Upload
sherylwil
View
1.305
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Presented for the Montrose Botanical
Society 3/09Sheryl Williams
MG, Instructor Horticulture Delta Montrose Tech
Color changes with light changes We want to know ‘why’ we like a garden Designs are combinations of texture,
form and color
Teach you the common language used to describe color combinations
Learn to identify colors and understand their relationships
Explore color combinations
Difficult to describe the color of a flower or leaf
Difficult to describe the relationship of colors to each other
Goal of color systems is to provide a standard reference and to organize color relationships
‘Blue Boy’ Dianthus ‘Blue Elf’ Delphinium
Color in light is not the same as color in paint
Not the same as color in fabric or printing
‘Colorant System’ tells how to mix pigments or dyes to achieve a particular color
This is what we learn in school – to add white paint to lighten a color, etc.
Munsell – standard for how we “see” Royal Horticulture Society Da-sh Board Color wheels
Used as a standard for color notation in artistic, commercial, scientific and education work
Based on how people ‘see’ Quantifies a color in terms of three
qualitiesHueValueChroma
Hue is the name of the color family, such as red or blue.
Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.
Chroma (Saturation) is the intensity or strength of a color.
Value is the vertical axis changing from black at the bottom to white at the top
0 is pure black 10 is pure white
Chroma is the ‘saturation’ of the color from weak to vivid
There is no set range
First developed in 1966, the RHS system uses a set of “paint chips” each with a small hole in the center.
The color strip is placed over the leaf or blossom and is matched by peering through the hole.
In all there are 884 different colors arranged in four fans.
Chromatic Colors Visible spectrum Notice that Violet
and red have the least and most wavelengths but are next to each other in a color wheel
Notice there is no red-purple
http://www.brother.com/usa/printer/advanced/lcv/img/lcfig03.gif
http://www.sheriftariq.org/design/color/
Light from the sun or the skySunlight casts a yellow toneSkylight casts a blue tone
Haze and fog cast a whitish film Hot summer’s day bleaches out many
colors Snow and ice have a bluish cast from
the reflected sky light End of the day – near blacks and white
Usually pale yellow green or bluish green
Textural elements cause the ‘gray’HairsWax
Distance
Used to describe color Hue - location on the color spectrum Value – lightness or darkness of the
colorCan be lightened or darkened without losing
their essential quality of hue Saturation – color content
Can vary from almost neutral gray to a pure hue
MajorRedYellowGreenBluepurple
MinorYellow-redGreen-yellowBlue-greenPurple-blueRed-purple
Monochromatic plantings are nearly impossible because there is usually more than one hue
Flowers have foliage, stamens & pistils, stems, edging, etc.
Fall between the basic hues More complex More easily influenced by neighboring
hues than the basic hues are Ex. a hue that is blue-green will look
bluer or greener depending on its surrounding hues
Intermediate hues are more influenced by their surrounding hues than surroundings are influenced by them
Can be confusing Purple with some blue content are often
called ‘blue’ Purple with some red content are often
called ‘pink’ if they are light and ‘magenta’ if they are dark
Purple foliage is more varied
High levels of contrast – black to white-Exciting and draw the eyeCan be busy or distracting
Low levels of contrast – shades of graySoothing and restfulCan be boring and dull
High hue contrast – color opposite or nearly opposite each other on a color wheel
Display gardens used to attract people’s attention
Informal and unsophisticated such as a children’s garden or wildflower meadow
If the value or saturation is constant the impact of the high hue may be lessened
Color next to or near each other on the color wheel
Low contrast gardens unified when a flower color is kept nearly
constantAttention focused on the dominant hueFrom a distance looks like a large mass of
color
Brightness, lightness or luminosity
White light reflects everything so it is called ‘high value’
Black light absorbs everything so it is called ‘low value’
Used to determine the amount of value
You can use a gray scale instead of having a whole set of color chips
Five values on the shadow ball10 is white and 1 is black
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color10.html
Each hue has it’s own inherent value Yellow – very light, can only be
lightened a bit before it becomes white Purple – very dark, can only be darkend
a bit before it becomes black
Most simplistic is a plant that is in part shade and part light
The hue has not changed but the value has
Many designers say that it is easier to lay out the structure of a garden in winter when the color of flowers and foliage do not distract from the importance of good strong organization.
A well-designed garden will stand up to being photographed in black and white
A composition of lights and darks
Yellow 9
Green-yellow 7
Yellow-red 7
Green 6
Blue-green 5
Blue 4
Red 4
Purple blue 3
Red-purple 3
Purple 2
You need more of a darker color to balance a lighter color
Ex. Yellow and purple You can add more purple to balance You can darken the yellow and lighten
the purple If pure hue, it takes 3-4 times as much
purple to balance the yellow
It doesn’t guarantee success but it does make you pay attention to value
Perfectly balanced can be boring Unbalanced can be exciting
Painters use the word ‘tint’ for light colorsThey add white pigment
Light colors appear to advance toward the observer when the background is dark
May appear to be larger than darker counterparts
Give a feeling of openness and space Ex. Room with light walls vs. dark walls
Dark hedges, tall plantings, fences – walls
Light of the sky or dark canopy of foliage overhead
Can use trees with a light canopy, such as honeylocust, or trim up to let in more light
A pergola can be dark or painted a light color
Show up best on dark backgrounds Light colors can get lost in strong
sunlight Light colors can get lost around highly
reflective surfaces such as concrete, marble and light stone
Increase the green in the garden to avoid a sense of heat and glare
Sometimes called shades Most pure hues can be darkened only
one or two steps before they become grayed
Like shadows and shade – darker and grayer
In the garden, dark colors tend not to be seen very well against a dark green background, especially when seen from a distance
Lighter background of concrete and buildings makes dark colors show up quite well
Areas in sun appear washed out when seen from a shaded point of view
Scenes with high contrast of value (many lights & darks) will be dramatic and eye-catching
If the value contrast is too extreme it will be ‘busy’
Some gardens tire you out trying to focus
Some gardens are difficult to discern between objects
Sun to shade adaptation takes longer than shade to sun
Transitional zone where value differences are not great can help the eye adapt more comfortably
If you want to highlight an item make the background darker
Select paving material based on value
Also called intensity, purity, brilliance or chroma
Pure hues are the most saturated of colors
Grays are the least saturated
Brick – orange or red low saturation and medium value
Brown mulch – orange with low saturation and low value
If you start with gray and added red little by little until you reached the pure hue of red you would understand the steps of saturation of a color
From unsaturated to saturated
Reds and yellow want your attention Surrounding colors have a strong
influence on saturation as do distance and illumination
Distance tends to gray colors Type and position of the light source will
affect the appearance of saturation
Can see colors at full saturation when you get close
Blocks out competition of other colors If you want the affect of the saturation let
people get close and minimize distraction Smaller flowers – get closer Drooping flowers – place above Flowers that face up should be below the
observer
If placed in the background – flattens space, makes the distance appear closer
Can be used for large gardens to draw someone to a far spot or unusual location
Vivid color makes you want to go to it
Often used as entrance plantings in public places where maximum attention is wanted
Saturated hues of reds, oranges, and yellows, as well as peach, pink, and gold are most clearly seen against a background
Dark values need a lighter background
Bark, soils and stone are even less saturated are seen as grays and browns
Grays and browns are quite subtle and are sensed but not always recognized
Grayed yellows, oranges and reds are beige tan and buff
Warm grays and cool grays
Putting grayed colors in the back of a border and saturated colors in the foreground increases the apparent depth
Reversing the relationship flattens the space
Colors appear gray at low light levels
Contrast of grayed colors with colors with a high color content
Low saturation contrast occurs when most of the colors in the garden are either grayed or pure
Grayed foliage and bark good for intensely colored flowers
Grayed and darker oranges and reds of brick and wood and warm cool grays of stone
Don’t compete with pure hues for attention
Pastels high value; high saturation Pale high value; low saturation Vivid natural value; high saturation Rich low value; high saturation Muted medium value; low saturation Backgrounds
High value; high saturation Light & bright Used with lots of green foliage Effective in part or full shade Have enough hue so hue
combinations are important
Variegated plants can look like pastels
Appear washed out in bright sun esp. if the background colors are not rich or deep color
Pastels can disappear in light colored surroundings
Add green foliage or darker colors esp. around the edges
High value; low saturation Light but not bright Hard to tell difference between pastel
and pale in the garden Used for background or connecting
colors, furniture Fading flowers Hard to use in full sunlight Add foliage
Usually noticed first Bedding plants to attract attention Seen at a distance – highway plantings Accents in pots or planters Will look more vivid if background is less
saturated or if values are different or if complementary or contrasting hues are used
Low value; high saturation Dark, full of color Best close up Loses impact with distance Best with light background Because they are so dark you can include
many colors without feeling busy Strongly unified
Low saturation; medium value More gray than other colors Darker than pale but lighter than
dark grays Good contrast to brightly hued
flowers or foliage Used for transitions Don’t attract much attention Appear farther away Overcast skies will mute other colors
They determine how the other colors will appear
Masses of trees, colors of the sky Grass, mulch, gravel, ground surfaces Stone brick wood and manmade
background seen from the garden
Warm Colors Red Yellow Magenta or red-purple Colors with red in them appear warm Warm colors advance and cool colors
recede
Hue Warm Cool
Yellow Orange (yellow-red) Yellow-green
Orange Yellow Red
Purple Red blue
Warm during cool seasons Advance Yellow and orange spring bulbs Yellow and red fall leaves
Have blue in them Green Blue Violet Coolest in the blue-green area
Hue Warm Cool
Green Yellow-Green Blue-green
Blue Blue-Green Blue-purple
Purple Red-purple Blue-purple
Most greens are yellow-green Instead of thinking yellow-green and
blue-green think warm and cool Cool colors are easy to live with Popular in HOT climates
We don’t have true monochromatic because of the color of foliage
I like it Fun Easy
Closely related on the color wheel Next or near each other True analogous rarely occur in the
garden because of the green foliage Designers are described analogous
flower colors From a distance can look like a mass of
a single color
Greatest amount of hue contrast Opposite each other on the color wheel In a garden usually more colors involved Visually exciting at high levels of
saturation If value or saturation is changed the
background will have a large effect
If you would like to learn more Hands on experience Develop “plant palette’s” for our area
Planting Design March 30-April 10 Noon-4 pm, daily Cost is around $120 Call 874-7671 Email [email protected]