Color Echoing

Spread it Around

Color is the first thing that catches the eye in a room or outdoors. We see color before we see shape. Color excites us (red) or calms us (green). It is a powerful tool.

A cacophony of color in the fall when certain flower colors become deeper and more vivid. Coleus, blue salvia, lantana and white spider flower in back.

Flowers are Nature's color ambassadors. When planting up a mixed shrub and flower border, I use a technique called color echoing.

It means repeating or spreading out the same color throughout the plant bed. It is very much like when an artist repeats a color in various parts of a painting. This color echoing carries the eye around the entire picture.

Hilma af Klint loved color. She was the first ‘modern’ artist of our time. Her story is among the most fascinating in art history.

Likewise, color echoing is a simple garden design technique that ties an outdoor space together. One color weaves through a landscape via the use of flowers, ornament, foliage, and even furniture.