Magic of Gardening

SPIN THE COLOR WHEEL

GARDENING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO METHODICAL!

BY BETHANY O’REAR

A color wheel is that magical circle which helps us understand the relationship among colors. The primary colors yellow, blue, and red are the anchors and their combinations fill out the balance. To the adventurous home gardener, a color wheel is an inspiration, sometimes even a challenge. Let’s explore some of the fantastically-hued vegetables and satisfying flower rainbows you can plant this spring.

In Central Alabama, corn can be planted any time between March 10 and June 30. Wait until the soil warms up and dries out a bit and then sow blocks of ‘Glass Gem’ corn. A Native American cultivar, its kernels are jewel-colored and seem to shimmer under the light. Related varieties are sold as ornamental seed, but classic ‘Glass Gem’ is edible, typically in popcorn form.

Eggplants are known in Europe as “aubergines” – the French word for the color violet. But you can grow pure white eggplant called ‘Casper White’, the deep black heirloom ‘Black Beauty’, or the beautifully marbleized ‘Rosa Bianca.’ Eggplant should be sown indoors until several inches high and transplanted outdoors after frost between mid-April and mid-May.

Blue and purple podded heirloom snow peas can be direct sown right up until the last frost. As the name suggests, these beautiful vining peas have colorful pods but open to bright green peas. Harvested just as the pods start to form peas, it is eaten whole. If the peas are allowed to fully form, treat as a shell pea. Grown alongside ‘Golden Sweet’ snow pea, your vegetable garden will be anything but boring.

Peppers are a popular transplant which can be set out from April 1 to May 15. There are many lovely pepper types to choose from, but few can beat the chili pepper ‘Hungarian Yellow Wax’. Miniature sweet peppers, ‘Sweet Cherry’, come in bright red and yellow varieties like small ornaments. For those who like banana peppers, ‘Goddess’ is a pale yellow, perfect for slicing. There are hundreds of types to choose from – spend a little extra time at the farmers market this year to see if any others catch your fancy.

Many home gardeners have a favorite go-to type of tomato. That’s no reason not to leave a little space for an unusual, black-colored tomato. They come in all types and sizes: ‘Indigo Rose’, ‘Black Beauty Beefsteak’ and ‘Black Beauty Slicer’ are all popular. At the other end of the color spectrum are bright yellow and golden tomatoes. Particularly appealing is the lower-acid disease-resistant ‘Lemon Boy’. ‘Goliath Sunny Hybrid’ is ripe at a bright yellow hue that sweetens to gold. ‘Lemon Drop’ produces diminutive fruit that can be eaten off the vine.

Playing with color in the vegetable patch is something of a novelty but using color effectively in the ornamental landscape is an art. To use colors to your advantage, choose a strategy and stick to it. A monochromatic color scheme uses one color with closely related tints or shades of the same color. Accents are typically a neutral white or silver. Formal bedding arrangements often feature swaths of dark red plants such as scarlet salvia, begonias or geraniums, accented by white colored plants of the same variety or an accent plant such as Euphorbia ‘Diamond Delight’.

Analogous color schemes use two colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel. For example, purple and pink Angelonia can be interplanted with Pentas in the same shades. The differing flower structures and green leaves provide just enough contrast to look naturalistic. A more dramatic pairing of analogous colored plants would be Purple Shield and lavender and purple Pentas.

Complementary colors draw from opposite sides of the wheel. The flower garden offers many attractive purple and yellow combinations such as ‘Homestead Purple’ Verbena and ‘Moonbeam’ Coreopsis. ‘Coronation Gold’ yarrow and purple Lantana are another striking plant grouping. Orange doesn’t always play nicely with others in the flower garden but if you remember that it is complemented by green on the other side of the wheel, endless opportunities for foliage accents are revealed.

Whatever color scheme you choose, make sure to review the lighting before making final selections. Colors and accents are dramatically affected by sunlight and shade intensity. Bright sun can “burn” out the subtlety of pairings while deep shade can dampen color in favor of white or silver accents. Don’t rely on memory--take photos over a day or two and compare. Of course, as any seasoned gardener will tell you, even if you make a mistake, there’s nothing a shovel or frost can’t fix. Happy gardening!

Black Beauty Eggplant (Photo Credit: Lucy Edwards, Alabama Extension)

Indigo Rose Cherry Tomato (Photo Credit: Chris Becker, Alabama Extension)