Using Color Effectively in Landscaping
There are many potential issues for homeowners considering extensive landscaping: cost, initial manual labor, regular maintenance, etc. Combine these with the added dimension of aesthetics and many homeowners find landscaping a task too troublesome to begin. By following a few critical principles, however, homeowners can get a much better picture of what effective color design is and how to achieve it.
Color theory has long been a playground for great minds, from Leonardo Da Vinci to Isaac Newton to Goethe. Though as a whole it is quite complex, its essence is simple: color is a property of light. In a garden or landscape, what this means is that homeowners can seek to complement colors for maximum visual impact. It is also undeniable that colors affect the human psyche; long have certain colors been associated with specific emotions. Yellow and red, for example, stand out in a garden for multiple reasons. Red is seen as aggressive in many cultures, yellow as warm. When it comes to landscaping, however, these colors stand out precisely because they are uncommon in the natural fauna of many areas. Their bright blooms, evolved to attract the attention of pollinators, likewise attract our attention.
Context is another great indicator of potentially powerful design. Asking questions helps here: what kinds of colors are prevalent in one's own home and neighborhood? Considering the psychological impact of color is also important, as with our aforementioned yellows and reds. They are strong colors in a natural landscape. Infrequent use of strong color creates oases that attract the eye. Overuse of strong color creates chaos?when all surroundings are brightly colored, the eye does not know what is trying to be emphasized. Instead place strong colors only at focal points, such as gates, doors, or naturally beautiful features of the landscape. Calmer colors like blue and green can be used near strong colors to create contrast.
Homeowners must also decide whether their landscape will be monochromatic or polychromatic. Monochromatic gardens use both shades and tints of one color. In modern discourse, 'shade? and ?tint? are used interchangeably, but in landscaping, 'shade? refers to a hue that is darker than the color in question, while a ?tint? of that color is lighter. In this way, crimson is a shade of red, while rose is a tint. Since monochromatic gardens work only within one color's range, other design elements such as placement, elevation, and repetition must come to the fore. Analogous gardens, on the other hand, make use of colors that border each other on the color wheel. Green, for example, borders yellow and blue, so an analogous green garden would make use of all three colors. Finally, polychromatic gardens can feature each and every shade of the rainbow. As with strong colors, however, it is easy to overwhelm the eye. Landscapers interested in polychromatic gardens should exercise caution when considering color pairings.
Tags: landscape, garden, color, polychromatic, garden, monochromatic
