Colours that should clash are harmonious when they are gentle and washed-out, as with these pastel hues
PHOTO: NEIL HEPWORTH. LOCATION: BARNSDALE GARDENS
Combining colours in the garden is truly a matter of personal taste, but there are a host of useful pointers and principles that can help you create carefully composed and harmonious planting schemes. Now, if you look up the definition of ‘harmonious’ one description you’ll come across is this: “to have the parts agreeably related”.
Which sounds like a sensible approach to combining colours, too. “Agreeably related” is a good starting point, but it doesn’t need to mean your scheme is dull or bland. What it means is that there is a coherent and gentle relationship between the colours you put together. So, here is my guide to mastering colour schemes and the clashes to avoid – or to include, if you want some shock factor!