Color Movement In The Garden

Color movement allows you to travel through a garden with your eyes rather than walking through it.

The Magic of Warm Colors

This picture is a great example of both color movement and shrinking space.

When you first look at the picture your eyes are drawn to the red flowers. The red flowers are bright and vibrant, they stand out demanding your attention.

Using the red flowers in the balcony at the top of the building and repeating that same color in the island bed creates an illusion of closeness.
The red coloring shrinks the space.

Warm colors are orange, yellow, red and pink.

The Magic of Cool Colors

In this picture the green plant in the center draws your attention for a minute but then your eyes travel to the bright red on the sides.

The cool green coloring doesn't command as much attention as the hot colors do.

If the shrubs and ivy at the back of the photo were covered in hot colored flowers your eyes would be more prone to looking at them. You see them but they fade into the background.

Blending Hot and Cool Colors Together

You found a lily that you just have to have. The color is so vibrant and wonderful. When you try to find a place for it in your garden the color just doesn't flow well with your exsisting plants.

Don't give up on it yet.
You don't have to forgo planting the irresistable plant, you just need to work it into the garden by blending it in.

In the art world you can add white to a hot color to calm it down.
In the garden world adding white next to a hot color won't calm it down.
The white will stand out. In this picture, the white numerals really stand out.

Use subtle foilage colors to blend in plants that flower in hot colors.

Blending adds a spot for your eyes to rest before being drawn to the next hot colored flower.

The soft purple coloring of Heuchera (Coral Bells) can help calm down bright red flowers and some blue ones.
Green foliage can be used to put distance between hot colors that would clash if too close together..
Grey foliage as in this Dusty Miller plant is the best choice for blending as it goes well with every warm color.

The main principles for color movement are that warm colors are going to pop out and make your eyes travel towards them. Cool colors are going to give your eyes a spot to rest and will recede into the background.

If you entered this site through this color movement page you might want to head over to the garden color page.

You might also enjoy these other garden design principles:
The purpose of your garden.
Create garden unity through repetition.
Using shapes in your garden.
Size does matter.
Texture in your garden.

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