Choosing color for your garden

Choosing what colors to use in your garden opens up the opportunity to explore the wide range of colors that are available in both annuals and perennials, either in plants or seeds. By planning what colors you would like to see growing in the garden space, then planting your favorite colors, you can find the right mood for your personal garden.

Red for vitality – Salvia, Sage, Begonia, Celosia, Cosmos, Daylily, Geranium, Impatiens, Petunia, Roses, Snapdragon, Verbena, Zinnia, Shrimp Plant

Violet/Purple for inner calm – Butterfly bush, Iris, Larkspur, Lavender, Morning glory, Mexican Bush Sage, Violets, Pansy, Petunia, Salvia greggii, Mexican Petunia

Yellow for contentment – Coneflower, Daffodil, Daylily, Forsythia, Iris, Jerusalem sage, Marigold, Nasturtium, Snapdragon, Sunflower, Yarrow, Zinnia, Coreopsis, Roses, Black eyed Susan

Orange for optimism – Blanket flower, Butterfly week, Calendula, Cosmos, Dahlia, Gaillardia, Gazania, Marigold, Mexican sunflower, Poppy, Red-hot poker

Blue for the spirit – Agapanthus, Aster, Bluebell, Catnip, Clematis, Forget-me-not, Globe thistle, Lobelia, Love-in-a-mist, Morning glory, Gregg’s Blue Mist, Plumbago, Ageratum

White for life – Vinca, Shasta daisy, Aster, Chrysthamum, Moon flower, Artemisia (Powis Castle), Petunia, Lily, Iris, Candytuft, Alyssum, Dusty miller, Nicotiana, Hosta, Variegated periwinkle

Green for growth – don’t forget green! Bells of Ireland, Boxwood, Creeping myrtle, Elephant’s ear, Fern, Holly, Hosta, Ivy, Moss, Nicotiana, Ornamental grasses, Pachysandra, Yucca

Color in the garden can affect our mood and have an effect on our emotional and physical well-being. Green is considered harmonious and peaceful and red energizes. Green is nature’s way of bring harmony to the garden. Red can make cool areas feel a few degrees warmer. Violet and purple indicates knowledge, self-respect, and spirituality. It promotes inner calm but use is sparingly as an accent color to break up reds and yellows. Yellow provides intellectual and inspirational stimulation. It attracts and dominates and increases the feeling of space. It is important to vary texture and form. Orange is the color of joy. Use it with care as it can be overpowering. Use it around a barbeque area or around a patio used for eating. Blue encourages relaxation and tranquility. It is a good color for contemplation, meditation inspiring patience and calm thought. It is a great color to relieve stress but too calming to be used as a predominant color in your garden.

Choose plants that you like. Put some thought into the way you would like the garden to look throughout the year: Use shades of yellow, blue, and green in spring; brighter and stronger colors for summer; fiery tones for autumn; browns and grays for winter. Red, orange, and yellow make the garden look closer; blues and purples make the garden recede. Splashes of white make the garden light at night and gives life to full shade areas. White also helps to keep the eye moving around and through a flower bed. To have the widest possible choice of plants, place your garden in a light shade area. Remember, by using color, you can create a garden that raises your spirits and helps to energize, relax, and inspire to do great things.