Planning a color theme for your garden can be
the most exciting and rewarding part of gardening. With almost limitless
possibilities, and a little thought, your garden can be an extension of
your home decorating style. As a bonus, it's outdoors for your family
and neighbors to enjoy.
Choosing Colors for Your Garden
To start, pick up an inexpensive artist's color wheel at your local art supply or stationery store and have fun brainstorming color themes. A pad of white paper and a few markers are all you need to get started. There are many color ideas from which to choose, and each will provide a surprising variety of color and character in the garden.Your color theme could use "harmonious" or "analogous" colors, which are close to each other around the color wheel. Those would include warm colors such as yellow, yellow-orange and orange. Or, choose cooler hues such as green, blue and purple. These color combinations are also sometimes referred to as "near neighbors."
You might choose to work with "complementary" colors. Those are color opposites, residing across the color wheel from each other. They would include combinations of blue and orange, red and green, violet and yellow, and so forth. Some gardeners might choose to work with "monochromatic" color. This theme relies on a single color to dominate the garden, like a yellow daffodil or a yellow chrysanthemum.
A "polychromatic" color theme uses multiple colors, as found in cottage gardens. English gardens, with their cheerful riot of colors, are a good example of a polychromatic theme. And there, anything goes! "Blended" colors use a pale value of white or cream to blend together bright or intense colors that otherwise would be visually unsettling.
Warm and cool colors can be used together to create an illusion of depth and space in a small garden. Just as in painting, warm colors such as yellow, orange and red visually advance. Warm colors are thought of as stimulating and active colors. While cool colors such as blue and purple tend to recede and create a feeling of depth or distance, they are also considered restful and peaceful.
Harmonize Your Colors
Take care to harmonize warm colors with other warm colors. The same goes with cool colors, as well. Harmonization has a significant effect in the garden. The warmth or coolness of a tint can make or break your theme. If you are using pink with violet, then choose a cool shade of pink with a hint of blue. Conversely, when working with warm colors, such as combining pink with yellow or red, choose a warm shade of pink for a more effective harmony.Plan for the Seasons
Plan your colorful garden to last through the seasons. If you are looking for yellow in the garden, then you might plant daffodils or a basket of gold in the spring, yellow irises in late spring, rudbeckia and yellow day lilies in summer, then move on to gold dahlias and chrysanthemums in the fall. An anchored color theme like this can allow other accent colors to come and go throughout the seasons, while still providing a great-looking garden.Creating a Colorful Garden
When selecting your colors, take into consideration other elements on your property: houses, trees, shrubs, walls and fences, and your hardscape (driveways, bricks and pathways). The color choices in your garden should complement and support the background elements, in order to look pleasing. Plan simple colors that will relate to the existing landscape and site.Plant colors in generous groups of color for the most effective garden. Single plants scattered here and there tend to get lost visually. Even plants chosen as accent colors should be planted in groups of at least three. Five is even better.
Mimic Mother Nature by planting your colors in drifts or cascades, not in rows. Consider planting colors beyond their boundaries to blend them together. If this is your first attempt, then choose plants with solid colors. They are far easier to arrange for a sophisticated theme. Use dark colors up front so that they don't blend into the background or disappear into the shade. Pastel tints or white flowers can help light up shady areas in your garden. They make a wonderful highlight against dark backgrounds, so use them around borders or heavy patches of garden.
Strong, bright colors can be quite effective in sunny gardens. But pastels and dark colors can be quickly overpowered by strong sunlight. Brilliant color can be striking against dark foliage, a point to keep in mind if your garden already has a foundation of evergreens. As in art, remember to play light against dark and warm against cool for the most dramatic results. Most of all, though, have fun with your garden's color!