Colors are probably the most powerful design factor in garden design. And plants are generally the easiest and most dominant element where color and contrast can be achieved and manipulated.

However, for many gardeners and landscapers in their quest for the perfect color combinations, there is another side to plants that is often overlooked. And that would be the contrast of the many wonderful and varied textures of plants. Specifically and for the sake of this article, green plants. And yes, green is a color.

Green plants not only serve as a color element just as any other color, but can also be used as a neutral transitional color that ties other elements and colors together. Or in other words, as a filler or where one area of the garden transitions to the next. Natural transition is very important in garden design.

I was reminded the other day as I spoke with a client of how so many people actually overlook green as actually being a color design element in garden and landscape design.

As we talked about her project I pointed out that we now had four colors in her plan and that we needed to repeat them throughout the design to create some balance. Remember, balance and repetition are principles of landscaping. She questionably stated that we only had three colors in her design.

At first I was puzzled but soon understood what she meant. Green isnt really a color. Its just the medium that holds the real colored parts in place.

Now if we looked at green as just being a neutral medium, I might be able to go along with this. However, as a designer, I see it in a much different way. There are many shades of green that hold many different textures that can create such wonderful contrasts that can de designed with.

Some of the most vibrant and lush gardens Ive ever seen have simply displayed this one color in many variations. Light greens, dark greens, yellow greens, etc. And I havent even touched on texture here. Even the same shade of green in different textures creates a wonderful contrast for designing purposes.

Try and picture the lushness and beauty of a dark jungle. Their beauty and contrast are generally created by the variations of shade and texture and not bright colors. Shady gardens that resemble a deep forest or jungle are absolutely beautiful in their own right.

Keep this in mind when planning your next garden. Just as one example, a mixture of Hostas, Ferns, and Ornamental Grasses can create a very memorable and eye catching display using the color green.

Yes green is a color.

Here are 10 ways to transform a boring garden into a place of interest:

Attract Wildlife
Who doesn’t love to see birds and butterflies visit their garden? Try to mimic the natural landscape within your garden and you will have lots of little visitors that will delight the senses.

Add a Secret Area
An area that is not immediately visible to the eye when viewing a garden can prove a delightful surprise for visitors. Clever design can hide the entrance, i.e. camouflaging, illusion of depth.

Add a Garden Pond
A garden pond is virtually guaranteed to spark interest from all. Also if installed correctly little maintenance is required. Combine with a waterfall feature for extra novelty.

Add Garden Junk
Everyday objects can be used to create artistic and unique garden junk that will definitely make heads turn i.e. bowling balls, scrap metal, clay pots, anything really. Prepare to get messy and creative!

Add a Focal Point
Direct eyes to an area in your garden using a focal point. Try using simple additions like a birdbath or a large pot or add lighting to bring attention to an otherwise plain object.

Plant with Colours that Complement
Nobody likes to see a garden with one colour. On the flip side no-one wants their eyes to hurt when looking at a garden! So design your planting areas to contain plants whose colours complement each other. A colour chart will come in handy here.

Use Height Effectively
Adding plant sizes of various heights to your garden will entertain the eye. Add a peak here and there with a tree, go mid-size with a few shrubs and finally add some groundcovers to cater for the low points.

Add a Patio
Need some where to sit out on and view the fruits of your gardening labour? Look no further than a patio. It serves as the meeting place between your garden and your home. Make it a bit more of a mixture with a spot of patio gardening.

Plant for Scent
Scents can add a new dimension to your garden. Some plants give off a scent when brushed against and some give off scents as their flowers open. The sense of smell is said to be the best for memory recall so scents in your garden make sure that visitors remember it long after they visit.

Add a Garden Gnome (or Two)
A slightly controversial point seeing as though gnomes are viewed as tacky in some circles. But I say go for it, pick out a few entertaining gnomes and place them strategically around your garden. They may just lend a hand sometime.

Creating a lush flower garden from scratch takes time - many perennial plants need a couple of years to grow to showy sizes. So don’t worry if it takes several seasons to get your flower garden looking the way you’d want it to. That’s perfectly normal.

This is a good time of year to take stock of your garden design. Ask yourself the following questions - the answers should give you some ideas on which projects to do this spring:

• Are the flower beds too narrow? A narrow bed isn’t wide enough to show off layers of plants. If you have a skinny bed that can’t be widened, between a hedge and a walkway, for instance, fill it with low-growing ground cover plants of one or two kinds.
• Are the planting areas all over the place? Look at the entire yard, not just the individual planting beds. Try to link beds, rather than having one here and another over there.
• Have you crammed in too many types of plants? You’ll get more impact from perennials if you put three of one type in a clump, rather than three different plants or three of the same plant in different locations. Repetition of key plant groups or a key color creates harmony and coherence. Add contrasts in texture and form - for example, bigger leaves next to fine ones, or spiky flowers next to rounded and mounded ones.
• Have you screened eyesores? Treat the space around your house as a garden, not a yard. Your backdrop should complement your plants. Make storage sheds or garage walls into garden features (vine-covered trellises can hide ugly ones). Be sure to screen utilitarian necessities like the compost pile, air-conditioning units, heat pumps, and so on with attractive fences or evergreen shrubs.
• Do the garden and house complement each other? Look out the windows to make sure the picture is pleasing from inside the house too.
• Do you have a focal point? You could be asking plants to do all the work. Perhaps the missing element is what garden designers call a focal point. Try adding a bird bath, a sundial, an arbor, or a trellis. And of course no garden is complete without an inviting bench, or two.

Yvonne Cunnington is an avid perennial gardener and the author of Clueless in the Garden: A Guide for the Horticulturally Helpless. For lots more perennial gardening tips, visit her website http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com For more garden design tips, see http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/gardendesign.html