When done right Red heats up like no other color in the garden. This fiery color, has the ability to move your eye towards it, and in a small garden setting this is especially powerful.
HOW DOES THE COLOR RED AFFECTS YOU PHYSICALLY?
1. It Increases your enthusiasm.
2. Stimulates energy and can increase your blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate.
3. Encourages action and confidence.
4. Provides you with a sense of protection from fears and anxiety. ( Source – Sensational Color)
Meanwhile in the garden…
The color red translates into an opportune way to create focal points, to make a large garden space feel more cozy; while in a small garden, these accents can attract your eye to focus on an area which says “look at me!”
You can do this with plants too…
Red Flowers, Leaves and Berries are Charged and Punctuate!
Choose plants with red foliage, flowers or red berries. Or like the photo below, ones with leaves that turn shades of red in the fall – like Virginia creeper vine.
I recommend the foliage option for a stable base you can rely upon. Lumping plants into categories like flower color is good when you’re deciding on flower color choices, or whatever color for that matter; but don’t forget the often, long-lasting visual power foliage creates, and the amazing textural effects it can play in your outdoor space!
Parthenocissus quinquefolia – Virginia creeper turning red in autumn.
Red berries of Pyracantha (firethorn) showcase and complement this home with painted red arbor and trim.
Red flowering Pelargoniums behind bistro table.
Succulent planting with red foliar accents.
Red Planters and Garden Decor for Pop
The decorative garden elements in the photos below really illustrate how using red sparingly creates a strong accent. I like the comment from Derek Jarman, and think that it’s fitting: Painters use red like spice.
The power of Red, brings your eye up, down, to the right, to the left.
In the following photos notice where your eye goes, and where the red accent is…
JUST 1 red garden heart paver in a sea of 12!
Red metal garden chairs near corten steel planters.
Where did your attention go? Are you thinking of using red furniture or decor in your garden? If you are, gain further ideas and inspiration from this quote below:
“Of all the hues, reds have the most potency. If there is one electric blue, a dozen reds are so charged. Use them to punctuate white, burn into bronzes, or dynamite black.” — Jack Lenor Larsen
Happy Gardening!
ps: If you enjoyed this post, be sure to hit the like button at the top of this page and share. (Thanks!) Also, for more color in the garden, take a look at the posts below. 🙂
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Case Study: Drawn to Blue Flowers in the Garden but Seeing Much More than Blue!
Did you Say Orange in the Garden?