Choosing Flower Colors for Your Landscape Design
The beauty of starting a landscaping project from scratch is that there are no wrong answers when it comes to which flower colors you choose for your new garden beds. The world is your oyster!
While there are no right or wrong flower colors, you can choose varieties that complement each other, the space, and even your home. In this post, we’ll look at the methods you can use to narrow down your flower options and create dynamic gardens that will wow passersby and increase your home’s curb appeal.
Use a Color Wheel
Remember middle school art class, where we learned all about the color wheel? Time to refresh your memory, because it’s going to come in handy here.
A basic color wheel, like the one above, will give you a broad outline from which to start. A variety of shades are included in these six major color groups, giving you countless options for your flower gardens.
Color Schemes
Gardeners divide plantings into four main color schemes: monochromatic, complementary, analogous (or harmonious), and triad. Within these groupings, flowers belong to further subgroups, including the following:
Monochromatic
Flower beds in monochromatic colors is a classic look. There are a couple ways to achieve this look, either by using a variety of plants all in the same hue, or using different tones of the same shade, with a mix of flower sizes and textures.
Popular monochromatic color schemes include shades of pink, an all-white garden, or shades of purple. Same-color gardens are great fun to put together, especially if you decide to plant a variety of flowers so the garden comprises many textures.
Many flowers, such as roses, tulips, petunias, begonias, hydrangeas, and geraniums, are available in a variety of colors. Just because you want a monochromatic color scheme doesn’t mean you have to leave your favorite plants behind!
Analogous
Choosing flowers with analogous colors means that their colors are next to each other on the color wheel. For example, red and orange flowers paired together is a popular choice, as are blue and purple flowers. This is another color combination in which you can work in shades of colors for a gradient effect. This will help unify a garden in a similar way to a monochromatic color scheme, but allows for a larger range of color.
Complementary
Complementary colors are those that are across from each other on the color wheel. Using this method, you would want to pair orange and blue, red and green, and purple and yellow (and if you’re a Vikings fan, this pairing can also serve to show your Minnesota pride). These high-contrast color combinations provide excitement and add visual interest to any garden. Complementary colors have the effect of intensifying each other, making each stand out more than if they were on their own. If you’re looking for a vibrant garden, this may be just what you want.
To tone it down just a bit, mix bright and pastel flowers in these gardens, as in the above photo. You’ll still get the vibrancy that comes from planting in complementary colors, but with a touch of softness.
Triad
For a bold look, plant flowers that are in a color triad. This essentially means going every-other around the wheel, so red, blue, and yellow flowers would be planted together, or purple, green, and orange flowers together.
This way of planting can be a little tricky, but is absolutely worth it, providing stunning gardens when all is said and done.
Complement Your Home
The color of your house is a little trickier to change than the colors of your garden, and you want the landscaping to blend in and accentuate the beauty of your home.
Mulching
Another factor to consider is the color of your mulch. Mulch comes in a few different colors, and you want to choose one that complements both your home and the flowers you choose. Two of the most popular mulches we use are milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Milk chocolate mulch is perhaps the most versatile, matching houses with more neutral colors and those in the middle of the color spectrum and blending in well with just about any plants. Dark chocolate mulch works well with bright-colored plants and against houses that are white or pastel.
Despite this guide’s focus on flower gardens, don’t feel limited! Foliage comes in all sorts of colors, too, and can be used to accent gardens for wonderful effects. And when it comes time to decide where your new gardens should be placed, we’re happy to help! With over 15 years in the landscaping business, our experts have the experience and eye to make your dreams a reality. Give us a call at 763-568-7251 or send a message through out quote system to start planning.
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