planting by colour

"Colour is one of the most important features in a designer's portfolio"

The colour wheel is a simple guide to understanding colour realationships in the garden. Red, blue and yellow are the three primary colours from which in theory, all other colours are constructed.

There are two key aspects to developing an effect planting shceme based on colour - the use of harmonising colours or contrasting colours.

Harmonising colours are those on the wheel that are adjacent or close neighbours for example purple and blue. Contrasting colours are on opposite sides of the wheel such as violet and yellow.

However, although these colours are contrasting they often form highly vivid and complimentary planting schemes.