Color in the Garden

By Jackie Sledge

Big Country Master Gardener Association

I’ve spent quite a bit of time sitting in a comfortable chair on the porch looking out at the back yard and making plans for a landscape redesign.  So far I have made a list of plants I have in a wading pool waiting to be planted, a list of plants I want to include in the updated beds, a list of plants I’ve always wanted to try, and of course a list of my favorite plants.  Trying to combine the lists has been a daunting task – both mentally and emotionally! 

The first step for consolidating the lists is to make a plan considering color and how to incorporate it in the landscape.

• Choose plants with colors that contrast with their backdrop rather than fade into it.  You want to see and enjoy the plants.
• Consider shade when selecting plant colors because darker colors tend to get lost in shady areas.  Plant light-colored flowers, or if you want to use darker colors, add plants with some light-colored flowers or light-colored foliage among the darker varieties.
• Repeat theme colors to unify your garden.  You can either use a border of the same plant in the same color around all beds or use different varieties of plants in the same color interspersed throughout the beds.  Either planting method will unify all beds in your landscape.
• Be sure there is a focal point in the garden.  There may be a pool, fountain, or bench that is already the focal point.  If there isn’t one, you can add a focal point by planting a mass of one color in the middle of a bed and surrounding it with contrasting colors.

Step 2 is to understand how color works when determining the color scheme for your landscape.

• Warm colors advance which means they come forward.  Yellow, orange, red, and hot pink appear to be closer because they show up better.  Use them in beds in the back of the garden, beds that are not noticed, or in uninteresting areas.  Warm colors make a garden feel smaller.
• Cool colors recede which means they make small spaces appear larger.  Purple, lavender, pastels, and green are used frequently in landscapes for calming, soothing effects.
• White is in a category by itself.  White gardens are clean and can be especially enjoyed in the evening.  A word of caution is that when white is combined with other colors, it can leave a feeling of spaces or holes in the landscape.  When mixing colors in a garden, remember that white may or may not be useful in creating the bed you want.
• Gray-foliaged plants can be used to separate flower colors or as contrast to green foliage.  Examples of these plants are Artemesia and Dusty Miller.
• The different beds in the landscape can be compared to different rooms or areas in the house.  Just as the color scheme can change from room to room inside, the landscape color scheme can change as you go through the gardens.  The important thing is to remember to have compatible colors or a repeating color for a unified landscape.
• The color scheme can change from season to season.  Examples are bright colors in the spring, cooler colors in the summer, and rich colors in the fall.

Step 3 is to plan for interest in all seasons.

• Use annuals to provide color and interest in the landscape throughout the year.
• Annuals can be purchased in 4”, 6”, quart, and gallon pots, and you can replant and give your gardens a totally different look in just a few hours.
• Perennials bloom for shorter periods of time so include a variety of perennial plants for color all season.
• Plant some evergreen shrubs to provide interest in the winter when most perennials have died back to the ground.

Fragrance can be associated with the color of flowers, so be aware of scents when selecting plants.

• The most fragrant flowers tend to be white or very pale colors.  Scientific studies show that flowering plants need to attract birds or insects to pollinate the blooms, and they are attracted to either bright colors or strong scents.  If the flower doesn’t have bright color, then it needs to have a strong scent to attract the pollinators.
• Thick-textured flowers often have wonderful scents.  An example is the tuberose which is used as a floral note in perfumes.
• Some flowers release their aroma after the sun goes down.  Plant night-scented stock, four-o’clocks, and flowering tobacco to enjoy their fragrances in the evening.

These are only guidelines for using color in the landscape – not hard and fast rules.  The use of color is a personal preference. It may be necessary to experiment and see how you like a certain color or combinations of colors.  Louise Beebe Wilder made an excellent point in Colour in My Garden where she said, “You should feel free to express yourself, and that means using one or more colors as you choose.”  Even though the book was written in 1918, the idea is still applicable today.  Well said, Ms. Wilder.

BCMGA offers several education programs each month.  There is a program at 6:00 p.m. on the 1^st Tuesday of the month at the South Library Branch in the Mall of Abilene, and the same program is offered again at 10:00 a.m. on the 2^nd Friday of the month at the Downtown Library.  There is a Saturday Seminar on the last Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. at the Taylor County Extension Office Conference Room.  Watch the BCMGA website and Facebook page for the topics and dates of these monthly programs.

If you have any questions, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at mgardeners@yahoo.com.  We hope you visit bcmgtx.org for information on all Big Country Master Gardener events, like us on BCMGA Facebook, and check out training presentations on BCMGA YouTube.  We are here to help you.