Can we agree that Gardens are all about colour?
But what about colour……….but not necessarily from flowers?
I’m not knocking flowers, but colour, can and should also come from the many materials that make up the garden. Japanese gardens use very little flowers – the emphasis is on coloured materials, coloured leaf and subtle use of texture.

We can now buy coloured bark (blue, terracotta, yellow) – why settle for natural brown?
Wood preservatives, that traditionally came in “woody” shades such as Red Cedar or Dark Oak, now come in colours more associated with household paint! Shades of yellow, blue, green, red and even white and black.

Do you have a gravel chip path or driveway? Did you simply use the same colour as your brickwork? Why not use a contrasting colour? Red brickwork with gold quartz chips or even white marble. White roughcast with any coloured chip. If you have more than one path why not use a different coloured chip on each one? We have stocked over 30 types of stone chips at different times.

In most Gardens the central dominant colour is green………..the lawn!
If you have a patio you can use coloured slabs to create a colour centerpiece, other than green. A patio and a lawn will allow two different coloured focal points to your garden, a coloured pathway a third.

Not all plants produce attractive flowers and in any event flowers are relatively short lived and seasonal. Look for plants with variegated leaves, preferably evergreen that will give all year round colour. Many plants produce colourful berries. (Try Pernettya for amazing autumn berries).
Conifers come in an amazing range of foliage nowadays not just plain green. There are “blue,” “grey,” “yellow” as well as many shades of green and even varieties with white flecks giving a variegated effect unusual in conifers.
Finally the foliage of many shrubs and most conifers changes with the season. (Watch any Acer change colour in the autumn).

Article provided by Ron from West Carlston Garden Centre in Torrance.
www.westcarlston.com
This week’s Competition: Name any variety of Japanese Acer.
The sender of the first correct e-mail will receive a £10 Gift Voucher.
Ron can be contacted at info@westcarlston.com
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