Harmonious Hues

 

This time of year, there’s not a bloomin’ lot going on in my garden. There aren’t many flowers in bloom. But as any good gardener will know, that doesn’t mean an absence of colour in the garden. It’s simply colour of the foliage kind.

As I wandered about my tiny courtyard  this morning taking photos, it became apparent how much colour there is, and not just variations on the shade of green.

I find foliage colour easier to achieve year round in the subtropics than in gardens I’ve had in temperate climes where the shades of green are more subdued and foliage is seasonal. Autumn is the best time for colourful foliage further south.

Here in the Northern Rivers region there are many choices of coloured foliage, both of the exotic kind and native cultivars. They range from striking variegated gingers, native grevilleas, muted begonias and multi-coloured coleus to colourful dracenas, bromeliads and succulents.

 

Silver plants of any kind have always held a special attraction for me. I think having them strategically placed in a garden ties other shades together beautifully, providing the necessary contrast to better display the attributes of neighbouring foliage.

The thing is, like the best societies – the ones we all want to live in – the most beautiful gardens are the balanced ones, where plants of different hues complement each other and contribute to a more harmonious effect overall because of it.  A ‘garden gestalt’ if you will.

 

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.

Marc Chagall

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