Bringing Color Mixed at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Annuals are superb for bringing color mixed color into mixed borders. Either use them boldly spread in drifts, so that their color is not diluted, or mix them with other plants and perhaps plant them by scale rather than by color. There is a wide range of bulbous plants that can be grown in a mixed border, from the stately gladiolus to the perfumed lily. Make sure that you know the eventual height that the flower will reach before planting it.

Use the following plant recommendations, arranged by color, to put together your own basket according to your desired color scheme. For a mixed planting, choose a few plants from each section or stick to one color scheme and integrate some foliage.

Pigments. The majority of first class painters prepare their own colors from pigments furnished by a reputable manufacturer. If the finished color is to be light in value, the pigments are slowly added to the mixture of the base and binder with constant tests and color comparisons with the desired sample. Colors have a tendency to dry to a slightly different hue than when wet, so that if an exact match is required, it is necessary to permit the sample to dry until the gloss has been eliminated. If dark colors are to be mixed, it may be necessary to add a great deal of pigment, so that usually it is better to start with a ready-mixed paint that is close to the color desired, and to which additional pigments may be added. The following palette will be found sufficient for most types of work.