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Home > Flower and garden articles > How to add vibrant and powerful colour to your garden using the brilliance of Spring bulbs.
How to add vibrant and powerful colour to your garden using the brilliance of Spring bulbs.
Well placed colour has the power to influence the `mood` of the garden, to create visually appealing “pictures“, to express individual style and even to change the perceived size and shape of an area. So it makes sense when planning some planting to give colour combinations some serious consideration. Not only that, it`s actually a lot of fun!
Bulbs are a wonderful way to experiment with different colour combinations in the garden because they are such a rich source of colour, they can be used in almost any style of garden and, if you change your mind or decide to try a whole new colour scheme, bulbs can easily be lifted and moved about every year!
Mastering the use of colour is an exceptionally rewarding skill. And anyone can learn the basics of colour theory in just a few minutes and then be on their way to having a whole lot more fun in their garden.
Colour Basics for Gardeners like us:
Colour theory tells us is that every colour is effected by the colours around it and therefore it`s useful to consider the colour combinations you create. For example, contrasting colours placed together highlight the differences in each other and therefore the brightness of each is intensified which means that if you place blue next to yellow, the blue appears more blue and the yellow more yellow.
For this reason, if you want to use colours successfully in the garden to create greater impact and more beauty, it`s important to look at colour `relationships` or combinations.
Planting effective colour combinations is really simple if you simply look at a colour wheel (which is the most useful tool to come out of colour theory!) All you need to do is simply read off the colour wheel one of the three basic different colour combinations possible:
- Contrasting colour combinations - which are those colours opposite each other on the wheel
- Harmonising colours combinations - which are those colours adjacent to each other on the wheel
- Monochromatic colour combinations - which are those made up of one colour and includes some or all of the shades of that colour (such as the White Garden of Sissinghurst Castle in the UK).
The colour wheel can also be used to quickly and easily demonstrate which colours are considered “warm“ and which are considered “cool“. Simply split the wheel in half from top to bottom. The “warm“ colours such as orange, red and violet are those which sit on the left hand side of the wheel whilst the “cool“ colours, such as blue & green, are on the right hand side of the wheel.
Using Colour in Your Garden:
Now that you understand a little of colour theory you can create some colourful masterpieces in the garden. We`ll explore each of the different colour relationships (contrasting, harmonising and monochromatic) and what role they might play in your garden:
Using harmonious colour schemes
Harmonious combinations are very popular because they look wonderfully subtle, they`re often more soothing than the excitement of contrasting colours and they`re easy to create. Very reliable, refined & elegant. These schemes are wonderful for informal `cottage` style gardens that `billow` with flowers.
To get started with a harmonious colour scheme, choose one main colour and then one or two closely related colours (ie those either side of your main colour on the wheel). Try to avoid using many more colours because doing so can easily lead to confusion.
When choosing the main colour you might like to consider choosing from a colour which would most suit your house or the surrounding environment or simply your favourite garden colour.
However, you might also like to consider the possibility of a `cool` harmony of colours or a `warm` one.
- Cool colour harmonies - are particularly restful because they are based on cooling and soothing blues (those without any tint of red), greens and reds. Therefore this colour idea is great for areas of the garden where you like to relax.
- Warm/hot colour harmonies - are exciting and intense because they rely on the colours of fire- reds, oranges and egg-yolk yellows. Warm colours are amongst the most eye catching and invigorating. They convey an immediate sense of action and excitement!
Using contrasting colour schemes
Contrasting colour are those which are a different as possible from each other and therefore share no common colour pigment. They are literally `poles apart` and so are identified as being those which sit opposite each other on the colour wheel
The beauty of contrasting colours is that they intensify each other by accentuating each others differences. The result is that each colour appears more brilliant and therefore, more eye-catching, than if it had been displayed on its own. That`s why contrasting colour combinations are great for creating bold displays and focal points.
When using contrasting colours don`t try too many different contrasts within the one area because doing so will actually create confusion because your eye will keep jumping from one point to the next. It`s like 10 children each calling individually for your attention! Ideally contrasting colours should be used in isolated clumps which then can be made to look as brilliant as you like.
Using single colour/monochromatic colour schemes
Single colour schemes are the ultimate in elegance and refinement but, I find that they take a great deal of self-discipline to maintain. I know that I would never be able to resist adding a little bit of blue to a garden of only yellows, golds and lemons!
However, if you think you would like to plant a one-colour garden I can highly recommend it because the outcome can be absolutely breath-taking. I remember visiting the White Garden of Sissinghurst Castle for the first time and I was staggered by the experience. The pure, crisp, uncomplicated and unadultered white was just unimaginably refreshing and restful after having spent day after day wandering around gardens filled with bright and vivid colours! The fact that it was a cold and dull day only made the pure white even more glitteringly beautiful.
The appeal of different colours
As many of you will already know, different colours have a different appeal and express different things in the garden. It`s worth understanding some of these differences before you star planning your colour masterpiece:
Whites are cool, simple, pure, quiet and restful. They also are best for creating the illusion of light and spaciousness. Yellows are the colour of cheerfulness and Spring. It`s the most luminous of all colours and therefore is the best colour at drawing attention to itself. So consider using yellow where you wish to create a focal point. Blues are wonderful also for create a sense of space since this colour actually recedes into the distance and seems further away than what it actually is. `Blue` can either be warm or cool since greenish blues are cool whilst redish blues (eg purple, mauves) are warm. Pinks & mauves (which are really just tints of reds and blue-reds) create an atmosphere of peacefulness since the colours gently blur into each other. These colours are very easy to use together and are the traditional favourites of the cottage garden. Full strength reds are also very demanding of attention and create a sense of warmth, excitement, urgency and action. They are very invigorating and appear closer than what they actually are.
Get Started! It`s lots of fun
Playing with colour is lots of fun and even very rewarding if you know the basics of colour theory. Colour tips to remember:
- When you`re first starting keep it simple. Try limiting yourself to one or two colours only in one “picture“
- Start with easy and safe colour combinations or those you enjoy most
- Experiment with different ideas in different areas. Simply remember to keep each `picture` visually separated so that they don`t compete with each other.
- Enjoy yourself! Don`t worry about being strict with yourself, after all, it`s what you enjoy most which is the ultimate determintor of “great colour“.
Useful references: I love the book Colour in your garden by Penelope Hobhouse Hobhouse (Collins, UK, 1985) but there are also some newer books on garden colour which were released late last year. One was by Marilyn Abbot and Colour by Design by Nori & Sandra Pope.
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