A Colorful Garden Project
Purple As The Focal Point

A colorful garden using purple as the focal point. Accent the rest of the garden using greens and yellows.

I did this series a little different from my designs. I included pictures of trees, shrubs, and flowers and didn't draw the plants for you. I made the shapes and gave you some suggestions on where to put the plants.

Now back to outside designing and decorating. Take your favorite colors a step further and bring those favorite shades out in a garden or create a central theme and use them throughout your entire landscape area.

You can use all evergreens or do a combination adding some deciduous trees and shrubs. Do mass plantings of flowers around the trees and shrubs. Consider doing one large garden and have purple as the main focal color. Surround this area with two or four smaller gardens. Use yellows in some of them to as the complimentary color.

Let's get into a little more detail of how to go about plan the garden or gardens. I am going to use an example of doing a large rectangle bed in an open area. This will be the main bed.

Depending on your what size area you have, make this bed as big as you can. Your focal point will be your show case. Add four smaller beds around the rectangle.

Think about doing four circle beds. Another option is do create two kidney shaped beds on either side of the main bed area.

If you only want one bed decide the shape and size. What colorful trees, shrubs or flowers should you plant in the main garden? This is where you want to make a statement about purple.

Planters and containers can also be used in this style landscape. I like to incorporate a few of them throughout the beds. Check out the planters and containers in your Outside In Garden Store. A wide variety of plants, seeds, bulbs and more.

• Start by deciding on what trees you would like to plant. I like the idea of some of your base trees being evergreen. Stagger two False Cypress with three Emerald Green Arborvitaes behind the rectangle or main bed. Add a Weeping Japanese or an upright Maple in the center of the bed. This is your show case for the spring through fall months.
  
  Make sure when you are picking out your trees that you incorporate some evergreens around a deciduous tree. Your garden project - how to plant and place colorful shrubs and flowers gives you some tips on the proper way to place and plant trees.



The Arborvitaes and the Lemon Thread adds a nice back drop of deep green and variegated yellow. There is some pink tones in the flowers of the Loropetalum and Japanese Maple.
• The back of the bed plant a Lemon Thread Cypress on either side.
• Put two Loropetalum or Chinese Pizazz on either side of the Japanese Maple.
• The dwarf Ruby Chinese Pizazz can go in the front, one on the left side and one on the right side.
• Three Mop Cypress will finish off this bed by placing them in the center front and doing a triangle with them.

This main bed is full of evergreens except for the Japanese Maple which will die out in the colder months. Remember, the primary color is purple with accent tones of yellow and green.

1. Arborvitae - A - three


2. Lemon Thread Cypress - LTC - two


3. Sea Green Juniper - SGJ - two


4. Weeping or upright Japanese Maple - JM - one


5. Loropetalum - Chinese Pizazz - L - two


6. Dwarf Ruby Chinese Pizazz - RCP - two


7. Mop Cypress - MC - three

The back two circles can have a couple of Hinoki Cypress and plant some Canna Lilies. If the Canna Lily doesn't grow in your climate zone, plant any type of yellow day lily. Put them in a mass planting to bring out the yellow tones. Surround the Lilies with a group of Petunias on either side. Of course you can substitute your own favorite perennial or annuals flowers. If you are doing the purple tone theme keep the accent colors in mind.

1. Hinoki Cypress - HC - 4


2. Canna Lilies or Day Lilies - CL - mass or grouping


3. Petunias - P - mass planting

The front two circles could have a Sunkist Arborvitae in each of their centers. On either side of the Sunkist in the back part of the circle plant some Festival ornamental grass. You can always use another solid green grass if the Festival won't work in your zone.

Better Homes And Garden offers a Free e-book on the basics in garden designs. This is a fantastic book to download and get more ideas for a colorful garden.

Surround the Arborvitae with some Black Eyed Susan and in the front plant some Lamium. You can opt for another shrub in the center, but I recommend the plant to be an evergreen as in the winter the flowers will die out.

Another good shrub that does well in many zones is a Golden Euyonmus. Some other flowers to think about are Verbena. Lantana, Mexican Heather, and Dwarf Mexican Petunias.

1. Globe Arborvitae - GA - four


2. Festival Grass - FG - four


3. Lamium - L - mass grouping

You don't have to do all five beds. Another option is to plant the main bed in the primary purple tone and use accents. Yellow, white, green or another solid color beds surrounding the main bed.

There are so many different variations to doing theme colored base gardens. To get a full description of the plants above most of them are in the gallery of plants.

Some are also in the examples of landscape designs.

Many people have their favorite colors and will use them inside the home. Interior decorating color wheel and shades, is my other web site that shares everyday interior decorating ideas and colors. Check out the whimsical theme interior decorating ideas in your Inside Out Decorating Store. Great ideas to blend in your outside and inside.



I hope the has given you a little insight on putting a few different colors together to make a theme based landscape garden.