Adding colour, pattern, texture & form to a garden.

Adding colour, pattern, texture & form to a garden.

Posted on 5 Jul, 2008 6 comments

After reading Andrews interesting and informative Blog on colour theory in the garden, we wanted to support his article by adding some more details and information on Colour, Pattern, Texture and Form in the garden.


The acid greens and yellows of the grasses and foliage contrast with the deep red of the Lobelia.

The deep purple grasses and Coleus have dark purple leaves edged with lime green- a fabulous colour contrast!.

The same rules that apply to music, dance, painting and all the performing arts also apply to colour pattern texture and form in the garden.You can select plants for colour and as Andrew states you can contrast or compliment colours.

We use the paint charts from D.I.Y stores to assist us when we are choosing a colour theme. We use colours from the same colour family or from opposite sides of the colour wheel to give contrasts. There are ‘cold’ colours and ‘warm’ colours.
Research shows that ‘warm’ colours (on the red side of the spectrum) stimulate the brain and can excite or arouse.
Cold colours (on the blue side of the spectrum) tend to calm and relax.

So it is easy to ‘paint with plants’ in exactly the same way as an artist uses paint to create a work of art.

We like to push the boundaries to select plants for colour, texture and form (Height and width), and we also add plants for pattern as well. There is a theory that if there is too much colour our eyes become ‘saturated’ and they cannot come to terms with too many vibrant colours.The same ‘rules’ apply to choosing fabrics and furnishings for our homes.
If there are too many colours or textures they clash or they are too busy..
If we want a room to be a place for relaxation we often choose ‘calm’ shades and colours, but if a room is painted in vibrant colours it becomes an exciting and stimulating environment.Colour plays a very important part in our lives, and it can certainly affect our moods.

In our garden we tend to choose several shades of one colour and repeat them, but how to use colour in a garden or elsewhere is very much a matter of personal choice.

In the show gardens at the flower shows you will notice that the designers often restrict and also repeat the colours they use. This creates a sense of harmony in the design.Sometimes spikes of vibrant colours are used to give a real contrast, and this can be really exciting and unusual.


The tree fern adds structure and height to the Hostas. It is also ideally suited to this shady ‘woodland’ environment.

The colours in our woodland garden are mainly restricted to shades of green.This is intended to provide a sense of harmony and coordination. This area is also very quiet and peaceful as well as being very shady.If we used too many colours in this area they would ‘shout’ or even ‘scream’ at you, and the overall effect of tranquillity would be lost.

In a garden you also need height and pattern as well, but again too much and you loose the impact.Your eyes follow the heights and structures of the plants so you are taken on a journey of exploration.

In music and dance and painting you will hear or see ‘rhythms’ and ‘movement’. The same applies to using plants in the garden.Your eye needs to be taken on a journey of exploration by looking up and down and from side to side.

A piece of music without contrasting rhythms and movement would be boring to listen to and so would a painting- it would lack visual stimulation,so the same applies to placing plants in the garden.

You can ‘orchestrate’ plants to compose rhythm and movement in your garden.
We call this process ‘gardening’, but it is a very creative process and is so rewarding. Often we just engage in the process without even appearing to think about it!

We also need the elements of height and structure .This is why we tend to place tall plants behind shorter plants and this leads our eyes upwards.

The late Christoper Lloyd was an ‘artist’ in the sense that he broke with a lot of traditions and often used exotic plants and exciting colour combinations. He pushed at the boundaries in order to try new ideas. Historically some of the best gardeners have been artists as well.They were creative people with lots of flair, and were prepared to take risks.

Another point to bear in mind is that gardens need ‘Vistas’


Your eye is drawn to the stone bust and it is framed by the Pergola. This creates a ‘Vista’ to take your eyes on a jouney and this also gives the illusion of distance.

Vistas are focal points that lead you to an eye – catching area or architectural feature.They can also make a site appear to look larger than it really is, so illusions can be created for a magical effect in the garden.
Mirrors can also be used in a garden setting to reflect light as well as making a small space seem larger.



The temple folly in our garden links the Italianate theme throughout parts of the garden.A mirror in the doorway gives the illusion of depth and space, as well as reflecting more light into this shady area.
It is a very symmetrical layout that is more formal than other parts of the garden.This is another focal point or ‘vista’ in our garden.

The spiral box act as a ‘frame’ to the folly, and they serve the same purpose as a frame on a painting or picture.
This also helps to create a different atmosphere to other parts of the garden.



In this classical urn there is a lot of ‘movement’ in the way the summer bedding plants have been arranged.The patio palm gives some height and movement as well as contrast of colour to the display.The colours have been restricted to purple, blue and mauve.Some of the plants look as if they are exploding out of the urn like fireworks and some of them are gently trailing over the edge and rim.
Dont be afraid to use colour in the garden. Take a lead from some of natures colour combinations. Often they have what we call the Wow factor!

Grenville & Alan. Bristol.U.K
July 2008.

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