Colors In The Romantic Garden – Color depends so much on where, when and how it is seen. In the romantic garden color is one of the most important aspects of the planting so choose plants carefully to look their best in a particular part of the romantic garden.
Make sure you design the garden not just to be seen from the house, but to be enjoyed as you walk through or sit in a shady bower. Many plants are best seen close up so provide plenty of seating areas and plant for the pleasure of sitting in these spots.
Clematis ‘Perle d’ Azur’
Dark, rich colors such as purples and reds, and especially deep reds, are exciting when viewed close up with the light behind you. These colors, which include deep red roses and the crimsons, scarlets and loud pinks of pelargoniums, are best kept near the house.
Pale colors look best from a distance and these are the ones most suitable to the romantic style of garden. The pale blue clematis such as ‘Lasurstern’ and ‘Perle d’ Azur’ are the most effective of all clematis colors in the romantic garden. The deep, rich ‘Royal Velours’, ‘Ville de Lyon’ and ‘Niobe’ clematises are best kept near the house, although the smaller-flowered viticella types with their pagoda-shaped flowers can be grown among paler-colored roses in the main garden very effectively.
Note whether the plants are best seen with the light behind you or behind the plants. The yellow forms of privet (Ligustrum), Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ and Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ all look best against a dark background and against a north-facing wall. The high sunlight coming over on to the foliage will highlight the yellow beautifully against a dark wall or hedge.
Pelargoniums
Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’