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Summer Color Combos
Among
the more extroverted exotics to watch this year are a host of summer bulbs,
including kooky red-and-yellow gloriosa lilies, fragrant Polianthes tuberose
(tuberose), hot pink or red-and-green Dichelostemma (firecracker flowers),
orange or red Crocosmia (montbrecia or sword lily), vividly multi-colored
Sparaxis (harlequin flowers), scarlet Sprekelia (Aztec lily), and
triangular-flowered Tigridia (Mexican shell flowers).
Bold Colors Cast Against Type
Energetic color combinations (such as red/yellow or red/purple) have long been
used to add zing to a garden setting. But intense colors can also play against
type to impart a calming effect when used in a technique called “color echoing.”
Here, the idea is to repeat similar (but not identical) intense colors in the
same setting. The result can be unexpectedly subtle and sophisticated.
For example, consider a small patio planted with baskets of orange Asiatic lilies, red and yellow dahlias, red gladioli and orange crocosmia. This should absolutely shriek with clashing colors. But instead the effect is cohesive and bright, but calming. The hot colors “echo” one another so they sooth but don’t overwhelm.
In the same vein, you might plant a nook with purplish-sedum and red and purple gladioli. It might sound garish, but in reality it’s not. The echo of colors and the contrasting textures of the plants combine to create an effect of shining jewel-tones in a simple setting.
Even without echoing, discordant colors can be used to inverse effect. A potentially oddball mix such as magenta-and-lime coleus with hot pink hydrangeas can be made to work if you skew the color dynamic by introducing a sprawl of huge white trumpet-shaped lilies.
In the end, it's all about fun. Choose what you like - you'll be
happy!
