| Season of bloom: A big mistake that many gardeners | | | | scarlet) within its family and combining these make |
| make is to buy only what they see blooming in the | | | | single-color theme gardens more interesting. |
| garden center in the spring. Their gardens end up | | | | Red, yellow and orange - called hot colors - jump out |
| looking lovely in spring and early summer, but lack | | | | in the landscape and can appear closer than they are. |
| color during the rest of the summer and fall. A | | | | Blue, green and purple - called cool colors - blend into |
| balanced flower garden has about one-third of its | | | | the garden and look farther away. Use these colors |
| plants in bloom at any given time. Divide your | | | | to achieve certain effects. Cool colors in a small |
| flowering season into thirds (or fourths, if you live in | | | | garden can make it appear larger, for example, while |
| a long-growth season climate) and choose plants that | | | | hot colors draw more attention to street-side |
| bloom in each part of the season. Visit garden | | | | plantings. White also stands out in the landscape, |
| centers in mid to late summer to fine attractive | | | | especially in dim light and is useful for planting with |
| plants that bloom in those seasons | | | | more colorful flowers to brighten or moderate the |
| Flower color and form: Gardeners usually make flower | | | | mix. |
| color their top priority when deciding which plants to | | | | Flower size and shape contribute to the plant's overall |
| purchase. Popular garden themes that revolve around | | | | appearance, too. Add variety and interest to your |
| color include single-color plantings, such as white | | | | garden by blending plants that produce masses of |
| gardens, soft pastels, bright crayon-box colors, or | | | | small flowers with those that bear larger or single |
| motifs to match the color of your house. Although | | | | blooms. |
| you really can't go wrong in mixing flower colors, | | | | Plant height and spread: Most gardens have a front, |
| some hues naturally go well together. | | | | back and middle. To arrange plants by height, put the |
| Color wheels, which you can find at your local art | | | | shortest ones in the front and tallest in the back, just |
| supply store, show the rainbow as a circle of colored | | | | like the lineup for a family photograph. Pay attention |
| slices. Color wheel opposites, such as red and green, | | | | to the mature width of your plants and give them |
| orange and blue, purple and yellow complement each | | | | the space they need. But watch out for aggressive |
| other. Colors that form triangles on the color wheel, | | | | plants that travel unbidden throughout your garden. |
| such as blue, green-yellow and red-purple, also make | | | | These usually creep rapidly above- or underground or |
| good combinations. A single hue (such as red) has | | | | spread by numerous seeds. |
| many lighter and darker colors (such as pink and | | | | |