Use Plant Colors To Create A Visual Contrast – When people talk about gardening, it is usually in terms of the color green – green leaves, green grass, even green thumbs. But really, what makes a good garden great is the use of color. Any color at all in your garden will draw attention and look great, but there are ways you can plan your garden to your advantage to really make it something special. Using contrasting colors can create a lot of pop in your garden and really draw in the eye of everyone passing by.
When it comes to using colors in your garden, you can think of it in the same terms as you would think to decorate the interior of your home. The only difference is that while you may have to hold back and use a light touch with colors inside, you can go all out and create a vibrant rainbow in your garden.
But no matter if you want the most colorful garden in town or you simply want a few splashes, the best place to start planning your garden is by using the color wheel.
The color wheel (which you can find in any craft store, home improvement store or garden center or you can look up online) arranges colors in such a way as to show the relationship between them. There are primary, and secondary colors, and on some color wheels, there are tertiary colors. Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel complement each other. They work well together and the effect of mixing them is subtle and pleasing to the eye. Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are contrasting colors. You can use these together and the effect is still aesthetically pleasing, but overall, the combination is more striking and ‘pops’ out at you. Colors that form a triangle on the color wheel are even more contrasting and create the largest statement when used together. Colors that do not have any of these relationships generally do not work well together. The relationship holds for secondary and tertiary colors as well.
Complementary colors look nice in a garden – they create a smooth, put together look that and add a certain amount of elegance. For a real stand out look however, choose contrasting colors. These demand attention, and they will make your garden a real stand out. When using contrasting colors don’t be afraid to add different shades into the mix – the use of different shades of the contrasting colors will create an even more dramatic look and will stop your garden from looking like it simply has blocks of color. Different shades will help everything flow and hang together.
Another way to break up the blocks of color in your garden is to add in sprinkles of white blooms. Some people work under the curious notion that every white flower in the garden is a weed, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are plenty of beautiful flowers with white blooms, and they can add an extra spark of color to your garden as well as creating extra contrast.
Of course, when you’re choosing plants for the garden, you can’t choose based on color alone. You still need to make sure you are picking plants that can thrive in your area and that meet the needs of your yard (full sun, part shade, full shade and so on). But once you narrow the field to plans that fit the bill, start experimenting with color to create an eye-popping masterpiece.
