
No.271
Archive Collection: Sugared Almond
No.9913
Deep Purple Paint
Panelling: Brinjal No.222 in Estate Eggshell; Wevet No.273 in Modern Emulsion
Image from Recipes for Decorating
Deep purple paint works wonders in spaces of all sizes. In this open plan home, Paean Black creates an intimate living area that feels separate from the bright and airy dining space, adding structure and interest. In an attic bathroom, Brinjal enhances the room’s distinctive shape and cosy feel, making for a luxurious little escape. It can be tempting to go for white or grey in compact rooms like this one, but embracing low light and small spaces with a luxurious chocolate, plum, navy or dark purple paint colour can be much more rewarding, so don’t be afraid to go bold!
Pelt
No.254
Paean Black
No.294
Brinjal
No.222
Archive Collection: Imperial Purple
No.W40
Pelt
No.254
Paean Black
No.294
Brinjal
No.222
Archive Collection: Imperial Purple
No.W40
Fuchsia
Fuchsia, a vivid reddish purple that straddles the line between purple and pink, is also named for a flower: a genus of decorative shrubs that are tropical in origin but which are commonly raised as houseplants.
The word fuchsia is a favorite in spelling bees because the pronunciation (here: play ) doesn’t at all match the spelling. There is a reason for the mismatch. The plant (and hence the color name) are taken from the name of the German botanist who discovered the genus: Leonard Fuchs.
Photo: y-studio
Carnation
You would think that carnation, a type of pink color, would also take its name from the flower we call a carnation. But it’s actually the other way ‘round: the flower takes its name from the color.
When carnation was first used in English, it referred to a color that was variable, but tied ultimately to the color of white skin:
[flowers] . of a carnation or fleshly colour like the colour of mans body.
— Rembert Dodoens, A niewe herball, or historie of plantes, tr. Henry Lyte, 1587
The name itself comes from the Old Italian carne, which means “flesh.”
Over time, the association between carnation and white skin narrowed to refer specifically to pink; at the same time, the name carnation was being given to the familiar flowers, which during the 16th century were a number of colors, from white and pale yellow to deep red.
Photo: sergio34
Magenta
While many colors take their names from plants and animals, some take their names from places. This is the case with magenta, which is a deep purplish red.
When magenta first came into English in the 1800s, it didn’t refer to the color: it referred to a dye that was also called fuchsin. Fuchsin is an aniline dye that is commonly used in science as a cytoplasmic stain: it typically produces a vivid pink or purple color.
How did the dye fuchsin come to be called magenta? Magenta is the name of a town in northern Italy—but it is not the discovery place of the dye. Magenta is the site of a June 1859 battle between the Austrian and Franco-Sardinian armies in which Napoleon III was victorious. Magenta dye was discovered shortly after the battle and named magenta in honor of it.
Photo: MarsBars
Can coffee grounds be used to change the color of hydrangeas?
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
If you want pink hydrangeas, crushed eggshells may be one way to get them. Eggshells will slowly break down and reduce the acidity of your soil—making it harder for hydrangeas to absorb aluminum.
