In a garden all five senses should be
teased. The sensory use of color catches the eye
to make us stop and look .
Color plays in the light and shadows of the garden.
It creates dimension and substance, much like adding
lights and darks to a painting.
A gardener behaves much like an artist
with the earth and sky as canvas.
There are many ways that color comes into the garden…
Natural Light
Sun can be brash and wash out the garden. Look at areas with concrete or light
colored hardscape and drape colored foliage around the edges. Strong colors and
bold shaped foliage will help grab the eye in the glare of sunlight.
Look for Echinacea ‘Magnus’, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Burgundy barberry ‘Royal Cloak’
Firefly’ Calluna, Purple Smokebush, Lonicera ‘Lemon Beauty’, Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’, New Zealand Flax, ‘Diablo’ Ninebark.
In dark corners in the shade, look for light to come from variegated & colorful 
leaves. Aucuba ‘Mr. Goldstrike’ Acorus ‘Ogon’. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost, variegated Solomon’s Seal, ‘London’s Pride’ saxifrage, Hydrangea ‘Lemon Frost’, Hosta, Japanese Forest Grass ‘Aurea’
Pottery
The color that doesn’t need deadheading and doesn’t fade away. Don’t just hug patios and deck, place pottery in planting beds and unexpected corners, view points or the end of pathways. Use pottery like a piece of art...planted or not.
Painted structures
Copy nature’s rich colors to paint hardscape. Literally take the leaf to the paint store to color match if needed. The nice kid at the local Ace hardware will understand, (his mom is the one of the most passionate gardeners I know). Think beyond the green and brown of earth and use the exotic rich colors that surround us to paint structures and garden art. The added hues will allow seasons to heighten when something is out of bloom.
Foliage
Foliage can burst out of a border or create a mood. It is the plant element that lasts longer than most flowers. Variety choices are endless: Coleus, Heuchera, ‘Sundance’ Choysia, Cannas, New Zealand flax ‘Maori Sunrise’,’ Red Heart and ‘Yellow Wave’, ‘Firecracker’ Fuchsia magellanica, Hostas, Vancouver Centennial and tricolor fancy leaf geranium, Euonymus ‘Blondy’, ‘Black lace’ and ‘Sutherland’ gold elderberry, Black Mondo grass...the list goes on.
Changing colors
Foliage that changes with the season or new growth. Luminous: Ginkgo trees, Coral bark maples, Flaming: Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), ‘Mariesii’ Doublefile Viburnum, ‘October Sunset’ maple, Sweetgum and Sourwood trees, Fothergilla, New Growth: Photinia, Pieris ‘Forest Flame’, Nandina.
Veggies
Sometimes it’s just the unexpected that we love about a garden…Royal Burgundy Beans, Bright Lights Swiss chard, Purple carrots, blue potatoes, ‘Chocolate’ Bell pepper, Lemon cucumbers, Lumina pumpkins (white outer, orange inside) Cauliflower ‘Graffiti’, ‘Red Sails’ lettuce, ‘Red Acre’ cabbage.
Flowers
This is the classic place that we think of ways to add color to the garden, but the failings tend to be not enough. Think impact…Repeated waves of one color makes bold statements. Don’t fail this one by skimping on plants. Imagine going to the tulip festival in the Skagit Valley. One little daffodil doesn’t take your breath away, but huge rows of color do. In the garden, plant bulbs in mass; if you aren’t willing to plant 100 bulbs in a spot, it isn’t the same show. When using perennials think of the lavender haze in July that hangs over the fields in Sequim. In the garden it is large puddles of color that catch the eye...
