There are four components of garden design to think about: texture, height, seasonality, and color.

What’s in bloom in May wont be in November, and you oughta plan for both.

And there are flowers and plants for every taste.

There are tons of black flowers and plants, as well as white ones, if thats your style.

If you love the whole rainbow, you’re able to plan accordingly.

I also use color-palette generation tools.

They can also generate palettes from pictures.

Swap a white peony for a red one.

Have white foxgloves growing?

Dont just prune them, remove them.

Same for white yarrow.

All those pink snapdragons and sweet peas?

Trade them out for more dramatic colors.

(Seriously, buy the book).

If you love white and pink, they can work beautifully, but they should be deliberate choices.

This is your guide.

Divide a space by season

Now take the sketch of your yard and start by season.

Start with springyou can easily add color to the garden by using spring-blooming bulbs like tulips.

Imagine your fields of color and fill in your sketch using colored pencils to help you visualize.

Now you know what to shop foryoure looking for plants within those color ranges to fill the space.

This is especially useful off-season; once flowers die back, it’s difficult to remember where they were.

I use my photos to know what to order to backfill later on.

Persistence

Youll be working on this project for years, because your garden changes.

Start with spring, and bulbs.

Fall is nextensure you have enough late-blooming perennials like asters.

You will slowly build up a garden that is color hardy, and has moments everywhere of color.