Using Warm and Cool Colors in Container Gardening

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For many people, the idea of designing a container can be, frankly, a little intimidating. When we see a polished and professional container garden, we think “I want that.” Rarely, however, do we tell ourselves, “I can do that.” Container design and building a container with some curbside “WOW” factor isn’t that difficult, though! With only a few guidelines, you can make your plants work for you, instead of against you.

The most basic rule of thumb to keep in mind is color. With so many fantastic colors to choose from every year, seeing the variety at our locations can be exciting, but also very overwhelming. Color will help you make a container design that really pops, without very much work or any experience. Getting to know the colors in your garden is the first step to creating your own homemade, professional-looking containers.

Designing With Color Temperature

Colors can be grouped into families: “warm” and “cool” colors.

Warm colors are bright and fiery, these are colors that just pop into the foreground and catch your eye.

Cool Colors: These colors add depth to a container while adding a serene and calm appearance. 

You, the gardener and designer, get to play with these colors, mixing and matching them to make your container look its best.

Warm Colors

Think reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows - the type of colors that catch the sun. These colors make the illusion of glowing and coming towards you when you look at them, like you are being drawn into them. Warm colors are fun, playful, and inviting. They do well paired with other warm shades where they positively glow and can also create a fantastic contrast with cooler tones such as blue or dark purple.

Although warm colors make us think of heat, not every flower boasting red or orange is going to want to bask in our Kansas sun. For growing habits, you’ll have better luck reading the plant’s label and matching similar habits together. Designing a container is all about balancing the practical needs of your plants with the look you want.

Cool Colors

On the other side of the palette, cool colors, like blues, silver, purples, whites and greens, calm things down and create a soothing sense of depth. Sometimes, you’ll look at an intensely indigo bloom and feel like you’re just about to fall right in. Cool tones can range anywhere from serene and refreshing to ominous and brooding. Trust your instinct when you’re browsing flowers to find each color’s mood.

Many people that dabble in design, enjoy starting with a few cool shades as a foundation. These beautiful shades will do an amazing job emphasizing whatever other tones you mix in with them.

Mixing Colors

Colors can be mixed and matched in your container in whatever way you please. We always recommend choosing plants that you love and want to display and working from there to make sure you’re happy with your container in the end. There are a few tricks that you can use, though, to make sure that you make the most of highlighting your favorite blooms:

• Complementary (or contrasting) colors: These colors are opposites of each other. They are so very different that they make each other pop. Placing opposites - like green and red, blue and orange, or purple and yellow - together are sure ways to get plants noticed.

• Color shades: Just a quick look in a greenhouse is enough to see that calling a color “blue” sometimes isn’t enough. When choosing colors, especially if you’re having fun with warm or cool colors, you can always pair shades of similar colors together. A collection of different blue tones might look stunning together, or even an assortment of cheerful yellows and oranges. Keep in mind that the more of one temperature of color you have, the stronger their visual effect will be!

• Create a Focal Point: Draw attention to your favorite plant by featuring it against a monochromatic background of plants of the opposite color.

• Pastels: These muted, light tones are not really “warm” or “cool” at all but will look amazing next to some more saturated warm and cool tones. There are plenty of lovely pastel shades of blooms that will look stunning against a backdrop of traditional colors.

Creating a beautiful container doesn’t need to be an exact science or a difficult affair - if it’s featuring colors and plants that you like, it’s a success. Using a few neat color tricks is the perfect way to create a stunning container that works for you and highlights the best parts of your container garden. Check out our garden center in Augusta for a stellar assortment of warm and cool colored blossoms.