Color has such an impact on our daily lives. Color can inspire, sooth, and excite. In design, color becomes a thread that unifies a space and creates the mood. Using specific colors in the landscape can help to reflect your personal style in your outdoor space, or be used to create a completely different mood for each season. Each year we look forward to Pantone announcing their color of the year, and to work with clients to incorporate these on-trend colors into their landscape designs. We are especially excited about the Pantone Color of the Year they’ve chosen for 2018: Ultra Violet.
According to Pantone, Ultra Violet is “a dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade that communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future”. That’s a pretty bold statement and we think Ultra Violet can stand to make a pretty bold statement in the garden as well.
Using Ultra Violet in Landscape
At first glance, it might seem this vibrant, Pantone Color of the Year, shade of purple is out of place in the natural landscape. Take a closer look, though, and you’ll see this lovely shade of purple reflected in abundance in nature; especially in beautiful garden foliage and flowers. You can pull shades of this vibrant color into your outdoor decor or landscape features as well.
Ultra Violet Cool Season Plantings
For the cool season, there are many varieties of pansies and violas that sport Ultra Violet blooms. We love ‘Penny Violet’ Viola for its intense colorful blooms. Also, keep an eye out for violet-colored Delphinium, which can be used for late-winter and early spring color here in the Dallas area.
Ultra Violet Warm Season Plantings
For the warm season, salvias are a group of Texas-tough perennial plants that include many members with violet-colored flowers. A couple of our favorites are Salvia ‘May Night’ and ‘Amistad’. Their heat tolerant nature and striking violet blooms are a stand out in sunny landscapes.
Ultra Violet Texas Natives
Looking for Texas natives with violet blooms? Texas Mountain Laurel boasts some of the most fragrant blooms in the spring landscape when plants drip with violet colored clusters of flowers.
Ultra Violet Foliage
Don’t forget about foliage. When we think Ultra Violet one of the first plants that come to mind is Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyeranus), a tropical annual plant with almost iridescent violet foliage. It’s a perfect plant for a shady or semi-shady spot in the landscape, and containers, where you need an extra boost of color. Purple Oxalis is an easy-to-grow shade perennial that offers up brilliant violet-purple foliage.
Ultra Violet Color Combinations
Neutrals
If you love white and silver, then Ultra Violet is the perfect cool color companion for these neutrals. Pair your purples with the silver foliage of dusty miller, Centaurea, and Artemisia and you’ll have a cool-color match made in heaven. You’ll even find tinges of violet in the foliage of silver/blue agave plants – a favorite sculptural plant in Texas landscapes.
Bold Colors
Love brighter color combos? Pair Ultra Violet with orange or yellow flowers, containers, or furniture in the landscape for an eye-popping display. Ultra Violet also looks stunning when paired with chartreuse plants or landscape features.
Ultra Violet Garden Elements
Purple isn’t just for plants; there are many other landscape design elements we incorporate into our designs that bring distinctive color to your space. From furniture and cushions, to pottery, to painted structural elements. A purple pergola? If you love purple, why not! Many hardscape elements we use in the landscape can also sport shades or shimmers violet and purple, and complement a cool color scheme in the landscape. Think blue and lavender colored paving, such as Pennsylvania blue stone.
It’s always important to consider your personal style and how you want to use your outdoor space when designing a new landscape or refreshing an existing one. It’s also important to work with a landscape designer that can define your needs and wants with good design. If you’re ready to give your landscape a facelift and need help incorporating your favorite colors, we can help.