How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro (2024)

By Doug Jimerson

Mixing and matching colorful flowers in your beds, borders, and containers is a lot of fun, but can also be a bit overwhelming when you first walk into a well-stocked garden center. Colorful plants and flowers scream for attention from every corner, making it a bit hard to focus on what plants look best together.

So do what the professionals do: create a list of plants based on their color, growth habit, and light requirements. Tuck your list into your pocket when you go plant shopping. It helps focus you on your gardening goals and minimizes the chances that you’ll end up grabbing whatever looks pretty at that moment, but doesn’t really go with anything else once you get home.

The smart thing to do is to plan early, selecting the color palette you want to have for a particular container or your whole garden. Here are some tips on selecting flowers of different colors to create a professional looking garden or container.

How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro (1)Red in the Garden
If you want to make a bold statement, red flowers are the way to go. There’s nothing subtle about a garden packed with fiery red flowers. Plants with red-flowering varieties include hibiscus, canna, salvia, mandevilla, and geranium--all these flowers love full sun, so they can be mixed and matched. Begonias and coleus can turn on partially shaded areas. At left, a hot bed of red begonia and coleus chills out with a frame of silver dusty miller.

PRO TIP: An all-red garden can be overpowering, so add some pale yellow or white accent plants will help cool things down.

Blue and Purple in the Garden
Plants with blue or purple flowers blend wonderfully with almost any other color, particularly those with white, yellow, or pink blooms. Blue and purple blooms bring cool, soothing color to beds and borders. Some top picks include: ageratum, delphinium, perennial geranium, catmint, heliotrope, agapanthus, and scaevola.

PRO TIP: Blue flowers have a tendency to disappear when viewed from a distance so keep them up close in beds and containers where you can enjoy their cooling hues.

How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro (2)

Yellow in the Garden
For a sunny, cheerful look, you can’t go wrong with yellow flowers. They work well with almost any other hue and come in so many different shades, so it’s easy to find complementary partners. At left, for example, a bed of yellow zinnias with purple verbena accents brightens a garden path. Other good yellow bloomers include: marigold, coreopsis, black-eyed Susan, snapdragon, pansy, and daylily.

PRO TIP: Round flower heads, such as zinnias, marigolds, and black-eyed Susan, offer a mass of yellow color. To add spikes of yellow to your garden or container, use snapdragons or daylilies.

Orange in the Garden
A lot of gardeners have a hard time using orange in the garden, because it’s such a strong color. But, if paired with blue or yellow flowers, you can create amazing combinations in your garden. Reliable orange flowers include: calendula, butterfly weed, gazania, and lily.

PRO TIP: Think of the seasonality of bloom when planting. Enjoy orange flowers in your garden from spring to fall. In spring, plant orange pansies. In summer, replace pansies with tithonia, marigolds, lilies, and gazania, and add orange mums to your garden in autumn.

White in the Garden
Always include a generous selection of white flowers in your containers and garden beds. They provide a frothy, cool contrast to brighter blooms and look great in all seasons. Some top white bloomers include: sweet alyssum, petunia, candytuft, jasmine,euphorbia,and Nippon daisy.

PRO TIP: Cool off hot beds of color a refreshing white edge. Another benefit of white flowers is that you can see them at dusk as they add glowy ambiance to patios and walkways.

How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro (3)Pink in the Garden
Pink flowers make terrific partners for blue, white, or yellow bloomers. Some favorite pink flowers include: cosmos, bleeding heart, peony, dianthus, and coneflower. In the mixed border at left, pink coneflower holds court over a legion of blue and white annuals and perennials.

PRO TIP: Pink flowers offer a wide range of hues--from soft pastels to stronger vibrant fuchsia. Pink is a favorite color in cottage gardens.

How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro (2024)

FAQs

How to Coordinate Colors Like A Pro? ›

Match complementary colors.

When you place them next to each other, they help each other stand out and the combination looks appealing. Complementary colors of the same brightness and hue will always work well together. Popular complementary combinations include blue and orange, purple and yellow, and green and pink.

How do you match colors like a pro? ›

Match complementary colors.

When you place them next to each other, they help each other stand out and the combination looks appealing. Complementary colors of the same brightness and hue will always work well together. Popular complementary combinations include blue and orange, purple and yellow, and green and pink.

How do you coordinate colors together? ›

The 60-30-10 rule will ensure that the colors in your space are proportional and balanced. The main color for your room should take up 60 percent of the design, the secondary color should take up 30 percent and the accent color 10 percent. This guideline includes more than your paint choices, covering furnishings .

What is the 60-30-10 rule? ›

What is the 60-30-10 Rule? It's a classic decor rule that helps create a color palette for a space. It states that 60% of the room should be a dominant color, 30% should be the secondary color or texture and the last 10% should be an accent.

What is the easiest color scheme to follow? ›

Monochromatic # Monochromatic color schemes are made up of different tones, shades and tints within a specific hue. These are the simplest color schemes to create, as they're all taken from the same hue, making it harder to create a jarring or ugly scheme (though both are still possible).

What three colors go together? ›

If you're looking for a few basic but perennially popular 3 color combinations to kickstart your color palette, think about combinations like:
  • Yellow, red, and blue.
  • Green, orange, and purple.
  • Teal, magenta, and gold.

What is the basic rule in color coordination? ›

Its simple rule is to choose two opposite colors on the color wheel to create a complementary color scheme. The complementary color scheme is based on contrast, and, therefore, it attracts a lot of attention. However, one must use it with great care and precision since it can overturn a graphic design layout.

How do you arrange colors in order? ›

When organizing by color, look to the rainbow. "Start with white, cream, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, brown, gray, and black," says Melanie Walker, the owner of NEAT Method. There are some other hues that are harder to place when working on the ROYGBIV system, like gold and silver.

What is the most eye catching color? ›

Red and orange seem to be the clear winner when it comes to eye-catching colors. These colors tend to stand out and are therefore used on many warning signs or safety equipment. Yellow is another color that comes in a close second to red and orange in popularity.

What is 90 10 rule effort? ›

In computer programming and software engineering, the ninety-ninety rule is a humorous aphorism that states: The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.

How does the 90 10 rule work? ›

Without good project management, crossing the finish line might seem impossible. So, what is the 90/10 rule? In simple terms, it's the concept that 90% of the work needed to finish your project will take a mere 10% of the time.

What is the 90 10 rule called? ›

The 90-10 rule refers to a U.S. regulation that governs for-profit higher education. It caps the percentage of revenue that a proprietary school can receive from federal financial aid sources at 90%; the other 10% of revenue must come from alternative sources.

What are the most powerful color combinations? ›

Our top 10 best color combinations
  • Black and white. A top “color” combination. ...
  • Leaf green and Yellow. ...
  • Baby pink and blue. ...
  • Cool greys and blues. ...
  • Pantone's Classic Blue with white. ...
  • Pink and grey. ...
  • Pink and black. ...
  • Purple and yellow.
Jan 31, 2020

What is the 3 color style rule? ›

The underlying premise of the three colour rule is to not combine more than three colours in your outfit at any one time. The exception being black and white, which are technically not 'colours' but tones, and can be intermixed as a fourth colour in your outfit.

What is the hardest color to recognize? ›

Black has very little reflection on the visible spectrum, making it harder to gauge than medium or light balanced colors.

What is the rarest basic color? ›

Blue is one of the rarest of colors in nature. Even the few animals and plants that appear blue don't actually contain the color. These vibrant blue organisms have developed some unique features that use the physics of light.

What is the prettiest color scheme? ›

26 beautiful color combinations that'll inspire your next design
  1. Royal blue & peach (trending) ...
  2. Blue & pink (classic) ...
  3. Charcoal & yellow (classic) ...
  4. Red & yellow(classic) ...
  5. Lime green & electric blue (trending) ...
  6. Lavender & teal (trending) ...
  7. Cherry red & off-white (classic) ...
  8. Baby blue & white (classic)
May 1, 2023

What are the 5 main color schemes? ›

The major color schemes in art are analogous, complementary, split-complementary, triadic, rectangular and monochromatic.

What is the golden rule of color? ›

New research has found that colors separated by a ratio of 1:1.61 on the light spectrum are often found to be aesthetically pleasing together.

What is the golden rule in colour design? ›

1. The golden ratio for color scheming. Any balanced room scheme needs to have good proportional representation of colors, textures and pattern. For example, in a two-color room scheme, the dominant color will cover around 60% of the surfaces, while the complementing secondary accent color will cover around 40%.

What is the color harmony rule? ›

Direct harmony, also known as complimentary colors, means pairing your key color with the color sitting on the opposite side of the color wheel. Red and green, blue and yellow, and orange and green are the primary examples of direct harmony.

What is the best order to color code? ›

ROYGBIV – Roy-gee-biv! Sort by the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Many people believe it's the best way to go about color coding a closet—it's easy to remember and provides greater contrast between groups.

What is a plan for organizing colors called? ›

color scheme is any plan for organizing colors.

How many ways can you arrange 3 colors? ›

If we had 3 colors, we could make 27 combinations. Three colors can make 27 different combinations. If we had 4 colors, we could make 64 combinations. Each of these combinations gives a unique instruction to the cell.

What color grabs attention most? ›

Red is the color of power. It gets people's attention and holds it. It is the most popular color for marketing. The color red tends to increase the heart rate and create a sense of urgency.

What is the most professional color? ›

Blue, black, grey, brown and white are the best, while orange is universally considered the worst colour for an interview. Also avoid yellow, green and purple. Why? Blue : Blue (navy) is considered the perfect pick as it reflects trust, confidence, calmness and stability.

What is the best color to grab attention? ›

Bright, bold and vibrant colors work best. However, any color that contrasts with your background will serve you well. Shades of yellow, orange, red, green, purple and blue are all excellent color choices to grab a user's attention.

What is the 70% effort rule? ›

The 70 percent rule, in a business context, is a time management principle suggesting that people should withhold a significant amount of their working capacity for better productivity, engagement and work-life balance.

What is the 1 9 90 principle? ›

Variants include the 1–9–90 rule (sometimes 90–9–1 principle or the 89:10:1 ratio), which states that in a collaborative website such as a wiki, 90% of the participants of a community only consume content, 9% of the participants change or update content, and 1% of the participants add content.

What is the 80-20 rule activities? ›

In simplest terms, about 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of activities. Just a small number of tasks account for the majority of progress. The key then is to identify those key areas and focus energy there. This 80/20 rule has permeated time management literature and talks; it's honestly not a new idea.

What is the 90 10 philosophy? ›

The 90/10 Principle was popularized by Stephen Covey, the amazing author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It states that: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, and 90% of life is decided by how you react. We truly have no control over 10% of what happens to us.

How does the 10 20 rule work? ›

Like the 50/30/20 plan, the 20/10 rule breaks down your after-tax income into three major spending categories: 20% of your income goes into savings. 10% of your income goes toward debt repayments, excluding mortgages. The remaining 70% of your income goes toward all your other living expenses.

How do you do the 50 40 10 rule? ›

Start with your fixed expenses (50% of the budget), like rent, bills, insurance, etc. Then go for the things you want to buy (40% of your budget). Of course, don't forget the fun part and add your wants (10% of the budget). You should also know how much money you allocate to each category from your income.

What is the 10 percent rule for men? ›

The 10-percent rule (10PR) is one of the most important and time-proven principles in running. It states that you should never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent over the previous week.

What is the 10 percent rule of success? ›

As a result of decades of research, it is now generally accepted that the number of factors which account for business performance is so many that it is almost impossible for any single study to come up with a variable which accounts for more than 10% of the variance in, say, ROI. We may call this “the Rule of 10%”.

What is the 90 10 paradox relationship? ›

You like 90% of your partner's habits but that last 10% gets on your first and last nerve.

What two colors clash the most? ›

7 Worst color combinations to avoid
  1. Yellow and green. Yellow and green are two of the most popular colors in the world. ...
  2. Brown and orange. ...
  3. Red and green. ...
  4. Neon and Neon. ...
  5. Purple and yellow. ...
  6. Red and purple. ...
  7. Black and Navy.
Aug 18, 2022

What is the most aggressive color? ›

Red. This is the color of aggression and passion—great for a first date, not so great for the office. It also increases metabolism and raises blood pressure, which is why it's used for stop signs and fire engines. Red can be seen as a bit hostile in the work environment, so think twice before wearing it often.

What is the strongest power color? ›

In color psychology, red provokes the strongest emotions of any color.

What are the two happiest colors? ›

Red, orange and yellow are all warm colors and are generally thought to evoke feelings of happiness, optimism, energy and passion. Yellow-y sunshine might lift your mood, while red roses might get you in the mood. Warm colors also rev you up!

What color compliments blue? ›

Acting as a neutral in some cases, blue pairs well with virtually every other color, including vibrant hues like orange or red and more muted neutral tones like beige and gray.

What is the three color problem? ›

The Three Color Problem is: Under what conditions can the regions of a planar map be colored in three colors so that no two regions with a common boundary have the same color? This paper describes the origin of the Three Color Problem and virtually all the major results and conjectures extant in the literature.

What is the color rule? ›

What is the 60-30-10 rule? The 60-30-10 rule is simple. For a balanced, well-designed look, 60 percent of the room should be one color (the dominant color), 30 percent a complementary color (the secondary color) and 10 percent an accent color.

What is the 60 30 10 rule color example? ›

A quick 60-30-10 rule example would be the following: Your room has all white walls and a white sectional sofa (60 percent), neutral flooring, side tables, and upholstered side chairs (30 percent), and pops of one color around the room using toss pillows, artwork, and other small items (10 percent).

What does the 20 10 rule not apply to? ›

The 20/10 rule doesn't include mortgage or rent payments. It only applies to consumer debt. The reason is that many mortgages would put individuals above the limits of the rule. Lenders often approve mortgages that bring the borrower's debt-to-income ratio above the level that the 20/10 guideline suggests.

What does the 20 10 rule apply to? ›

The 20/10 rule follows the logic that no more than 20% of your annual net income should be spent on consumer debt and no more than 10% of your monthly net income should be used to pay debt repayments.

What is the finances 10 10 10 rule? ›

Instead of asking yourself how you'll feel about buying something 10 minutes later, Grishman suggests that, unless you're bleeding and in the pharmacy asking for peroxide and bandages, you should actually wait 10 minutes to make the purchase. "The first TEN is a pause button. Wait, stop, don't buy this right now.

What is the 80 20 color rule? ›

There's a secret formula Maxwell uses when concepting color for a room. It's called the 80-20 rule and it's very simple: if you decorate 80% of a room in neutral colors, you can get very colorful with the other 20%.

What is the 6 3 1 color rule? ›

While using the 6:3:1 Rule, designers have to choose a dominant color and use it in 60% of the space, a secondary color in 30% and a final color in the remaining 10%. The 6:3:1 rule eases the eye of users to move from one point to another comfortably.

Is the 50 30 20 rule realistic? ›

The 50/30/20 rule can be a good budgeting method for some, but whether the system is right for you will be determined by your unique circ*mstances. Depending on your income and where you live, 50% may not be enough to cover your needs.

What is the 50 30 20 budget rule? ›

The rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must-have or must-do. The remaining half should be split up between 20% savings and debt repayment and 30% to everything else that you might want.

What is the 10 15 20 rule? ›

If you're getting started in your 20s, save 10-15 percent of your pre-tax income. If you're getting started in your 30s, save 15-20 percent of your pre-tax income.

What is rule of 72 in finance? ›

The Rule of 72 is a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a fixed annual rate of interest. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of return, investors obtain a rough estimate of how many years it will take for the initial investment to duplicate itself.

What is the 20 4 10 rule? ›

The short version is that it recommends making a 20% down payment on the car, taking four years to return the money to the lender, and keeping transportation costs just under 10% of your monthly income.

What are the 50 30 20 and the 70 20 10 rule and which one do you think is better? ›

With the 50/30/20 rule, half your income goes to needs, 30% goes to wants and 20% goes to savings and other financial goals like investing or paying off debt.
...
How the 70/20/10 Budget Compares to the 50/30/20 Budget.
70/20/10 Budget50/30/20 Budget
Doesn't track every expense
Prioritizes savings
3 more rows

What is 10 5 3 rule of investment? ›

The 10,5,3 rule

Though there are no guaranteed returns for mutual funds, as per this rule, one should expect 10 percent returns from long term equity investment, 5 percent returns from debt instruments. And 3 percent is the average rate of return that one usually gets from savings bank accounts.

What is the 10 5 3 rule personal finance? ›

In this regard, as one of the basic rules of financial planning, the asset allocation or 10-5-3 rule states that long-term annual average returns on stocks is likely to be 10%, the return rate of bonds is 5% and cash, as well as liquid cash-like investments, is 3%.

What is the 75 15 10 rule finance? ›

Simplify Budgeting – The 75/15/10 Rule

75% of your income goes to expenses. 15% goes to investing. 10% goes to saving — that is, again, until you reach the 6-months worth of expenses threshold.

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