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| Eww. (Viola definitely not with Lathyrus, sweet pea.) |
I have no qualms admitting that I have strong opinions on color. While I dislike orange, I can still appreciate it when it's used well (just not in my garden). Recently, Frances at
Fairegarden, got me thinking about color combinations. It's not so much the hue that is the issue, as it is the intensity and purity of the colors to be combined. I might have a sensitive stomach, but strong yellows with washy, grayed purples or blues, like cool pinks with orange, are a nausea-inducing sight to my eyes. The lighter hue should, in my opinion, be lighter in intensity than the darker hue to which it is paired.
I cut pansy and viola blooms in three different shades of yellow and compared them with the mauve bloom of
Clematis 'Betty Corning'. They are arranged from the subtle to the ill-suited.
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| I prefer this palest lemony yellow. |
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| Eh, a bit too Easterish for my taste. |
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| This is just painful. |
It's not that the yellow is bad, it's just that it's wrong with that mauve. The yellow is too dark for the light tint of purple.
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| the same yellow with a darker purple |
Now, isn't that better?
15 comments:
There is no denying that last shot is the perfect match, MMD. No arguments here, and thanks for the linkage, my dear.
Frances
I like the palest yellow best but I don't find the others painful, just not as good.
I'll admit I don't have a good eye for coloe, but I like the first combo the best, too. I also like Clematis 'Betty Corning' and want that, too.
After those nauseating dyed flower bouquets they sell in the stores anything with natural color looks pretty good to me. I have to admit I'm not fond of orange either, but if the butterflies like it , I can deal with it in the garden even right next to the red cardinal flowers and pink poppies. Cut flowers are another matter.
I just realized the other day what it is about the lavender colored crape myrtle tree blooms that make my stomach queasy...it's the shade of purple against the foliage of the tree...my husband said I was weird. My gardens are a colorphile's nightmare.
Ahhh, the last photo sings. I have found, as have you, that the color value of two colors must be the same for it to work well. Perfectly illustrated here.
Beauty................is in the eye of the
Getting those combinations can be somewhat challenging at times... but when it works, it sings!
I also enjoyed that last photo!
Yellows have their place in the garden. But if they're next to red, they scream McDonald's and then it's all over for me. Yellow is to you what pink/fuchsia/God-knows-what is to me. Those rhodos and azaleas in that Pepto-Bismol pink make me want to gag.
I'm a pastel person and am not too fond of orange either. But my garden seems to have a mind of its own, and I've gotten used to clashing colors. The purple and yellow pansies, though, are definitely just the right combination.
I don't really care about the color combination in the garden --my preference would be just for a riot of color. However, I agree that when I'm cutting flowers to put in a vase, it feels different, and there are good and bad combinations.
You led us down the path to perfection. Nothing seems wrong with the first pictures till you see the last. Wowsers!
What an excellent essay on colors and color combinations! You've described the details so well. Thanks.
I was totally inspired to think beyond the usual after visiting Great Dixter and other English gardens, and as you say, it's the color values that are important, not just the colors themselves.
Lisa
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