Hot Colors in the Miniature Garden

When you hear the words "color" and "garden" together, you may be thinking to yourself, "Green, green, and even more green!" You are certainly not wrong. Miniature gardens, especially in the summertime, can be lush places full of leaves, stems, grasses, and even tiny trees. Flowers make their entrances from time to time, but it is the green miniature plants that have staying power. There is nothing wrong with having a miniscape full of moss, leaves, and other greenery. A green garden can look like a tiny deciduous forest, a swamp, or even a rainforest! How cool is that?

Once you have taken the time to develop the greenery in your garden, you may want to consider a "pop!" of color. Color can be scary to work with at first, especially if (like me!) you have never taken an art class, and you do not know the first thing about complementary vs. contrasting colors. I have enough trouble decorating my home in colors that make sense and look good together—do I really want to ruin my garden, too? Luckily, there are a few rules-of-thumb and convenient tools that can make building a colorful garden an easy and enjoyable task. Really!

For those who are just beginning to play with color, I suggest choosing only one. That is right—just one color. Maybe you found a bold miniature accessory, fairy house, or a garden fairy that is decorated in a particularly vibrant and standout color. Perhaps you have a favorite flower, like a violet or sunflower, which makes your heart beat fast with its colorful beauty. Whatever the item is, you can use it as a focal point in your fairy garden and then build around it. Maybe the pink in your favorite roses can be picked up in the wings of a fairy, and a bright red bicycle can match a miniature red tractor on the other side of the garden.

You could even choose, like many in the fashion and interior design worlds do, to focus on one color for a specific period. Maybe your fall color is orange, and you incorporate some chrysanthemums, pumpkins, and a planter that has orange accents. Pantone, the famous printing company, chooses a new color every year. For 2008, the shade is "Ultra Violet," a bright purple. You can pull an entire fairy garden together around one color, or even around one miniature accessory, like a colorful wagon, circus tent, or automobile.

If you are interested in diving even deeper into the color world, you might think about deciding on a color palette for your garden. This scheme could include a set of three or four primary colors that weave their way throughout your garden, from plants and flowers to buildings and accessories. Do not forget about lighting! A miniature garden can sparkle at nighttime with the help of tiny, colorful lights or iridescent stones. Light is a simple way to bring color into a space, though this design element is often overlooked.

For color palette ideas, try searching on the web for programs that give simple examples of coordinating color schemes. Your next miniature garden could be fresh and bright, dark and earthy, autumnal, icy, or any number of other color themes. Tropical? Retro? Citrus? Nautical? The color palette can help determine not only the look but also the feel of your garden—the emotions that people get when they visit. How do you want to feel when you are working in your garden? Energized, with bright colors or relaxed, with cool tones? The choice is yours…and the options are endless! Have fun choosing the colors for your fairy garden, and remember, they can always be changed and changed again. One of the best parts of nature is that it is continually evolving, colors and all.