Gardeners, like all artists, use the power of colour to create and enhance the mood and impact of their landscape design. Through our understanding of the properties of colour we can elevate our compositions balance and unity.

Each colour holds its own lexicon of meanings, both personally and globally. Whether you fall into the category of a pictorial landscape gardener or and avid horticulturist, the colours you select in your garden will determine its emotional value and character. Some techniques that will aid your colour palette selection include placing the blossoms of your selected plants together to see how their colours interact. It is also beneficial to place differing background materials (vines, shrubs, trees, plants) against your blossoms to see which ones best aid your colour design, and whether you want your leaves to complement or contrast your blossoms. Colour themes that you can create in your garden include:

Monotone Gardening

This glamorous gardening concept, first used by Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst, refers to the use of a solitary colour (in Vitas case white) with your various greens as your background. Colours that work best are white, pink, yellow and blue. (Actually blue-grey, as true blue is almost impossible to find for an entire growing season.) Monotone gardening is particularly effective in a parterre garden or balcony situation. If you decided to monotone garden remember to balance your blossoming times throughout the year and to use a background leaf that has grayish hues in it as it will create a softer background for your colour choice. Also, avoid using various tones of red. If you choose to attempt a monotone red garden, beware mixing blue-reds with yellow-reds. A white monotone garden will look particularly beautiful at dusk and in the evening.

Analogous Colour gardening

Analogous gardening was used to spectacular effect by Englands Gertrude Jekyll. This gardening colour regime refers to the use of any 3 consecutive colours on the colour wheel. (In Gertrudes example, Red Crimson Violet) An analogous garden is generally a theatrical, yet visually delicate experience. This colour scheme works best in a secret garden or in a sweeping border backed by a copse of trees. However, keep in mind that analogous gardens are rarely restful, as they demand attention to their modulations of colour. Plantings that work well for this colour theme include opium poppies, mallows and lobelias in shades of pink, crimson and scarlet.

Complementary Colour Gardens

This refers to the usage of colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel (such as Red and Green). Gardens created with this colour scheme evoke a strong sense of power by intensifying each of the colours chosen. Colours opposite each other, such as yellow and violet, compete with each other for visual dominance by pulling our eye back and forth between them. This gardening style is exciting and intense. Some combinations that are effective include yellow Primroses set against a grouping of violet Grape Hyacinths. The paintings by Gaugain show this to a spectacular effect. Monets gardens at Giverny used complementary colour schemes in its borders to create visually powerful designs.

Mixed (Clashing) Colour Gardens

Walking through a garden with a mix of all the colours of the rainbow enlists joy and delight. Its nearly irresistible when you are at a nursery or ordering online, to resist each successive colour and plant you encounter, for each one holds its own history and meaning. A mixed scheme will look vibrant and fun. It is generally the garden we remember from our childhood, and depending on the time and light of the day, each colour will hold court for a short period of time. When working with this colour scheme remember to use plenty of white to separate, refresh and strengthen your colours. The majority of Monets Gardens at Giverny and those in his paintings were mixed colours

What colours mean

Blue – Symbolizes authority, dependability and truth. Blue in your garden will cool surrounding colours, while it gives your composition a sense of serenity. However, keep in mind that sky blues will lift your spirits, while grey-blues will add a hint of melancholy.
Red – Conveys passion, power and Drama. Red is the colour of love, and conversely hate. Use red in your garden in all its guises (crimson, scarlet, magenta, cerise, etc.) to bring excitement and vivacity.
Yellow – Symbolizes happiness, spontaneity and fun. Yellow in a garden creates visual motion, drawing the eye from blossom to blossom. It also captures the sun in your design and enhances the sense of effortless, airy design.
Violet – Conveys spirituality, aristocracy and mystery. Violet adds a sense of majesty to the landscape and mixed with yellow, creates an arresting image of beauty and youth.
Green – The background of all gardens. Green is the colour of vitality, growth and regeneration. The colour green has the power, depending upon its intensity and clarity, of dimming, brightening, refreshing or overpowering your garden design. Its predominance in your landscape makes it the colour you most need to analyze in your design.
Orange – Symbolizes equality, peace and luxury. The usage of orange in the garden creates an inviting and outgoing design. Orange is also the colour of autumn, and depending on its hue, will give a warm hue throughout its location

Colour Hints
Vivid, bright colours in a distant flowerbed will make it appear closer to the viewer. Blue tones will make a bed recede into the distance. Warm colours near a patio will give it a more outgoing and fun feeling. Separate clashing or mixed colours with white blossoms. Use scarlet blossoms to make the green of your leaves more intense.
Great Design in essence is about the creation of an exquisite stage for the beauty and quality of life we all desire. From ultra urban to ornate opulence, Robin and his team have passionately and successfully designed it all. Robins interiors have graced the pages of magazines Worldwide. Robin has designed interiors for feature films, major retailers such as Home Depot (Style Ideas Magazine) and the Designer Showhouse. From smaller scale interior projects to full scale restorations and developments, Robins passionate and creative eye overseas all aspects. While fluent in all design trends and philosophies, Robin is most passionate about historic preservation and the creation of elegant, functional and memorable spaces that convey the best attributes of each owner while respecting and celebrating the architecture that encompasses them. Visit http://www.robindegroot.ca

Creating structural elements in your garden will transform it from the ordinary, to the extraordinary. A well-planned framework of supports and dividers will create visual interest throughout the year, as well as allow your plants greater depth and perspective by incorporating the walls, fences, arbors, trellis and forms, into their growth pattern. Boundaries and divisions also create the stage setting for each area in your garden, while keeping the rest of the world (and its problems) out.

The feeling of going through a rose covered arbor with a boxwood hedge, into a wide expanse of lawn with a central feature, is inspiring. The sight of a stonewall with climbers in bloom, cascading over its surface with the light dappling through its leaves, allowing just a glimpse of the plantings behind it, overwhelms the viewer with joy. Everyone can easily create this feeling and look in their garden, by incorporating structure and by understanding the method of dividing your property.

Firstly, you need to analyze your gardens:

Foreground The area closest to your home and the most visible. This is often your entertaining feature and utility area. Very small gardens usually have only a foreground, and thus require considerable planning.

Midground This is the middle area of your property where you can show off with large perennial beds and special features. This is also the best area for lawn, larger ponds and garden structures.

Background This is the furthest area from your home and is generally best suited for larger trees, greenhouses, vegetable gardens, wild life cultivation (birding), composting and larger perimeter fencing and hedges.

The garden divisions you would use in the first zones (foreground and midground) should be lower in height and semi transparent in nature (picket fences, wattle, low hedges, stone walls, trellis and varying ground levels). In both very small gardens and large gardens, view your outer most perimeters as an opportunity to create a sense of enclosure and privacy for your garden. External boundaries create privacy, shield you from noise and wind and allow you to create your own personal theme. Internal boundaries are used to inspire and entice both yourself and your guests to lose oneself in the garden. These semi transparent or small-scale internal divisions are to create a psychological break between zones and usages.

Methods of Division

Lattice Indispensable! This is the only word that can encapsulate its many benefits and uses in your garden. From the French treillage, you can make it yourself, buy it off the shelf, or have it customized. Fencing created with lattice, gives an open, seductive quality to it, while allowing the passage of air and light, with a degree of privacy. Lattice can be mounted on your external boundaries to create both visual depth and foliage support. Anything that cannot be moved from your garden (garage, shed, and block wall) can be easily covered with lattice. In a formal setting, lattice (treillage) can be arched with tapering lines to give a classical perspective, while providing winter interest. In small gardens, lattice provides a horizontal growing space for foliage and hanging containers.

Natural Stone Walls Walls built of flagstone, slate or rubble, provide a sense of permanence and comfort. Natural stone internal boundaries create a visual strength and power to your design while being both functional and ornamental. You can construct internal walls yourself, however, anything over 36 will require professional advice. Plant moss in the cracks and train your plants to cascade over them to create a sense of antiquity.

Fencing The spectrum of choices includes: country style picket fences; woven twig mesh fences; lattice fencing; panel fences; split rails and imposing palisades. Whatever your choice, remember to first examine your space and determine which style will best suit your design, internally and externally. For example, if you are creating a Japanese garden, then your external walls will be tall, of natural materials and will provide complete privacy from the outside world. Internal divisions may be created to direct your eye on featured elements, while also providing a sense of intimacy to secluded areas in your garden. When choosing the materials for your fencing, think about their size, alignment, pattern, colour, configuration and style.

Cast Iron Popular since the early 19th century, this style is best suited for formal gardens, particularly for their external boundaries. Iron can be left in its natural state, or can be painted.

Arbors This type of garden divider is essentially an area for seating, with a canopy structure above. Arbors, in all their forms (pergola, arch, etc.), create a sense of romance and mystery. An arbor will create an internal division in your garden, while also providing support for climbing plants, focusing your view and directing traffic flow. The contrast of the shaded retreat within and the sunlit garden surrounding it, gives a greater sense of depth to your design. These structures (arbors, pergolas, archways, etc.) frame the garden view beyond them, while providing an enjoyable means of emerging from your foreground, to your mid ground.

Hedges A natural method of creating boundaries, while providing yearlong visual interest. Hedges, like fences, will filter the wind, afford privacy and depending upon your plant selection, bloom throughout the summer. In a formal garden, hedges are usually clipped into geometric forms; thus, you need to select a plant with a dense growth pattern. Boxwood (Boxus Sempervirens) is perfect for parterre gardens and topiary forms. Yew, white cedar, privet and juniper are also all well suited for training and heavy clipping, allowing you to create any form your design requires. In an informal garden, a softer, unclipped hedge is best suited. While they will take more space, you can achieve a cascade of blossoms with this design. Dwarf lilac, Potentila, Roses and Bride Wreath (Spirea X Vanhouttei) are just a few examples. Prune your informal hedge only when your plants are becoming too large.

By incorporating some or all of these elements within your garden you will transform it from merely having summer interest, into a garden that is equally beautiful throughout every season of the year.

Great Design in essence is about the creation of an exquisite stage for the beauty and quality of life we all desire. From ultra urban to ornate opulence, Robin and his team have passionately and successfully designed it all. Robins interiors have graced the pages of magazines Worldwide. Robin has designed interiors for feature films, major retailers such as Home Depot (Style Ideas Magazine) and the Designer Showhouse. From smaller scale interior projects to full scale restorations and developments, Robins passionate and creative eye overseas all aspects. While fluent in all design trends and philosophies, Robin is most passionate about historic preservation and the creation of elegant, functional and memorable spaces that convey the best attributes of each owner while respecting and celebrating the architecture that encompasses them. Visit http://www.robindegroot.ca

Adding edging around your garden or landscape is as important as the garden itself. The edging frames your garden much like a picture frame. A picture can be interesting and beautiful but it needs a frame to enhance its appearance, so it is with your garden.

There are various types of garden edgings. Many people prefer to use something heavy and permanent, like a low brick wall, or rocks set together with mortar. However, not everyone is physically capable of creating such a structure.

Bricks set freely can be just as effective. They can be placed in a simple line, end to end, or stacked in a double row, with gaps in between. They can also be set diagonally, leaning against each other for support.

Another attractive alternative is to decorate short lengths of board with old tiles. Tiles can often be purchased very cheaply from re-recycling places. Glue your choice of tile along the board using outdoor glue. On each end of the board, tack a peg with one end pointed. This will be used to push into the soil to support your board and keep it off the ground.

Bush rocks can also be used to give your garden that finished look. They need not be too big, unless you have plenty of muscle or help. You may be able to gather rocks from a friend’s farm, or from the bush if that is legal in your area. Otherwise, garden suppliers usually have plenty to choose from.

How about flowering plants or shrubbery to create a living border. Choose a plant that will be suitable for your climate and conditions. The pretty pink of alpine phlox is an attractive border and the plants can be divided and planted again and again. Many other plants can be propagated in this way, thus reducing the initial costs. Of course, your border will take a little more time to get established than if you bought all the necessary plants at once.

Gazanias are another hardy border plant that can be divided many times. Bulbs might seem like a good choice too, but remember that they will die down and leave your borders looking messy for ages. In addition, they remain dormant for at least six months, so if you plant anything else there you risk damaging the bulbs. Of course, you can dig them up and replace them with something else, but you may prefer a more permanent border edge to save on the workload.

If you have a larger garden, comfrey is a plant to consider using for an edging plant. Its thick growth habit will prevent any grasses intruding into the garden, and the leaves can be pulled for excellent mulch around roses or other plants. It has delightful, dainty flowers in season too. However, a small garden could be overwhelmed by more than one comfrey plant.

In a small garden attractive annuals like sweet alice, pansies, violas or petunias make great borders. For something a bit different, try an herb border. Then you can go out and pick your herbs any time you want. Chives have a crisp green color that would make your garden sparkle while strawberries will entice the kids out into the fresh air to have a healthy snack.

Some people prefer to simply bevel an edge around their garden with the shovel. This is a good option if your lawn has the sort of grass with runners, like kikuyu. Those runners can be kept under control by chopping them off every so often with the edge of the shovel.

Whatever option you choose, it will enhance your garden to have a beautiful edging. For more ideas on creating a border for your garden, visit the links at the bottom of the page.

For more information, visit these sites: The Garden Info Center and The Garden Design Guide

David Chandler, The Stock Market Genie

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