Annuals and perennials are the gardener’s palette with which to paint the landscape in spring, summer and fall. In garden borders or in massed plantings, annuals and perennials can provide anything from a riot of brilliant color to a subdued range of delicate hues. Different types of flowers may be blended for an interplay of color as the seasons change. Or, a single type may be used for consistent, season-long color. Whether you plant ten flowers or a hundred, you will enjoy the most effective flower display if you use these basic tips.
-Plan your garden carefully to achieve harmonious color blends. Complementary colors (violet and yellow, blue and orange, red and green) tend to intensify each other. Neutral or subdued hues planted between brilliant colors will prevent clashes and make the brighter colors more prominent.
-Keep in mind that perennials will remain in place for years, while annuals must be replaced every year. This allows you to experiment every year with different color schemes and planting designs. Use the perennials as the framework around which to plan the annuals. But be sure to blend the colors and blooming times carefully.
Paint Your Landscape With Color
-Frame a small or narrow lawn with a colorful annual or perennial border. Or, use a border as the edging for one side of a wide expanse of lawn. This will define the open lawn and give the garden a sense of enclosure. The foreground of green turf also intensifies the interplay of color in the garden border.
-Try planting annuals and perennials in containers for portable seasonal color.
-Bring intensity of color and pattern into a small space with annuals and perennials. The color or annuals and perennials can be warm or cool, depending upon the hue. Vibrant reds and yellows create an exciting, bold sweep of color or a dramatic accent. White, blues and violets tend to be cooler.
-A color scheme that combines warm and cool colors or intense hues and paler tints will create visual movement in the garden.
-Give annuals and perennials a neutral background, such as a fence, wall, hedge, or screen planting. An appropriate background enhances the effect and allows you to create your own personal design.
-In small gardens, every square inch of planting area is important. When you place annuals or perennials into such a setting, they almost always become an accent. Thus, annuals and perennials can bring a bright seasonal look to the garden while requiring a very limited amount of space. Colorful annuals and perennials may also enhance the lines of small formal gardens or provide spots of color to accentuate a free form curve in an informal garden.
-Planting annuals and perennials properly is an important factor in growing them successfully. Prepare planting beds by digging the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Work in plenty of peat moss, leaf mold, or compost to ensure good drainage. Space plants properly, as crowded plants grow less vigorously. If you sow seed directly in the beds, thin seedlings to give them adequate spacing.
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