Always centre stage, hot colours shout "Look at me" so use them sparingly to give your garden drama and zing. Here are some of our favourite hot colour ideas for you to try.
Why not paint a feature wall in hot pink or sunshine yellow – both colours work surprisingly well with a wide array of plants and garden styles – or paint chairs or walls bright blue to create a more Moroccan-inspired mood.
Planting can go either way: use the colour as accents or focal points, toning down the effect by surrounding the colour with more subtle colours and cool green foliage; above, citrine yellow kniphofias catch the eye against a backdrop of Centranthus ruber (pink valerian) and the seedheads of purple alliums. Alternatively...
...go all out and plant en masse, in mono or multi-coloured swathes. Above, blocks of fabulously orange Helenium autumnale 'Moerheim Beauty' make an eye-catching partner for the lime green euphorbias and purple salvias behind.
Remember, seasonal planting will help you keep the hot colour theme going strong throughout the year. In spring, try cranberry-hued primulas and imperial purple muscarii with egg-yolk yellow narcissii. Cerise pink shrub roses will provide you with dynamic colour in the summer months, while the dahlia (above), which comes in a huge variety of vivid shades and forms, will bloom from late summer well into the autumn.
Plant up old wine cases or seed boxes with a generous profusion of Geranium 'Hot 'n' Spicy Mixed', Ranunculus 'Paeony mixed' and Hydrangea macrophylla 'Glam Rock' and set them on the windowsill inside the house, or along the garden wall.
Complete the look with some hotly coloured furniture and accessories. Almost-neon-hued bright pieces work particularly well in contemporary spaces, whether it be an arrangement of bistro-style table and chairs (above), or elegant finishing touches like this sleek-lined watering can or plastic herb pot (below).
FINALLY, SOME HOT COLOURED EXTERIOR PAINTS TO TRY...
Dazzling Yellow, www.hammerite.co.uk
Marigold 209 and Mambo 112, both www.littlegreene.com
Pillarbox Red and Zinby Green, both www.cuprinol.co.uk
St Giles Blue 280, www.farrow-ball.com
For more decorating ideas, visit the Homes & Gardens website.
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