A good variety of perennials can be the
anchor of a flower bed and taking full advantage of the
brightest of these plants can really bring a bed to life. Perennial
beds are often planted with a color scheme in mind. When planting a
perennial bed you want to know what colors look best
together. One of the best ways to test this out is by looking at a color
wheel.
When wanting to have a color theme, stick with colors that are adjacent
on the
wheel. If you want to mix it up, know that colors opposite each other
usually work well together. Obviously perennial
plants come in a much wider range of colors than what is shown on a
color wheel, but it will help you to have an idea.
Also take into account that perennials
plants that have the same basic color of bloom may have different hues
and some may be more bold than others. Therefore, it is possible to
make a garden with only yellow blooms very appealing. Just mix bold
yellows with pale yellows and dark yellows with yellows that are almost
white. This gives the feeling of visual variety while in truth only
one color of flower has been utilized.
As an example consider these two perennials,
the Coreopsis and the Coneflower, being planted together. Their colors
are found on opposite sides of the wheel. The Coreopsis has delicate
pale yellow flowers while the Coneflower offers large vibrant purple
blooms. In a perennial bed these two plants would add wonderful color
and compliment each other well.