When it comes to designing your garden, color is everything! Choosing the color palette for your garden sets the tone for your space. Here are our tips for choosing the best colors to have your most stylish gardening season yet.
Define the Energy, Set the Mood
Before you begin purchasing plants, take some time to decide what tone you’d like to set in your outdoor space. Color can change the way we feel about our space, so choose wisely. If you see your garden as a place to relax and feel calm, you may want to opt for soft pastels, blues, purples, and whites. If you love to feel energized and excited in your garden, you’ll love pops of reds, oranges, and yellows.
Make it Personal
More than ever, our private outdoor spaces must rise up to meet our need for relaxation, connection, and sometimes even become our vacation getaways. Choosing a color palette for your garden can be as important as the way you decorate the interior of your home. Pull inspiration from the colors you already love, whether it’s the paint colors on your walls or the colors you most love wearing. Let your existing style preferences inspire your garden color palette.
Consult the Color Wheel
Analogous color palettes are 3 colors next to each other on the wheel. They are quite similar to each other and complement each other well. This is great when you are looking for a slightly monochromatic look with some diversity in hues. Example: Blue, purple, and violet.
Complementary color palettes are colors on the exact opposite of the wheel. If you trace a line from one color directly across, you will find its perfect complementary color match. Blue’s complementary color is orange, and purple’s complementary color is yellow, etc.
Complex color palettes are a combination of the first two types of colors. You select 3 analogous colors and then choose one (or more!) of the three corresponding complementary colors. Using a complex color palette for your garden will create some of the most interesting and professional-looking styles.
Color Palettes and How to Use Them
Now that you have a color palette in mind, get creative with how you bring it to life in your garden. When working with complementary colors, you can try to let one shade dominate, while using the other as a bold accent or focal point. Keep in mind that while we may all love color, too much of it can be overwhelming. Give colorful flowers space to stand out, and adding white can help vibrant colors pop. While playing with color, you can also get creative with the texture, shape, and size of the flower combinations you try out.
Colorful Flower Combinations
If you’re feeling stumped about making your selections for your colorful garden palette, here are some of our favorite combinations for this year:
Lupine and Daisies: Perennial lupine comes in shades of purple, violet, indigo, and blue. A perfect match for these cool-toned beauties is to add simple daisies in white or opt for bold yellow black-eyed Susans. If daisies are a bit too tame for you, try some bright orange marigolds or citronella geraniums.
Peonies and Poppies: This magical combination of flowers can create a relaxing and enchanting vibe in your garden. Choose from blooms in shades of pinks and reds for a romantic garden color palette.
Iris, Yarrow, Salvia: Bearded irises stand tall and glorious in any garden. There are endless color options to try, which is why yarrow and salvia are a great complement to them. Yarrow comes in a soft yellow and is great for filling in spaces that need a pop of color. When salvia flowers, it features tubular blooms in a range of gorgeous colors, including purples and blues. Use this combination for a highly-customizable and show-stopping floral display.
Let your creativity flow and experiment with different color palette combinations for your garden. Get your first pick of color by pre-ordering your flowers online now! If you’re looking for colorful perennials on sale now in St.John, contact us to place your order or to ask us any questions you may have about your home and garden needs.