Color in Floral Design

The use of color in floral design is of utmost importance as that is the first thing at which people look.  Colors reflect our personal tastes, moods and personalities.  Outgoing people tend to enjoy the warm colors of red, yellow and orange, while a more introverted person are attracted to the cool colors of blue, green and violet (purple).    

Primary colors are red, yellow and blue.  All other colors are derived from the primary colors.  Secondary colors are the colors you get when you mix two primary colors together.  Green, orange and purple are secondary colors.  The third tier of colors, or the tertiary colors are yellow/green, blue/ green, blue/purple, red/purple, orange/red, and yellow/orange.

Color is light.  Lighting will make a huge difference in how a color looks.  All the colors reflected together look white, while all the colors absorbed together create black.  Warm colors need less light to be seen than do cool colors.

Color definitions to keep in mind for floral design.

Chroma-the intensity of color: its freedom from gray or white.  Also refers to the intensity or saturation of a color.

Intensity-the brightness or dullness of a color.

of a color;  adding white or black to a color to give it a new tint.

                Hue-the full intensity of a color.

                Tint-lightening the hue by adding white.

                Tone-mixing a hue with gray.

                Shade-darkening a hue by adding black.

Color harmonies are a valuable tool in floral design.  These are the most commonly used color harmonies used in flower arranging.

Monochromatic-includes all the tints, tones and shades of one color.    Mono means one.

Complementary colors-consist of a primary color and the secondary color that is directly across from it on the color wheel.  The light/dark contrast of these colors make a dramatic impact.  The three complementary color schemes are blue and orange, red and green, and yellow and purple.

Split-complementary colors-for a softer contrast using a hue with the two colors on either side of its direct complement.

Triadic color-use either all three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) together or all three of the secondary colors (orange, green, purple).

Analogous-use one primary color and three or more hues that are adjacent to it on the color wheel.  A fall arrangement with brown, orange, gold and yellow is an example of an analogous use of color.

Experiment with the various color harmonies for fun and to find the most pleasing colors to suit your personality and preferences.