GARDEN DESIGN AND GARDEN MAKING 



COLOR IN THE GARDEN 



COLOR is made up of three parts or elements: The value of a 

 color is its degree of lightness or darkness; two colors may 

 be blue, but one a light blue and the other a dark blue. 

 Hue is the individual pigment that gives a color its name, such as red, 

 blue, etc. Intensity is the brilliancy of a color, as a bright or shiny 

 blue is distinguished from a dull blue. Brilliant colors when used 

 in the garden give us accent; they are readily distinguished and seem 

 set apart from other colors. Should one have a border planting of peren- 

 nials composed of a number of brilliantly colored plants, it would be 

 difficult to secure any accent, as all would clamor for attention. 



Colors are divided into two main classes: the primaries — red, 

 yellow and blue ; and the secondaries — green, orange and purple. When 

 one color is said to be a complement of another it means that the two 

 have nothing in common, as in the case of orange and blue — there is 

 no trace of one color found in the other. Such colors are also called 

 contrast colors. Complementary colors mixed in equal quantities pro- 

 duce gray, or the neutral color, but they may be effectively used to- 

 gether in unequal quantities so as to allow one color to predominate, 

 as by planting a few White Birches against a heavy background of 

 evergreens. 



Almost every color may be found in plant material in some form 

 or other, but usually in leaf, blossom, fruit or stem. Plants vary in 

 color value as the distance increases, for at a distance they appear to 

 take on a bluish cast. This fact may be taken advantage of in creating 

 apparently increased dimensions by the use of bluish foliage, such as 

 that of the Bush Honeysuckles, Spiraea Vanhouttei, etc. 



If a garden is usually seen from a certain definite viewpoint such 

 as a window or terrace, it is well to arrange the colors so as to ap- 

 parently increase the distance (Fig. 79). 



Where no attempt has been made to choose harmonizing colors, 

 there usually exists a series of color exclamations, each fighting for 

 supremacy, whereas the body of the garden or the beds should consist 

 of unifying shades with a few contrasting colors for accent; this will 

 emphasize and enliven the whole effect. 



81 



