Colour combinations in the garden

11 June 2026

I think June is a wonderful time to experiment with colour in the garden. Even central reservations and hedgerows this time of year burst with colourful mixes: red poppies, bright white cow parsley, lime green fennel, delicate pink dog roses… it also struck me that June is Pride Month - when better to fill your garden with all colours of the rainbow?

Colour is very personal. I did a garden last year for someone where the brief was: black and white! It was a great and enjoyable challenge, with black petunias, white osteospermum and geranium, the gothic black elder (sambuca), chocolate cosmos - all in black containers against white walls and fences. It looked so striking and yet, this year, returning to refresh the annuals, my client said “I might be ready to introduce some colour…” - so here we added red petunias, yellow osteospermum. The ‘pops’ of colour brought it even more to life.

This week I have planted the bobbing ball-heads of neon yellow craspedia amid hot-pink veronica. I have tended to gardens where pink scabious dance among yellow achillea. My own garden follows a maximalist scheme: red bottle brush next to purple salvia next to yellow roses, next to the hottest neon pink of all: lychnis coronaria.

I love gardens that have set colour schemes too - silvers, whites and greens are serene; purples and oranges are playful. Be bold with your colour choices - remember, if they look good together in the garden centre trolley, they will look good in the garden!