Painting with Colours

Painting with plants

Flowers are the new paint. There’s a growing recognition for the skills involved in getting a garden design scheme to fit perfectly into its surroundings. This could be by complimenting the landscape or being in total contrast to it-and all of the variables in between.  It’s a vast subject and as varied and individual as the person designing the schemes for a garden.

Combining colours

Before planning your garden scheme, makes notes of items of clothing, furniture or any other factors in the day that catch your eye because of the colour contrasts. These can help you plant a colour scheme when looking for plants.

Colour theory

Colour theory is based on the colour wheel, which is basically the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) bent into a circle. Particular relationships between colours give certain results. The wheel is a great help for planning the garden scheme.

Harmonious colours are next to each other on the colour wheel and have a soothing effect. These softer colour combinations include blue and violet, orange and red, and orange and yellow. Using harmonious colours unifies a garden.

Complementary colours. Colours that are opposite on the colour wheel are described as complementary. High in contrast, complementary colours add creative energy and vitality to a garden. Examples of complementary colours include yellow and violet, orange and blue, and green and red.

A monochromatic colour scheme is composed of plants of the same colour. You may have an all-white garden or a garden that is "in the pink." Create extra interest in a monochromatic garden by using a mix of tones or shades of the same colour in addition to various textures, shapes and sizes.

Foliage colour should be considered in any scheme. Foliage with green and white or green and yellow variegated leaves adds interest to the garden. There are also plants with chartreuse, lime green, bronze or reddish/purple leaves that add a bold element to your garden. Bearing in mind that most foliage is green, and that, on a good day, the sky is blue, it is difficult to be strict about this theory, because the majority of colours in the garden go well with blue and green. However, it is undeniable that blue and orange do combine very well, and that yellow and purple create a pleasing match.

Pastels and muted colours set a peaceful and tranquil mood Soft pink, powder blue, lavender, and peach -- these gentle colours set a mood of tranquillity. They are familiar colours of cottage gardens, those English-style gardens that contain a carefully designed hodgepodge of old-fashioned flowers. Pastel colours look best when viewed from relatively close up, and they can look washed out in the harsh mid-day sun, which can be attractive in itself.

Bright or primary colours include red, orange, magenta and bright yellow. These colours are guaranteed to energize the garden. The colour will show well in the bright sunshine and also attract your eye from a great distance. Limit planting bright colours with less intensely coloured plants as the brighter ones will steal the show.

White flowers are in a class by themselves. They blend well with every colour and can also be used as a transition between colours that do not normally work well together.

Warm colours include red, orange and yellow. They tend to make flowers appear closer than they really are.

Cool colours such as blue, violet, silver and white lend a calming effect and make plants appear farther away in the garden.

Adjacent colours

 Use two or three adjacent colours to create a harmonious effect. For example, red and orange (and yellow) Adjoining colours, which sit side-by-side on the colour wheel, create more subtle combinations. The most striking combinations are complementary colours that lie directly opposite each other: red and green, purple and yellow. You can use complementary pairs as great accent colour, for example, a single purple-flowered plant in a bed of yellow.

Based on colours spaced at equal distances around the colour wheel, contrasts work best in groups of three, for example, red, blue and yellow, or purple, green and orange.

It’s up to personal taste but as a rule of thumb up to five colours can be contrasted before it gets too much for the eye. But this needs careful planning - use a dominant ‘theme colour’ and work the rest round it.

Position

The colour combinations might depend on the gardens position. Does it get full sun; is it shaded, wet or dry?  All of these factors can be taken into consideration when choosing permanent shrubs, perennial or annuals for the scheme. 

Once you know the effect you wish to create and you have chosen your anchor colour, it's time to head to the garden centre or friends house for plants that fall within your colour scheme. If you are unsure about combinations, let them sit side by side in pots for a few days to see how you like the effect. 

The wonderful thing about a garden is that it is always a work in progress. Move and play with colours until you find the effect that makes you smile. That's what gardening is really all about.