Design with colour scheme in mind

Pergola with appropriate climbing makes a great and beautiful shade. [Photo: Standard]

Landscape colour is not limited to flower colour. Other colourful components such as leaves, fruits, stems and hardscape elements can be controlled to achieve a desired colour scheme.

The external colour of your house is a major factor to consider when selecting a colour scheme for your garden. Here are some common landscape colour schemes and how they affect the look and feel of your home.

Monochromatic schemes

Monochromatic colour schemes involve using tints and shades of one pure colour. Tints are lighter versions of the pure colour while shades are its darker versions. These tints and shades are organized to create desired patterns and effects.

A successful monochromatic colour scheme is sophisticated and elegant. It is especially effective in small gardens where combining many colours would appear busy and crowded.

For larger spaces, a monochromatic colour scheme tends to be monotonous and boring. It is recommended for use in more intimate spaces to create a serene environment. This is especially true for the green to blue ranges.

Complementary schemes

This involves using colours that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel: Orange against blue, red against green or yellow next to violet.

These contrasting combinations and are very vibrant, bold and highly recommended for colour enthusiasts.

Complementary schemes are particularly useful when you want to make something stand out. For example, if you use green background foliage and have red flowers as the foreground, the red will be extremely vibrant, visual, and appear to be closer to you.

Use of complementary schemes should be controlled with one of the colours being dominant and the others being used sparingly to create emphasis and highlight focal points.

Analogous schemes

These are colours right next to each other on the colour wheel such as red and orange or blue and green.

They usually match extremely well but don’t create much contrast. Like the monochromatic schemes, these colour combinations are good for creating a soothing feeling and a comfortable, calm atmosphere.

Analogous colour schemes are often found in nature. And naturally they work harmoniously together and are pleasing to the eye. It can be applied in the garden by using three colours to get the best results.

The first colour as the dominant colour; a second one next to it on the colour wheel as support; and a third colour or a neutral (black, white, or silver/grey) as an accent.

The writer is a landscape architect