How to choose the right plants for your home's colour

If you worry that your chosen exterior colour will clash with the neighbourhood, think smaller.  Think about what you’ve planted in your garden.  Or, what you’d like to plant.

Calgary gardening guru Donna Balzer offers some wise tips for home owners who have spent a lot of money on perennials and trees for their yard. That includes people who have purchased a brand new home that requires landscaping or who have completely renovating the exterior of your home.  You don’t want a colour disaster happening in your garden.

As Balzer explains, trees such as Blue-chip junipers won’t stand out if you plant them in front of dark blue siding or painted stucco.  Amur cherries are another example.  They have a fantastic copper-coloured bark.  If you plant them in front of red, whether it’s siding, stucco or a reddish-rock, it will look very dull and boring.  Not the dramatic effect you hoped to achieve with such an expensive tree.

Another of Balzer’s examples of plants clashing with paint colour is the double-flowering plum tree.  In the spring, this tree offers brilliant pink blossoms.  The last thing you want to do is paint your exterior an exotic shade of orange or rust, so popular these days.  Beige is also a pretty standard exterior colour – a neutral colour yet Golden Elders, which are a lime-yellow hue, will certainly clash.

This is the time of year when many people want to redo the outside of the house.  Student painters are all over offering their services at very attractive and reasonable rates.  When you have the paint chips spread out in front of you, considering the latest colours, Balzer advises Calgarians to consider what’s planted in the front yard and to take inventory.  She offers these paint and plant pairings that you might want to think about:

Hydrangeas

It’s a good thing that hydrangeas come in a myriad of varieties because not all types will grow in this zone.  However, the Annabelle Hydrangea or the Limelight variety will certainly grow here in Calgary.  This perennial has lovely white or lime-green flowers.  White works anywhere, even in front of a white house.  But the lime will work beautifully with a dark grey or blue, particularly east or north facing says Balzer.  These plants provide contrast and will brighten up a darker shade of these colours.  A tree that would also compliment these grey and blues is a native birch.

Pine trees

Going back to the orange referenced early, shades of tangerine are very hot right now, echoing the mid-century modern trend both inside and out.   Dark green plants work very well.  In thinking of Mugo Pines, the dark green colour works well – even with perhaps a pale green.  If you want a bush that’s not too big and not too small for the average house, there is a variety of the Mugo called “Tannenbaum”.  If you live in a condo or a townhome, there is a smaller more appropriate variety of Mugo called “Slowmound”.  

Blue-ish plants

As mentioned, Balzer recommends Blue-Chip Junipers with orange and green exteriors; however, these bushes will really create impact when planted in front of a cream-coloured or darker yellow exterior.  Combine these junipers with other blue-type plants, including blue spruce, Diabolo Ninebark with its purple foliage for additional contrast.