Go Bold With Baroque: Create a Vivacious, Colorful Garden

Why not give your garden a touch of the baroque? Originating in 17th-century Italy before spreading across Europe, the baroque movement influenced painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, and garden design. Baroque colors are distinctive: deep shades like dark blue, purple, aubergine, burgundy, and ruby red, often combined with gold and black for a sumptuous feel.

It's not just the strength of colors in baroque-style plantings, but how they're juxtaposed. Most gardeners have a wide plant palette, and though preferences are personal, perhaps we could all be more adventurous with strong colors.

Mixing bright colors isn't for everyone. Designers' use of pastels and monochromatic schemes in recent decades has influenced us toward tightly reduced color palettes. But is it such a leap to break from muted tones and enjoy those rich, bright hues we love for winter decor in our gardens year-round?

One problem with monochromatic schemes: scarcity of blooms at certain times. We have a wide range of flower colors year-round; why limit ourselves to one or two?

Taking our cue from the baroque, we can select whatever color is available each season and mix and match. All the planting skills from monochromatic schemes — balance, repetition, rhythm — can create a jewel box of color.

Be Bold With Seasonal Planting

The easiest way to try bold, baroque planting is to start with seasonal plantings using bright annuals and half-hardy annuals.

The purple edging of purple heart (Setcreasea purpurea) adds depth to bright colors of deep red salvia, golden zinnia, and bright yellow rudbeckia.

Use Garden Accessories for a Baroque Touch

Bench seats and throw cushions bring a garden to life without impeding restrained planting. If you're not brave enough to change your planting, accessories are a good start.

A favorite baroque trick was adding gold to contrast brighter colors and create a buffer between them — like gold baubles on a Christmas tree.

Here, bright yellow garden furniture enlivens a traditionally designed courtyard. Muted blue catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) is brought to life with deep pink roses and Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation', but the yellow furniture completes the picture.

Link House and Garden With Strong Colors

Simple yet stunning planting against complementary house colors shouts baroque.

Yellow creates a buffer between strong colors: mauve Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), cerise bougainvillea, and dark-purple porch woodwork.

Baroque planting builds on interaction of strong colors with different shapes and plant heights.

Though pink isn't a traditional baroque color, here the pink of Monarda reverberates against dark blue delphinium and purple clematis.

Lose Inhibitions With Baroque-Style Planters

Planted containers have long been the natural home of baroque-style planting. Here we lose inhibitions, planting any colors we fancy together, letting them fight or blend as the mood takes.

Why not forget soft pastel schemes this year and be brave with bright baroque colors?