Light rays produce the rainbow of colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Blends of these colors produce all of the primary, secondary, and tertiary hues we see.

Warm colors such as the reds, oranges, and yellows tend to be bright, light, and inviting and are often used at front or main entrances to a building to provide a welcoming atmosphere. They also tend to advance toward the viewer causing a space to seem smaller. Cool colors such as greens, grays, and blues tend to be restful and receding causing a calming atmosphere and a space to seem larger.

In landscape design, the major concern for the use of color occurs primarily in the leaf or foliage of a plant, but the flower, fruit or seed, and stem or bark colors are also important. Leaf colors are primarily in the green range produced by the existence of chlorophyll, with exceptions for the varigated leaf or plants with colors produced for special effects such as the Sunburst Locust or Newport Plum. Colors also change during the seasons depending on the intensity of light or shadow, the amount of chlorophyll or other pigments such as anthrocyanin for red, carotin for orange, and xanthophyll for yellow colors. The presence of the pigments in the leaves cause the light rays to be bent and reflected differently causing the leaves to change color.

Color accents can be provided with the use of plants with different hues of bud, fruit or berry, and stem or twig. When designing with color, it is usually best to determine a color scheme or theme using complimentary colors with an occasional variance for emphasis with contrasting colors. With the wide diversity of colors and the influences of seasonal change, a designer can have a limitless range of opportunities for the use of color in a landscape design.

Permanent plantings can be made up of evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, vines, and groundcovers, with accents provided with the use of spring and summer bulbs, annuals, biennials, and perennials. The basic garden or landscape colors are:

Green, the most basic of all - primarily exhibited in foliage greens from the light greens of new leaves to the deep dark greens of large deciduous trees such as the Sycamore, Oaks, or Maples and the evergreens trees such as the Pines, Spruces, and Firs.

White, the lightest of all - the use of white or very light green colors in leaves and flowers can lighten a extremely dark situation and can provide accent in an otherwise drab constant green landscape. White is also quickly seen with night lighting and can be used as a safety border or warning along drives and walks. There is a wide variety of white flowers form the Spring Snow Crabapple and Sereviceberries of spring, to the Spireas and white Lilacs of summer, the white mums of the falls, and the white flowers and berries of the Redtwig and Yellowtwig Dogwood and Snowberry in the winter.

Gray, the subtlest of colors - these include a wide range of hues from the near white to the bluish in color. Plants with gray colors are often used as accents or in the foreground for darker green plants. Examples of gray or bluish gray leaves are the Russian Olive, Buffaloberry, and Lamb’s Ears. Gray plants usually need sunny locations and good drainage, if not dry soils.

Yellow, reminds us of sunshine - a warm and joyous color in the landscape. Yellows mix well with almost any other color. It is found in very pale colors to very dark and it blends well with most hardscape elements. The earliest spring yellow colors are usually found in crocus, daffodils, and tulips, followed with the forsythia, iris and daylilies.

Blue, is a cool and versatile color - often used as a supporting color theme rather than the dominant one. It also mixes well with other colors providing a harmonizing effect. Blue occurs in most all of the categories and sizes of landscape plants, including Bluemist Spirea, Myrtle, Morning Glories, and English Primroses.

Pink, the fresh, charming, and cheerful color - probably the color that comes to mind when we think of flowers in the landscape. It also combines with yellows, grays, whites, and blues. Pinks have a frilly or hazy effect. In Colorado, we associate pink with the many varieties of pink flowering crabapples, but it can be found in hyacinths, tulips, irises, daylilies, and mums.

Red, the brilliant and energetic color - a warm and lively color, often used for accent and the appearance of warmth. Reds occur form the oranges to the purples. ‘Texas Scarlet’ Flowering Quince are some of the earliest flowering shrubs with red flowers. Usually reds are associated with tulips in the spring, penstemons in the summer, and mums in the fall.

When selecting plant colors, it is advisable to know and consider the colors of hardscape elements such as the paving surfaces whether brick, flagstone, concrete, or wood; and the fences or screens for background. Natural colors for hardscape elements are nearly always superior and easier to blend with plant colors.

Although flowers on trees and shrubs are generally short-lived and often last from one to three weeks, their impact on landscape can be very dramatic. Fruits, however, often lack the spectacular effect except in special instances such as with some of the more persistent crabapples, hawthorns, hollies, and pyracanthas.

Because of the wide variety of colors and the effect of light and shadow and the seasons of the year, the palette should be chosen very carefully by a landscape designer. However, do not be afraid to experiment, since the colors often do not last long and you can make a change with the next season or the next year by changing the types of plants used for color and accent.

Ideas for Garden Color, Sunset Books, Lane magazine and Book Co., Revised 1972

Landscape Design, A Practical Approach, Leroy Hannebaum, Prentice Hall, 2^nd Edition, 1990

Plants in the Landscape, Philip L. Carpenter & Theodore D. Walker, W. H. Freeman & Co., 2^nd Edition, 1990.