The aesthetics of colour schemes

By Hosea Omole

There is more to colour than meets the eye. Research has shown that colour affects our moods as well as motivation and activity levels. Yet many of us only consider the aesthetic value of colour before applying them to our homes and offices.

We are seldom aware of their immense psychological and emotional implications. In other words, contrary to popular belief, the difference between a red room and a white one is not just in the colours; the behaviour of users and level of comfort in the two rooms will be quite different.

Hence colour is one of the most important elements in environmental design and more specifically in landscape design. It can literally make or break your garden designs. Moreover, landscape colour is not limited to flower colour. Other colourful components such as leaves, fruits, stems and concrete elements within the garden space can be carefully controlled to achieve a desired colour scheme.

Monochromatic Schemes

The external colour of your house is especially a major factor to consider when selecting a colour scheme for your garden. Here are some of the most common landscape colour schemes and how they affect the look and feel of your home.

Monochromatic colour schemes involve using tints and shades of one pure colour. Tints are lighter versions of the pure colour while shades are darker versions of the same. These tints and shades are organised to create desired patterns and effects in the garden. A successful monochromatic colour scheme is sophisticated and elegant. It is especially effective in small gardens where combining many colours would appear busy and crowded.

For larger spaces, a monochromatic colour scheme tends to be monotonous and boring. It is, therefore, recommended for use in more intimate spaces to create a serene and relaxing environment. This is especially true for the green to blue ranges.

Complementary schemes

This involves using colours that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel: Orange against blue, red against green or yellow next to violet. These contrasting combinations are vibrant, bold and highly recommended for colour enthusiasts.

Complementary schemes are particularly useful when you want to make something stand out. For example, if you use green background foliage and have red flowers as the foreground, the red will be extremely vibrant, visual and appear to be closer to you.

Use of complementary schemes should be carefully controlled with one of the colours being dominant and the others being used sparingly to create emphasis and highlight focal points.

Analogous schemes

These are colours right next to each other on the colour wheel such as red and orange or blue and green. They usually match extremely well but don’t create much contrast. Like the monochromatic schemes, these colour combinations are good for creating a soothing feeling and a comfortable, calm atmosphere.

Analogous colour schemes are often found in nature. And naturally they work harmoniously together and are pleasing to the eye. It can be applied in the garden by using three colours to get the best results. The first colour as the dominant colour; a second one next to it on the colour wheel as support and a third colour or a neutral (black, white, or silver/grey) as an accent.

Triadic schemes

As the name suggests, triadic colour scheme uses three colours equally spaced around the colour wheel such as yellow, cyan and magenta. Like the complementary schemes, these types of combinations tend to be very vibrant.

To use a triadic scheme successfully, the colours should be carefully balanced. One main colour should be chosen as dominant and the other two used as accents. A professional’s eye is especially important when working with such a complex colour scheme.

Applied in a garden, triadic schemes are bold and go perfectly with clean and modern designs. It is also noteworthy that the options here are so wide hence a lot of discretion is left to the user to control how the three components colours will relate and achieve the desired results.

The author is a Landscape Architect