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art in the garden-colour

A garden can make us feel thoughtful, inspired, nostalgic, whimsical, and like a
painting a large part of this comes through its design and colour. All light and
therefore all colour is energy. It is also information, it can help a bee to find a
flower, or it can symbolize abstract concepts like happiness or patriotic ones of a
country’s flag. Colour can come from flowers, foliage, bark, paving, pottery,
furniture, walls, fences, sculptures and lighting. As the sun moves across the sky
from east to west, so the shadows in the garden lighten or darken, and at times the
garden can be ablaze with sunlight.

Our sun in Botswana is particularly intense, it doesn’t bathe our yards in Mediterranean
warm tones, but dials up the volume of intensity to a searing white. To soften
this brilliance, semi-shade is particularly imporatant as it allows the colours in our
gardens to come alive. Dark colours, like blue, purple and pink, tend to create a
calming and serene atmosphere and will appear cool in even the worst heat. White,
black, grey, silver, green and shades of brown are considered neutral colours, and
can be used with any other colour without changing the effect that you are trying to
achieve. While white funtions as a neutral in the garden, it also serves another
purpose as it glows when you view the garden early in the morning, during the
evening and at night. With busy lives, many of us view our gardens less during the
day and more often during twilight hours. If you will be using your garden often
after dark be sure to include a healthy dose of white flowers and silver foliage, plus
interesting lighting which will enhance the atmospheric beauty of your garden.

Bright colours draw attention and make spaces seem smaller but can also highlight
areas you might want the eye to focus on, like an artwork. They also add a festive
feeling and are good near places of entertainment.

The easiest colour plan to pull off is combining shades of a single colour together
to create a garden bed. An artist’s colour wheel is also very helpful in setting up
complimentary colours in the garden, purples and yellows look lovely together, but
sometimes to be revolutionary you need to break the rules. So don’t confine your
imagination, but let what you like guide you, and the result will be soothing, exciting
or crazy. Text & photos by S C

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