The Colour Wheel & Combinations for Garden Renovations
The colour wheel enables the designer to create different combinations that will have differing impacts on the look and feel of the scheme. Therefore, understanding the wheel will enable an appreciation of the relationships between colours to create the best and most professional garden design.
The two main approaches are the harmonious and the contrasting colour schemes. Harmonious colours are those that are near to or adjacent to one another on the wheel – blue, violet and blue-green on the cool side of the wheel; and red, yellow and orange from the hot side.
Harmonious colour schemes In Your Garden
When schemes are dominated by cooler harmonising colours such as blue, violet, blue-green, the planting schemes will look best in the evening as the sun goes down, or in shade. You can also introduce paler pinks into this scheme. You can use different hints and tones of the same colour within a harmonious schemes.
Warm pinks and cerise would be introduced into the hot harmony garden schemes from the warm colour side of the wheel. These schemes are very vibrant and can dominate so best to keep them separate. Some larger gardens might have a whole area dedicated to a hot harmonious scheme enclosed by dark green hedging to accentuate further. Most hot garden schemes will be at their best during late summer and early autumn.
Contrasting colour schemes In Your Garden
These schemes require the use of colours from the opposite side of the colour wheel. So red with green, blue with orange, yellow with violet. Ironically these colours together are known as complementary colours and tend to be bold, with one colours strength making up for the others weakness, making it seem brighter or more intense. You might use the blue of Eryngium with the orange of Crocosmia for example.
Within contrasting colour schemes you can also have what are known as Triad schemes. This is where three colours that are equidistant from one another on the colour wheel are used – again creating bold and vibrant colour palettes. An example might be red, blue and yellow. So you might see blue Salvias, with Yellow Achillea and red Gerbera.
Visiting gardens like Great Dixter in Sussex and Sissinghurst Castle in Kent will give great examples of uses of these different combinations.
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To find out more about this and creating exciting planting plans suitable for your needs as well as our other garden design services please visit our website and email us on info@dpgardendesign.co.uk. Contact our expert garden design team today to begin your garden design journey.
DP Garden Design is located in Alresford, Hampshire but we are able to cover the rest of Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex.
