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Complimentary
Complimentary colors are those directly across from each other on the wheel.
The most common successful complimentary combinations you'll see in gardens are yellows and purples, Red and
Green, Blue and Orange. They're called "complementary" because, when used together, they become very vibrant and
have strong contrast with each other.
Complementary colors are useful when you want to make something stand out. For example, if you use a green
background foliage and have red flowers as the foreground, the red will be extremely vibrant, visual, and appear to to
be closer to you.
Colors at 90 degrees or at an "L" from the starting color also have a lot of contrast and so are also complimentary. For
example, yellow - green, yellow - red, purple - green, purple - red.
Analogous Colors
analogous color wheel
Red and Orange, Blue and Green, etc. These are colors right next to each other on the color wheel. They usually match
extremely well but don't create much contrast. Color combinations like these are good for very soothing feeling designs
and where you want to create a comfortable calm atmosphere.
Analogous color schemes are often found in nature. And naturally they work harmoniously together and are pleasing to
the eye. In garden planting ideas, this type of scheme often uses 3 colors to get good effect. Choose one color as the
dominate display, a second one next to it on the color wheel as support, and a third color or a neutral (black, white, or
silver/gray) as an accent.
Triadic Schemes
triadic color wheel image
The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. These type of combinations tend to
be very vibrant.
To use a triadic planting scheme successfully, the colors should be carefully balanced. One main color should be chosen
as dominate and use the other two colors as accents.
Split-Complementary color scheme
split complimentary
The split-complementary color scheme is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the chosen
primary color, it uses the the two colors right next to its complement.
This color scheme has the same strong visual contrast as the complementary color scheme but is spread out more and
appears softer. This is one of the easiest methods to use successfully and without much thought.
Double Complementary Color Scheme (Tetradic)
This scheme has a very wide range as it uses two sets of complimentary colors. To create a successful combination with
this type of layout, you would need to choose one color as a dominant and then accent with the other three.
Monochromatic Colors
Monochromatic uses variations of a single color. A good example of this is a paint swatch card that has several different
values of one color. This type of scheme is very simple and pleasing. You'll find this especially true within the green to
blue range of the color wheel.
Complimentary colors are those directly across from each other on the wheel.
The most common successful complimentary combinations you'll see in gardens are yellows and purples, Red and
Green, Blue and Orange. They're called "complementary" because, when used together, they become very vibrant and
have strong contrast with each other.
Complementary colors are useful when you want to make something stand out. For example, if you use a green
background foliage and have red flowers as the foreground, the red will be extremely vibrant, visual, and appear to to
be closer to you.
Colors at 90 degrees or at an "L" from the starting color also have a lot of contrast and so are also complimentary. For
example, yellow - green, yellow - red, purple - green, purple - red.
Analogous Colors
analogous color wheel
Red and Orange, Blue and Green, etc. These are colors right next to each other on the color wheel. They usually match
extremely well but don't create much contrast. Color combinations like these are good for very soothing feeling designs
and where you want to create a comfortable calm atmosphere.
Analogous color schemes are often found in nature. And naturally they work harmoniously together and are pleasing to
the eye. In garden planting ideas, this type of scheme often uses 3 colors to get good effect. Choose one color as the
dominate display, a second one next to it on the color wheel as support, and a third color or a neutral (black, white, or
silver/gray) as an accent.
Triadic Schemes
triadic color wheel image
The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. These type of combinations tend to
be very vibrant.
To use a triadic planting scheme successfully, the colors should be carefully balanced. One main color should be chosen
as dominate and use the other two colors as accents.
Split-Complementary color scheme
split complimentary
The split-complementary color scheme is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the chosen
primary color, it uses the the two colors right next to its complement.
This color scheme has the same strong visual contrast as the complementary color scheme but is spread out more and
appears softer. This is one of the easiest methods to use successfully and without much thought.
Double Complementary Color Scheme (Tetradic)
This scheme has a very wide range as it uses two sets of complimentary colors. To create a successful combination with
this type of layout, you would need to choose one color as a dominant and then accent with the other three.
Monochromatic Colors
Monochromatic uses variations of a single color. A good example of this is a paint swatch card that has several different
values of one color. This type of scheme is very simple and pleasing. You'll find this especially true within the green to
blue range of the color wheel.
