Better Homes And Gardens Furniture Nola

I think that there is an almost universal desire to create landscapes that provide seasonal color through the year. Color is provided primarily by plants that produce showy flowers, but there are some instances where the foliage does the job.

Color should be a consideration when selecting permanent plants like trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines. Choose plants that bloom at different times of the year; for plants that bloom at the same time, make sure the colors work well together. Landscape roses, sasanqua camellias and fall-blooming azaleas are examples of shrubs that are putting on a show now.

red cluster, watering — Bedding plants can offer dramatic colors.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

Even though permanent plants can do much to provide color, we tend to rely on colorful bedding plants for the most dramatic displays. Now is an excellent time to plant cool-season bedding plants to brighten your landscape over the holidays and into next spring.

Choosing a color scheme for flower beds seems like something that we gardeners would do automatically. After all, combining colorful flowers in a flower bed is much the same as coordinating the colors in interior spaces, like your living room, kitchen or bedroom. When careful consideration of what colors to combine has been done, flower gardens are more visually attractive and effective — just like well-designed rooms indoors.

multi pansies — Pansies can satisfy the need for colorful cool season flowers. To get more visual bang for your buck, it's better to limit the number of colors you use.
Staff file photo

There is a type of insanity (I'll admit it) that can happen when we walk into a nursery or garden center and are surrounded by colorful bedding plants. We tend to start grabbing everything that catches our eye — regardless of how well the colors actually go together. You wouldn't dream of choosing the colors for your living room this way or when picking out what to wear in the morning.

What I am suggesting is to give the colors you decide to use some thought. Here are a few guidelines.

Using colors

PLAN AHEAD: First, choose color schemes for different areas of your landscape before you go to the nursery. You can always adjust your selections based on what's available, but deciding on a color scheme before you go shopping helps curb that impulse to grab everything you see.

CHOOSE A FAVORITE: Try to limit the number of colors you use. Choose one dominate color, for instance, and let it guide you on other colors that look good with it.

Using multicolors — **GO IN GROUPS:** If using multiple colors in a bed, keep the colors in groups rather than individual plants.

GO I N GROUPS: If you are using more than one color in a bed, plant the different colors in masses or groups. When planting red, white and pink petunias, for instance, don't just randomly mix the plant in the bed — it will likely just look pink from a distance.

Instead, plant a group of three to five red petunias, then three to five white petunias, then three to five pink petunias until you have filled the bed. Then, when you get back and look at it, all three colors — the red, white and pink — will express themselves. You will get to enjoy how the red, white and pink look and combine.

Red cluster lilies — ATTENTION PLEASE: The eye is attracted to bright colors, so use plants like these in place where you want to draw attention, such as near a doorway.

ATTENTION PLEASE: Remember that the human eye is powerfully attracted to bright colors. Place color in the landscape where you want to attract attention or enrich an area. Color around the front entrance can guide attention to the front door and welcome visitors to your house; around outdoor living areas like patios, it can brighten and enrich the space. Avoid using color to beautify something unattractive. You will simply call attention to it.

BASE COLORS: Don't forget that there often are existing colors in the landscape. Look at the color of your house or shutters, for instance, or the color of the outdoor furniture on your deck or patio. The colors chosen for flower beds should complement or pleasingly contrast with the existing colors.

WHAT'S ON THE WAY: Also consider the colors of blooming trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines. The bedding plants you put in now will bloom until late April or May. If you create a color scheme in front of spring-blooming azaleas, you should make sure the colors of the bedding plants will look good with the color of the azaleas when they come into bloom.

breaking the rules riot of colors — **WARM OR COOL:** Sometimes you just want to break the rules. This 2014 file photo shows a riotious garden of many colors. The fact that they're all zinnias adds some cohesion.
Chris Granger

WARM OR COOL: Choose colors that work well together. This is largely up to you and your taste. However, I've often found it helpful to combine warm colors together or cool colors together for effective color schemes. Warm colors are shades red with an orange tint (tomato red), orange, peach, yellow, gold, rust and mahogany. Cool colors include shades of red with a blue tint, burgundy, rose, pink, blue, purple and lavender. Sticking with either warm colors or cool colors helps ensure a harmonious color scheme.

THINK ABOUT ROOMS: There are rooms outdoors just like there are rooms indoors. The beds around a patio, for instance, would be a room. All of the beds in a room should either be planted with the same plants and colors (preferred) or at least be carefully coordinated. If there are three beds around your patio, don't plant them with three different color schemes. Using the same color scheme will unify the outdoor room just like the same curtains on the three windows unifies the interior room.

purple and white — **PASTELS FOR EVENING:** Pastel colors show up better in low light, and can make a space look larger.

PASTELS FOR EVENING: Use pastel colors in shady areas or beds that will primarily be viewed in the evening, as pastel colors show up better in low light. Pastel colors also make a space look larger. Bright colors make an area look smaller and more intimate. Be careful with dark shades and black flowers. Use them in well-lit locations and pair them with brighter colors for contrast.

It's not really that hard. If you just give the selection of colors for your flower beds the same consideration you give picking out an outfit to wear in the morning, the results more effective and satisfying.

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Dan Gill is a retired consumer horticulture specialist with the LSU AgCenter. He hosts the "Garden Show" on WWL-AM Saturdays at 9 a.m. Email gardening questions to gnogardening@agcenter.lsu.edu.