Color is important whether you are designing for tubs, beds or individual plants. When planning any arrangement, remember that flowering times differ. If you want a colorful summer display it is no good designing a display of plants which flower at different times. On the other hand, you want a bed which will have bloom from April to September, in which case you will need flowers coming out at different times.

The art of harmony is appreciated close to but contrast is more effective at a distance. To be bold and achieve contrast you must have the more aggressive shades in the primary color range (red blue, yellow), but try not to go overboard. Often a simple plan with colors in blocks looks much more impressive than trying to mix colors in complex patterns.

As well as the mix of colors, you need to get proportions of plants right. A small tub overflowing with colorful plants is fine close to the house, but placed at the bottom of a garden it will either draw the eye and make the garden seem shorter than it is, or be totally lost (unless it is enormous).

Color patch bedding is a simple but very effective tip for use in small gardens. All you do is fill any available space with small clusters of flowering plants which flower at a similar time of year. For instance for a spring display you could use dwarf forget-me-not, viola, arabis, aubretia and tulips.
For summer display you could try lobelias, pelargonium, verbena and petunias.

With color, remember that the garden can have two major display times, spring and summer. It is good if you can design it so that as the spring blooms fade the summer ones are just making their first appearances before the main display of mid-summer.

Foliage too can have very different shades of color from deep dark green to silver, yellow, red or gold. Complete gardens can be planted for their foliage and these can be either formal or informal in design. The leaves of the plants are used to create designs which include many different textures colors, shapes and sizes. With careful choice, year-round interest can be obtained too. Leaf texture can vary from smooth to very hairy and more luxuriant large-leaved plants can give an illusion of tropical plants.

Combining carefully chosen foliage plants with other features such as statues, trellis and sundials can give a distinctive feel to the garden and yet require little upkeep. Many foliage plants have flowers which are nondescript and hardly seen, but which produce

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