A rainbow of colour
Above: Nodding sunflower heads add height to a border
Above: Pots of topiary buxus punctuate the rill that is edged by colourful borders
Colour enhances our world and in the garden it can bring areas to life; the different tones imbuing a range of emotions, from soothing to stimulating. Never a static display, the effect changes in different weathers and times of the day through the seasons.
Exploring the colour wheel, based on nature’s colour spectrum, the rainbow, is a good way to understand its power. When a light beam is passed through a prism, the beam is split into distinct colours that we see as a rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. By painting these colours on a band and bending it into a circle, they form a colour wheel.
Primary colours
The primary colours of the spectrum are red, yellow and blue, with secondary colours being mixtures of these three. By altering the amounts of pigments an infinite number of colours can be created. For gardeners the colour wheel, with half composed of hot or warm colours and the other half with cold or cool colours, is useful to demonstrate the differences between harmonies and contrasts. Harmonious colours are close to each other on the wheel while contrasting colours are found on the opposite sides.
It is only fairly recently in the history of gardening that colour has had a high level of importance and been used to create an atmosphere or mood. Today, we have a wide choice of plants, with the constant addition of new cultivars in a wonderful diversity of colours, to experiment with. By treating the plants in your garden as you would paints on an artist’s palette, you can combine and interweave your own personal canvas.
Treat the plants in your garden as you would paints on an artist’s palette
At Charts Edge gardens, near Westerham, owner Penny Bigwood had an idea to create a double border, loosely based on the colours of the rainbow, on either side of a rill.
“It came to me out of the blue. I thought it would be charming to have a rill down the middle and be surrounded by plants with a colour theme running through,” explains Penny.
It was decided to run the colours from white, through yellow, orange, red, pink, mauve, purple and blue, to black. With the help of gardener, Nic Seaton, the vision has been created over the past couple of years. It was an enjoyable challenge for all to find seasonal plantings in the correct colours to keep the display going from early spring through to autumn.
Dazzling blends
Tulips, pansies and primroses blend into herbaceous plantings, augmented with additional bedding to keep the ‘wow factor’ well into November. August is a real peak, with dazzling dahlias, salvias, gazanias, coreopsis, geums, rudbeckias, cosmos and marigolds drawing the eye.
By regularly dead-heading, watering from water butts and mulching, the flowers cope really well with the late summer heat. The stepped rill is a soothing, reflective contrast and potted topiary buxus add further structural focal points against the billowing planting.
Ongoing project
The rainbow border is the latest project as part of the continual restoration and development of the gardens at Charts Edge, since the Bywoods moved there in 1988. Transforming the neglected garden surrounding the 1930’s house has been taken on enthusiastically with the addition of many unusual trees and shrubs.
Visitors can wander the seven acres of woodland and water gardens in addition to the spectacle of the borders.
Related links:
Charts Edge Gardens
Hosey Hill, Westerham
Mid Apr to mid Sep, Sun and Fri (2 to 5pm)
Admission: £3.50,children free.
The secret meanings of colour
Black and white, the traditional symbols of yin and yang, are considered lucky colours in Chinese philosophy
Red and yellow/gold are also ‘lucky colours’ in Chinese philosophy, particularly in front gardens, to attract luck and success
Red is associated with love, fertility and energy
Orange is the colour of activity, enthusiasm and freedom
Yellow, representing the power of the sun, is said to stimulate concentration
Green is harmonious, symbolising growth. It offers sanctuary, brings about change and opens you up to new directions
Blue encourages relaxation, healing, and tranquillity and inspires patience
Violet is said to help you accept yourself and to fulfil inner desires
Pink is nurturing, warming and calming
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