Color up your Garden

Let me start by saying that my intention isn’t to criticize the adepts of monochromatic gardens, undoubtedly they have their own special feel to it. It is usually the beginners approach, avoiding this way the chaos of too many colors, but at the same time it can have a very sophisticated effect in its subtlety. Since you’re reading this article though, chances are that you would like to put more color into your garden but you’re afraid of not getting it right.

Don’t worry; I’m going to walk you through it. First you have to decide on the contrasting combination, you can either pick complementary colors or a polychromatic contrast. In the first case, you must use two opposite colors on the color wheel, such as: red with green, yellow with purple or orange with blue, or you can also work with 3 equidistant colors, or one color and the other 2 being the either side of its complement such as violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green. On the polychromatic approach you can use every color, but it must be done carefully, since you might risk a “color riot”.

And now for the bad news, no matter what type of contrast you decide on, remember there are several factors that alter the color, such as light, age, season, or even the surface texture. In the end you must remember that it is a matter of trial and error, you can begin by experimenting on a smaller scale than simply increasing as you get more confident with your style.