Balancing Green With a Little Color

Monarch on Tithonia rotundifolia

My preferences for colors and combinations of colors in the garden shift and change with the seasons, the years, and the specific "rooms" in the garden. I don't have a favorite plant or plants, either. There are a few plants (native and non-native) that I'd prefer not to have in my garden, although I appreciate them in other gardens and in natural settings.

Many people mention disliking orange flowers. I'm going to be "radical" by saying I actually enjoy orange in the garden--from the bright, vibrant oranges of many Zinnias to the peachy tones of many delicate Roses. I find them pleasing to the eye, and I appreciate how they attract hummingbirds and butterflies. But I realize colors, plant choices, and pairings are very individualistic. Each garden is unique!

The color wheel has been a good guide for me when selecting companion plants (in addition to other practical tools like natural pairings in nature, height and size considerations, and companion planting techniques. Using the color wheel, specifically, I guess I lean more toward choosing complementary, triadic, or split complementary combinations. Because there's so much green in my garden, I often tend to balance it with purple and orange, yellow and periwinkle, or blue and pink. And even then, there are so many shades of each basic color.

Janet at The Paintbox Garden really knows her colors, and her blog is a wonderful walk through the endless palette options for any gardener. She's currently working on a book that will be published next year.

I'm not a color expert, and often I create messy mistakes that just don't work after further consideration.

But, again, I do like orange flowers (and just about every other colored blooms, depending on the situation and the combination). Sticking with the "orange and purple, balanced by green" theme, here are some example combinations. Often orange blooms include hints of purple and purple blooms have hints of orange; so their pairing with green emphasizes the triadic concept.

 

'Zowie' Zinnia elegans & Echinacea purpurea

Tagetes hybrid & Angelonia angustifolia

Lantana camara & Verbena hastata

Lantana camara & Salvia x sylvestris

Monarch with Impatiens capensis & Conoclinium coelestinum

Personally, I think it can be overdone, too. But pops of orange, balanced by other colors, are OK by me. Do you have favorite colors in your garden? Are there colors and combinations you avoid?