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Orange in the Garden: Do You Dare?

Tangerine and other oranges are boldly cavorting from fashionable interiors to outdoor rooms. See some in-vogue examples here

Frank Organ February 26, 2014

Houzz Contributor. I have been involved all my working life with design, garden design, horticulture and garden retailing. Having worked as a buyer for a large garden centre in the south west of England for the last 8 years I have recently moved to Kent. My passion for small garden design and the lifestyle it brings has lead me to write about it on my blog, www.yardz.typepad.co.uk for the last thirteen years.

Houzz Contributor. I have been involved all my working life with design, garden design,... More

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Orange is perhaps the most contentious color to use in the garden — we tend to either love it or hate it. Yet in gardening it has a very good pedigree. Gertrude Jekyll, a Victorian gardener famed for her skill in the use of color in planting schemes, loved using orange flowers.

Though I’m not a fashionista, I understand that orange has been a fashionable color recently — with burnt orange and tangerine as the favored shades. I’ve noticed at recent trade fairs that orange has also taken over for lime green as the trendy color for kitchens, household accessories and interior decor. But do we, in our gardens, follow the same trends from other areas of design, or are we happy to stick with the colors we’ve traditionally used? Is orange tasteful or just too bright and brash?

Before you decide which side of the fence you’re on, let’s look at some great examples of the various ways you can use orange in the garden.

Feature walls are popular treatments in our homes, a splash of bright color lighting up the room, so why not use the same idea outside? Orange is a perfect choice for an accent wall. Midway between yellow and red on the color scale, orange is a bright, warm color that lights up with sunshine and recalls the colors of autumn once the sun has faded.

The clever trick here, though, is that the wall is placed next to a blue water feature. Blue is directly across from orange on the color wheel, and the contrast between the two strengthens the colors of both.

Keystone Cabinetry Inc. Since 1984

If you’re a fan of orange, then this amazing barbecue and the raised beds will be your idea of heaven. The color may be brave, but it works because the designer understands how to balance such a strong color with the calming burnt orange of the brick paving. I love the touch of the orange fruit in the raised trough.

James Cleary Architecture

Orange is reported to be a great color to use where people congregate, as it is thought to be warm and welcoming, even improving social behavior.

So perhaps that is why the designer chose it to be the dominant color in this otherwise subdued gray seating area. The orange doesn’t overpower the planting; as with the water feature in a previous image, the blue-gray of the concrete empowers the warmth of the orange.

DK Design

Orange is a fantastic color to use as an accent. If you are too timid to use it en masse, try a touch of it to brighten a dull area. Here tall orange planters overflowing with bright green foliage and with their bottoms surrounded by foliage make a great statement against the white fence.

KYZLINK ARCHITECTS

Here’s blue again snuggling up to orange to the benefit of both colors. The spiky blue grass, Festuca glauca, is the perfect companion to these orange egg pots. Neither feature overpowers the other, and together they once again make a great focal point.

Johnston Architects

Orange can dominate in mixed plantings, but here, in a border with mixed colors, it has been used to add that something extra.

Cleverly the designer has linked the orange throughout the design — from the leaves of the Crocosmia to the flowers of the Canna and even the parasol. The eye is led smoothly through the garden by a color that’s thought of as being brash and garish, but that here is warm and calming.

Shelley Gardea - Flea Market Sunday

In a previous image we saw a stunning orange barbecue with the planting as the supporting act, but here the use is totally the opposite. The garden is composed of mainly neutral colors — the walls, paving and even the furniture cushions are all very conservative — yet it’s brought alive with the dazzling orange flowers of the bougainvillea planted on either side of the stone barbecue.

Pot Incorporated

If you are still on the fence about using orange, why not start with a container influenced by it? Here orange may be the dominant color, with the bright flowers of the trailing Calibrachoa, but it is softened by the foliage of the coleus and Canna Tropicanna. A nice touch is how the little warm red flowers of the Cuphea Eternal Flame continue the theme.

Axis Mundi

Here orange has escaped from the interior and taken pride of place in the form of stylish outdoor seating. The color doesn’t overpower its setting and blends beautifully with the warm color of the fence. Even on the dullest of days, this garden would glow with warmth, creating the perfect atmosphere for entertaining.

Lee Ann Marienthal Gardens

I’m sure even the most ardent orange-aphobe would admit that this radiant patio dining set adds to the overall design of the garden. It creates a focal point in a garden that is dominated by foliage and lawn, but it is not overpowering.

BiLDEN

Perhaps we gardeners could be more reactive to fashion and consider changing our gardens in line with design trends. Let’s ponder swapping all those acid-yellow and lime-green plants of the past few years for ones with the glowing warmth of orange.

Tell us: Will you be letting orange out of your living room and into the garden?