Colour all year round
“Autumn is upon us. Its palette is mellow, colours slide towards each other and differentiations become less clear”
How we use colour in our gardens is one of the primary considerations we gardeners have, both when we begin a new plot and as they grow and develop. For some of us, our colour choices remain the same whilst for others they may become modified, changing and developing as we learn more about our gardens and the plants we grow in them.
Colour can establish the whole mood of a garden, it can make us feel calm and tranquil or alive and excited. Sometimes we exercise very deliberate decisions; sometimes our choices are subconscious.
One factor, though, that controls our colour choices is the season. As I write, our gardens have slowed down, autumn is upon us and around us and we must submit to it. Its palette is mellow, colours slide towards each other; differentiations become less clear. Colour is warm and subtle. There may be vivid splashes of yellow and orange but they are set amongst russets, ochres and earthy muted colours. Even green has lost its urgency.
In the winter,
