Creating Harmony in the Landscape: Color Schemes

In the landscape, harmony refers to the way in which various elements in the landscape are organized to create a sense of unity or continuity within an individual garden area as well as between distinct areas within the overall landscape. Various elemental types can be used to create harmony within a landscape. Each element adds a new dimension of unity within the garden and landscape. Among these various elements, I would like to emphasis the following: Color Schemes, Hardscape elements, Repeated Forms, and Green Spaces.

Let’s first consider color schemes.  Color Schemes are probably the most easily identified element in a landscape, and therefore the most habitually emphasized. Color schemes rely on specific color combinations that can make or break a garden. They can create harmony or consonance within the landscape.  Therefore, color schemes must be chosen with care to ensure you accomplish your express purpose. 

The most exciting combinations are not always planned.  As you create your gardens, you will unexpectedly come across combinations that excite your senses.  Feel free to experiment with new partnerships. Choose an individual color, several analogous or complimentary colors to be used throughout the landscape. 

Color partnerships can be separated into two categories: contrasting/complimentary colors and analogous/harmonizing colors. When contrasting colors are combined, they tend to draw attention to themselves through explosive relationship. Tension is created, heightening our senses and drawing our eyes to them. By standing out, these vibrant color combinations further emphasis the more harmonic color combinations. Seizing our attention, these contrasting color combinations can highlight transition between two areas in the landscape. Beware: too many dissonant color combinations can destroy a garden. Our goal should then be to limit these contrasting color combinations in order to emphasis the overall unity of the garden or landscape. I often combine purples with complementary yellows in smaller numbers or greens with bright reds as seen in the Poppy or carnation.

Complimentary colors, on the other hand, are soothing.  They create a sense of serenity. Try using blues and purples or reds and orange.  When transitioning between color combinations, use neutral colors such as whites, silvers, greys and blacks. (Check out this free online interactive color wheel to learn about color wheel theory http://thevirtualinstructor.com/interactivecolorwheel.html).

It is easy to focus exclusively on flower color. However, flowers come and go. They blossom and fade with the seasons’ change. Foliage, however, is longer lasting and often “evergreen” and thus the more significant color producer in the landscape. I would, therefore, encourage you to try basing your color scheme on the foliage of one or more specimen plants. Consider basing your color scheme on the hues of elements such as tree and shrub bark, boulders, garden sculptures and brick or natural stone pavers.

Hardscape elements repeated in the landscape can also draw together a disparate landscape. Thus, when you are dealing with various themes such as formal and informal areas, perennial, annual or mixed, sun and shade gardens, consider using common hardscape elements such as stone or brick. Both of these can be used in a number of applications. For instance, granite can be used to create a very appealing patio or walkway as well as retaining walls, stream beds, accent rocks or sculptures. Perhaps you could use granite to create a unique water feature such as a fountain surrounded by granite pebbles. Then, use the same granite pebbles or a crushed form of granite to create a meandering path through a woodland garden with granite outcroppings.

Repeating a particular plant such as a Rhododendron or weeping Japanese Maple could also add another unifying element.  Often you will find such plants can be grown in both sun and shade with adjustments to irrigation scheduling. 

Try using Redwood or Cedar in both your fencing as well as your decking application.  Match the brick in your front walkway to the brick on your house. It may be difficult to match the house and walkway precisely, especially if your home is more than a couple of years old. However, there is almost always another brick that will coordinate with the existing house brick.