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17 September 2014
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how to be a gardener - The complete online guide

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3 - Combining plants
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Combining colours
Colour sets the mood of a bed/border. But remember it’s not just flowers that are colourful - leaves, fruit and stems are too.
Colour theory
Colour theory is based on the colour wheel, which is basically the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) bent into a circle. Particular relationships between colours give certain results.
Adjacent colours
Use two or three adjacent colours to create a harmonious effect. For example, red and orange (and yellow)
Opposite coloursOpposites
The most striking combinations are complementary colours that lie directly opposite each other: red and green, purple and yellow. You can use complementary pairs as great accent colour, for example, a single purple-flowered plant in a bed of yellow.
Contrast coloursContrasts
Based on colours spaced at equal distances around the colour wheel, contrasts work best in groups of three, for example, red, blue and yellow, or purple, green and orange.
It’s up to personal taste but as a rule of thumb up to five colours can be contrasted before it gets too much for the eye. But this needs careful planning - use a dominant β€˜theme colour’ and work the rest round it.
Colour combinationsFind out which colours work well together with our fun colour wheel Flash feature. You can apply these principles to your own colour scheme choices.
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3. Planting schemes and themes

Introduction
Planting styles
Combining plants
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The supreme challenge of planting is getting the right style. Find out more here.
InteractiveInteractive
Experiment with the colour wheel feature, or take a fun attribute quiz to see what style of garden may suit you.

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