A Color Theme Garden

Designing a single-color garden is one of the easiest ways to get a handle on orchestrating a perennial garden. Making decisions about color combinations can seem overwhelming, especially when you're new to perennial gardening. So set aside your worries about which color liberates you to tune in to aspects like bloom time, plant height, and texture.

Color theme garden has been favorites of some of the most distinguished gardeners in history. The style and sophistication of these unique gardens are easy to bring into your backyard. You can even design a color theme garden to complement your interior color scheme.

Does a color theme garden have only a single color? Unless its composed of a single plant, the answer is a resounding "no." No matter what your chosen theme color, you'll quickly find that variations in hue and shade among perennial flowers are almost unlimited. Take advantage of your color's full range. Using a mixture of colors enlivens your composition. Likewise, you may find that a splash of white or pale yellow adds immeasurably to the beauty of the combination.

Use different flower forms to add contrast in a color theme garden. For example, try pairing bold white daylilies with the delicate floral sprays of baby's-breath.

The interplay of foliage colors and textures is the background music for the more magnificent drama of the flowers in your color theme garden. For example, contrasts between ferny foliage, like that of fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra Eximia), and bold textured leaves, like those of a white blooming hosta, can lend excitement to a white border. Foliage tints reinforce a color scheme. Plants with blue-green leaves echo the flower tones in a blue border. Gold-variegation foliage works well in a yellow border and white or cream variegation in a white garden. Foliage color can also provide contrast in a color theme garden. For instance, the fresh notes of gray or silvery leaves could set off the warm tones of the flowers in a yellow border to create an oasis of silver and gold.