Transform your dark abode with our landscaping tips: Perfect plants for a stunning dark house exterior
Creating a Stunning Garden for a Dark-Coloured House Exterior
A dark-coloured house exterior can be a beautiful canvas for a vibrant and harmonious garden. Here are some key plant choices and colour scheme ideas to create a visually striking and complementary outdoor space.
Bright and Warm Flowers for Contrast
Plants with vibrant blooms such as marigolds (yellows, oranges) and pink lantana bring lively pops of colour and appeal strongly against dark backgrounds.
Variegated or Light-toned Foliage
Plants like boxwoods with their dense, green leaves or plants with lighter or patterned foliage (e.g., polka dot plant with pink or white spots) create compelling contrast.
Architectural or Textural Plants
Agaves, aloes, and palms offer strong shapes and structural interest with muted, often silvery or blue-green tones that stand out well on dark exteriors while thriving with low maintenance.
Evergreens for Year-Round Colour
Boxwoods (varieties like Green Velvet or Graham Blandy) provide dense, evergreen structure that contrasts well throughout seasons against dark walls.
Trailing or Cascading Plants
Plants such as torenia, which perform well in shaded areas, add softness and movement, contrasting darker house colours with lighter flowers and texture.
Use of Black or Dark Mulch
Enhances the depth and drama of plant colours while keeping the garden beds crisp and accentuating greenery and blooms.
Evergreen Plants for Permanent Colour
Evergreen plants come in varying shades of green and can be used to permanently fill in a background or increase winter interest.
Considering the House Colour
The colour of a house and other structures should be considered when choosing plants. For a bold statement, use analogous colours like 'Orange Rocket' or 'Sunjoy' barberry shrubs, vivid orange flowering perennial butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), 'Amber Jubilee' ninebark, and yellow mums.
Landscape Design Ideas for Dark-Coloured Exteriors
Landscape design ideas for dark-coloured exteriors can help in selecting the best plants. For a flower bed against a dark background, try a complementary colour palette such as violet and yellow, with yellow rose bushes, yellow daylilies, and purple garden phlox.
Pastel Garden Colour Theme
A pastel garden colour theme combines different tones of colour that create a soft and muted look, with silver or grayish foliage often looking more harmonious than greens.
Seasonal Considerations
Susan Albert, a gardening expert, suggests that seasons are important for dark exterior plants, as some plants may lose their leaves in winter but can put on a spring flowering show and provide three seasons of foliage colour.
Warm Colours for a Cosy Feel
Warm colours (orange, yellow, red) in planting can make plants seem closer and create a feeling of a smaller space. For a picture-perfect annual in a container on the porch, try Crossandra 'Orange Marmalade'.
A Dark House as a Backdrop
A dark house can serve as a backdrop for contrasting light-coloured plants or bold plants.
In summary, these plant choices, combined thoughtfully with colour and texture, will create a striking and harmonious exterior garden that complements and elevates a dark-coloured house.
Incorporating plants into a garden for a dark-coloured house exterior can create a visually stunning and harmonious outdoor space. For instance, bright and warm flowers like marigolds and pink lantana bring lively pops of colour, while light-toned foliage plants, such as the polka dot plant, offer contrast. Additionally, architectural or textural plants like agaves and palms can provide strong shapes and structural interest, making them stand out against dark exteriors.
