Using color therapy adds another dimension of healing and inspiration to your garden, with each unique color corresponding to a certain energy level, vibration, and wavelength.
A garden is more than just a simple feast for the eyes; it is a sanctuary that nurtures our well-being. The vibrant colors contained within garden spaces go beyond mere aesthetics to create an enchanting atmosphere that uplifts our spirits, soothes our minds, and nurtures our well-being. Below, you’ll learn the unique healing power of each color and discover the best flower schemes for bringing that therapeutic energy into your garden!
What is Color Therapy?
Color therapy, also known as chromotherapy, is a holistic healing practice that uses the power of colors to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It is based on the belief that each color possesses a unique energy that can positively influence our mood, emotions, and overall health.
How Can I Use Color Therapy in My Chicagoland Garden?
By intentionally implementing specific color schemes in our garden’s design through flowers, foliage, decor, and other ornamental elements, we can create a place that stimulates our senses, balances our energy, and renews our connection with nature around and within us. Whether it’s the vibrant reds that energize, the calming blues that promote relaxation, or the cheerful yellows that evoke happiness, color therapy in the garden offers a rejuvenating way to engage with the healing power of color.
How to Create a Therapeutic Color Garden in Illinois
Here are some of the most popular therapeutic shades to add to your garden’s color scheme this year:
Radiant Red
Red is synonymous with passion and vitality. It grounds our emotions, evokes a sense of security, and ignites our enthusiasm. The dazzling Cardinal Flower proudly showcases its scarlet petals, while the cheerful Scarlet Beebalm adds vibrant strokes of crimson, making them both excellent additions to any Illinois garden. You can take your red garden color scheme a step further by complementing these native blooms with fiery red poppies and vibrant, annual geraniums, which infuse your outdoor space with energy and create a healing base from which you can explore other experiences.
Luminous Orange
Orange radiates warmth and optimism and corresponds to creativity, spontaneity, and healthy emotional expression. Some excellent native Illinois varieties with this color scheme include the vibrant Butterfly Milkweed, which flaunts its orange clusters of flowers, or the delicate Jewelweed with its enchantingly graceful blossoms. For even more orange in your garden’s color scheme, try using striking annual marigolds and cheerful annual zinnias to evoke feelings of joy, playfulness, and a zest for adventure.
Blissful Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine and happiness and also corresponds to courage, power, and healthy self-esteem, giving it the power to instantly brighten our days and lift our spirits. Yarrow will beam in your garden with their clusters of yellow flowers, while charming Black-eyed Susan’s captures the essence of summer like no other flower. Alongside these native Illinois beauties shine perennials like Goldenrod and Daffodils, which promote vigorous activity, radiance, and happiness.
Serene Green
Synonymous with the calm of nature and representing compassion, love, and heart-centeredness, green has a soothing and restorative effect in the garden. For Illinois gardens, we recommend the elegant Prairie Dropseed, gently swaying with its lush green foliage, or the bold Elephant Ears. You can then use garden favorites like ferns and hostas to further fill in any shady spots with rich shades of leafy green. These plants all promote harmony, renewal, and a deep connection with the natural world.
(Image credit to: NetPS Plant Finder)
Clairvoyant Blue
Blue is a color that both painters and skilled gardeners commonly use to balance warm colors and create an alluring shadow in their scenes and landscapes. Blue Wild Indigo and Dwarf Balloon Flower are two native Illinois flowers that infuse your garden with serenity and insight to create a peaceful ambiance, one which can be further enhanced by the inclusion of hydrangeas, delphiniums, and monkshood. The presence of these garden treasures helps us find solace, reduces stress, and fosters a sense of inner peace.
Enchanting Pink
Pink exudes tenderness, affection, and a radiant zest for life. To bring a splash of pink into your garden’s color scheme, try experimenting with groundcovers such as creeping phlox, or classic perennials like peonies. Roses and carnations are two other well-loved pink flowers that fill your garden with warmth, empathy, vitality, and a celebration of nurturing relationships. In Illinois, the Magnus Coneflower reigns supreme with its captivating pink petals.
Majestic Purple
The color purple is often associated with royalty and spirituality. It sparks our imagination and deepens our connection with the divine. Russian Sage is a deep-purple favorite of ours, while the exquisite Spiderwort adds a touch of ethereal charm. Complementing these native treasures are irises, lilacs, and lavender. These vibrant purple flowers stimulate inspiration, promote harmony, and awaken a sense of wonder.
Pure White
Like purple, white is also associated with the divine and enlightenment. Depending on your personal views, it may also bring an emotional response of purity, forgiveness, and peace. If you’re searching for white color schemes, try planting the white campanula, or white catmint. Garden favorites like lilies and ‘Floristan White’ Liatris are other fantastic additions for creating a serene white sanctuary. The presence of white petals purifies our thoughts, creates a sense of spaciousness, and invites renewal.
How Do I Create a Color Scheme for My Chicago Garden?
There are many ways you can combine colors in your garden to achieve a unique color scheme. For instance, you can create stunning contrasting displays by combining warm and cool colors, such as by using shades of blue as an alluring shadow for your reds, oranges, and yellows. Another stylish design idea is to create color zones in your garden by emphasizing different colors in different areas of your landscape, depending on their purpose and the atmosphere you want to promote. Finally, repeating colors and color echoing are two other savvy design schemes that increase the emotional effect of certain colors and create a sense of harmony and cohesiveness throughout your space.
More Tips on Using Color Therapy in Your Garden’s Color Scheme
Using color therapy adds another dimension of healing and inspiration to your garden, with each unique color corresponding to a certain energy level, vibration, and wavelength. However, remember that the specific symbolism of a color is ultimately less important than the way it makes you feel. For instance, if you feel a special affinity for blue, go with a blue-centered plant color scheme in your garden to help you better connect with it. If something about green speaks particularly strongly to you, immerse yourself in the leafy embrace of your favorite foliage plants. Each plant offers something unique to each of us, so coming up with your garden’s color scheme is just as much about how you respond to specific colors as it is about the atmosphere and emotions you wish to instill in your space.
For more inspiration and ideas to help you use color therapy in your garden’s color scheme, please come visit us at our garden centers in Bloomingdale and Carpentersville!
Platt Hill Nursery is Chicago’s premier garden center and nursery.
