| For most of us our garden is our refuge. The | | | | house's trim color to provide a unified, coordinated |
| open blue sky and plant shapes, smells and colors | | | | look, or choose a contrasting color to add interest. |
| are elemental. | | | | One customer in the Boston suburbs placed her |
| But when it comes to garden furniture, many | | | | two seat bench in a pale Daffodil yellow to |
| people choose their garden furniture without | | | | complement her slate blue porch. With spring |
| thinking about how the furniture's colors interact | | | | flowers it was a welcome light color; in the Fall it |
| with the environment they will be placed in. | | | | set off chrysanthemums and traditional gourds. |
| High-quality garden furniture can sometimes be | | | | Colorful furniture with a purpose: If there's lots of |
| found in a variety of colors, or you can paint your | | | | shade in your yard, chose a vibrant color - colors |
| furniture yourself. My customers often ask me | | | | in shade look great. If you want to draw your |
| how to integrate colorful furniture into their | | | | eye across the landscape chose a bold |
| garden or landscape. They want to know about | | | | punctuation color. If there is dominant color in the |
| color combinations, how to use furniture as a | | | | garden or house, chose a color that either |
| color accent, how to draw your eye with color, or | | | | compliments or contrasts. For best results, keep |
| how to create a serene place with color. It's a | | | | the color scheme in the garden simple by sticking |
| part of my business I really enjoy. | | | | to one, two or three colors. Avoid a shotgun |
| Consider these possibilities for using color with | | | | approach with one color here and one color there. |
| your garden furniture: | | | | A simple design that takes your house color into |
| Contrasting colors: When a garden design calls for | | | | account gives a planned, unified look to the |
| vibrant color I advise contrasting colors such as | | | | garden and your home. |
| blue or purple near yellows; or orange or | | | | Colors for all the seasons: If you don't have a |
| orange-red against emerald or lime greens. Even | | | | green thumb and you have a hard time producing |
| black furniture (say against a hedge of yellow | | | | harmonious color in your garden, colorful furniture |
| forsythia) can create a dynamic contrast. Imagine | | | | may be the answer. And think about winter too. |
| the impact of periwinkle blue Adirondack chairs | | | | After the May flowers have passed and the |
| against a backdrop bed of bright yellow daylilies. | | | | vibrant colors have vanished, a well placed piece |
| Harmonious colors: If you don't want to challenge | | | | of colorful furniture can break up the steady diet |
| the eye or you want a garden space to look | | | | of gray and add a bit of brightness to the |
| larger, choose your garden furniture in colors that | | | | landscape. |
| match their surroundings. Solid wooden furniture | | | | How do I make up my mind? Many gardeners |
| with a rich coat of paint will make every inch of | | | | can have a hard time deciding on right color, given |
| the garden feel luxurious. A bright lime green in a | | | | the myriad of choices and combinations available. |
| dark, shady spot adds light and an airy quality. | | | | Check to see if your furniture manufacturer can |
| Furniture that matches a garden accent: Think | | | | give you pictures of the product you are |
| about what you want to highlight. A customer in | | | | purchasing in several different colors, or use paint |
| New England placed a bright tangerine garden | | | | swatches, and bring them with you to the garden |
| bench alongside her koi pond. In this case, the | | | | to see how they match or contrast the natural |
| bright bench matched her favorite garden accent, | | | | colors there. |
| her orange fish. | | | | There are many books available today providing |
| Serene colors: A customer in the pacific | | | | excellent guidance on color in the garden. |
| Northwest selected an Adirondack chair painted in | | | | Concepts that apply to juxtaposing plant colors |
| white, for her moon garden that was planted with | | | | often make sense when considering the use of |
| all white flowers. She tells me she lounges in her | | | | color in furnishing your outdoor space. Given the |
| chair, listening to the night noises under the full | | | | joys of gardening and all the hard work involved, I |
| moon, her white flowers glowing in the moonlight. | | | | always recommend you top off your labors with |
| Color can bring your house and garden together: | | | | handsomely crafted, durable wooden furniture in a |
| A colorful piece of furniture on a front porch can | | | | color that rewards your view, let alone the brown |
| match your shutters and tie colors in your house | | | | dirt under your nails. |
| to colors in your landscape. Trying matching your | | | | |