Violet, Purple, and Magenta

Plate 18a. A Group of Lavender-Blue Flowers

1. Syringa Ambassadeur	5. Iris germanica Sunny Ruffles
2. Paeonia Festiva maxima	6. Polemonium reptans
3. Syringa Clarkes Giant	7. Viola cornuta Catherine Sharp
4. Iris germanica Buechleys Giant

These hues lie between blue and red and are most difficult to use effectively. Long considered symbols of loyalty, they bring dignity to the garden. Those nearer blue than red can be used with other blues and to many they will appear blue. Those hues nearer red should be grouped together or with their own tints and shades. True violet and true purple are often difficult to use in the mixed border. They are best alone, with plenty of yellow or leaf-green foliage rather than with dark or blue-green foliage. They can be contrasted with white or yellow of equal chroma. (Plate 18a.)

Much-maligned magenta belongs in this color group. But do not let prejudice or faulty nomenclature lead you astray. Magenta, its tints and shades, have wide latitude. Almost any blue-red flower is dubbed by some magenta and then "off with its head." The true hue rarely appears in the flower world and is not half bad when correctly used. Often blue-reds are sold as true rose or rose-pink and the disappointment makes us dislike the color, regardless of its real beauty.

Plate 18b. A Composition with Lavender-Blue as Dominant Color

1. Paeonia suffruticosa Reine de Violette	7. Hemerocallis Hyperion
2. Delphinium King Arthur Series	8. Ageratum Blue Perfection
3. Iris germanica Queen Catherine	9. Aster Pacific Amaranth
4. Campanula persicifolia grandiflora	10. Oenothera fruticosa youngi
5. Phlox Widar	11. Buddleia Purple Prince
6. Phlox Starlight

Blue-reds should be grouped with their own tints and shades, or be combined with creamy white, pale rose, soft yellow, and an abundance of green foliage. They are good in semi-shade where the red retreats and the blue comes forward.

The lavenders are tints of blue-violet bearing the same relationship to this color as pink to red. They are important to many color schemes and belong in this group. The lavenders, especially those called lilac, are stronger when used with white, and generally combine well with palest yellow and pale rose-pink. (Plate 18b.)

Contents

• Color Accent - Color accent groups along a border produce movement, rhythm, and sequence. They carry the eye along to the climactic point.
• Color Placement - Color, for any given season, should never be concentrated in any one bed or border to the exclusion of others.
• Color Schemes - Since we discourage the use of restrictive and complex color schemes, we will offer other reasonable solutions. The two methods that follow have been found in actual practice to produce satisfactory gardens.
• Blue - Analogous harmonies based on blue are easy to arrange because dark and light blues provide sufficient contrast. Blue, contrasted with yellow or orange of the same chroma, is strong and bold, but such combinations must be used sparingly.
• Violet, Purple, and Magenta - These hues lie between blue and red and are most difficult to use effectively. Long considered symbols of loyalty, they bring dignity to the garden.
• Red, and Its Place - Red, and the closely associated hues of crimson, scarlet, and red-orange can be important in a garden composition. Too often they are omitted altogether, but they are a means of securing greater distinction and a desirable warmth.
• Pink, a Tint of Red - Here is a color that is not a primary, as is sometimes supposed, but a tint of red that varies according to the amount of white it contains. There are deep strong pinks (rose), or pale weak ones.
• Orange, Warm and Luminous - Orange imparts even more brilliance and warmth to borders than red and closely related scarlet. Orange is one of the vital hues.
• Yellow for Light and Life - Yellow and white are always pleasing together and there is a fresh simplicity in their use. Another strong contrast may be had from strong yellow with strong blue, or even with difficult purple.
• White, the Fifth Primary - You might think white would be the simplest of colors to use in the garden, yet this is not the case. White, improperly placed, or in poor proportion causes unsatisfactory compositions.
• Green, the Sixth Primary - The urge for riots of color in all parts of the garden at all times makes us overlook green. Such neglect not only impairs the true effectiveness of color compositions, but also robs the garden of more permanent beauty.
• Gray and Silvery Foliage - Gray-foliaged plants are more effective with light-tinted flowers, soft lavenders, mauve, pale yellow, buff, and soft pinks. But they are also good with strong colors.
• Color in the Garden - Color should be used to provide accent and emphasis, balance, repetition and rhythm, sequence, and climax. These are more helpful in the development of a pleasing garden than all the subtle, close, color harmonies that ever were attempted.

See Also

• Next Page: Red, and Its Place
• Return from Violet, Purple, and Magenta to: Landscape-Guide Home

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