Whether it's paint or pansies, Joanne Gilmartin knows that colors matter.

While various shades of purple and magenta might seem like a fit, one can't be sure until they are laid side-by-side.

Soon, Gilmartin, through Gilmartin Design and Landscape in Newcastle, will able to show off her arrangements in person.

The business will officially open May 17 in the barn on Hawthorne Hollow on Sheepscot Road in Newcastle.

“I hope to have unusual flowers that are organized more by color than anything else,” she said. “It will be an advantage for me and (customers) to be able to see the flowers here, and not just in pictures.

“I am going to grow flowers here, but it will be more for the different colors.”

Gilmartin, who has arranged flowers from Newport, R.I., to Newcastle, Lincoln County, said that in her 25 years decorating, designing and arranging flowers she had never been afforded what her new barn space on Sheepscot Road offers.

Gilmartin said her business, www.flowersbymums.com, had been appointment-only. Now, anyone can drop in and see how different flowers work side-by-side or in an arrangement.

“I saw there was a lack of interesting flowers here, and I wanted to fill that void,” she said. “I imagine here there will be a lot of events and weddings to keep me busy.”

Gilmartin has been arranging flowers since the late 1980s, and is a certified horticulturist in Maine and Massachusetts who travels to garden exhibitions.

“I actually learned color and composition from an artist,” she said.

“I'm here in Maine now with some acreage so I can see what works and what doesn't,” she said.

In addition to the flowers, Gilmartin will also sell vegetables she grows on the farm, as well as Alpine troughs, which are small, labor non-intensive concrete gardens.