Tips Of Growing Healthy Flowers

Harmonies

To build up a harmonious planting combination, begin by choosing a key color on which to base the scheme. Decide on whether you want a hot, vibrant color such as red, orange or yellow, or a cool, calming one like blue or green. Then, choose from the adjacent colors on the color wheel. Weave through greens and neutrals to make up a beautifully balanced scheme. The following examples are based around the three principal or primary colors, though there can be endless variations on color harmonies. Subtle and restful, blue works well in many combinations and there is a plentiful range of plants to choose from. As buffer colors, choose silver-green and blue-green foliage plants which pick out the tones in the flowers, as well as plenty of plain green leaves.

• Blue, mauve and purple make a delightful mix of cool summer color. Try the drumstick heads of the decorative onion Allium 'Purple Sensation' with Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' and the perennial wallflower Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'.

•Shades of blue along with silver and grey foliage create a very soft and laid-back planting. Try a blue-green hosta such as 'Halcyon' with the ornamental grass Elymus arenarius and blue primulas or the deep azure Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue'.

•Pink and blue in soft shades is a classic combination. Try catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) with Lavatera x clementii 'Blushing Bride'

•Strong pinks and blues look much warmer and eye-catching. Try Anchusa 'Loddon Royalist' with a deep pink rose such as 'Gertrude Jekyll'.

Harmonies with yellow

The sunny associations of yellow make it a popular choice for color schemes. As a buffer, weave through plenty of light to mid- green foliage but avoid dark evergreens that would give a rather sombre touch.

•Pale yellow makes a glowing harmony with soft peach and apricot. Try Anthemis tin ctoria 'E.C. Buxton' with one of the many peach- coloured roses, such as 'Sweet Dream'.

•Bright yellow with orange and lime-green combine in a lively and upbeat harmony. Try yellow argyranthemums (marguerites) with the lime-tasselled Amaranthus caudatus and orange gazanias.

•Combine yellow flowers with golden or green-and-gold leaves for a warm and sunny planting. Try Coreopsis grandiflora 'Calypso' with the shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty'.

Harmonies with red

Hot and lively harmonies create high drama in the garden. Green foliage plays an immensely important role in a hot harmony by acting as a buffer among so many brightly colored flowers, while yellow-green foliage introduces a lighter note.

•Dark reds marry well with purple or maroon, although it is best to restrict this powerful combination to a small scale to avoid too sombre a look. Try the chocolate plant, Cosmos'atrosanguineus, with Sedum 'Purple Emperor'.

•Dusky purple leaves look wonderful with red if used in moderation, although gloomy in excess amounts. Try Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' as a backdrop for red dahlias.

•Clear red and bright orange positively sing with warmth and life. Try partnering orange lilies with bright red Crocosmia 'Lucifer'.