Jewel Tones in the Landscape


I just advised my students at Columbia to use 'jewel tones' when coloring their landscape plan.....

I realized after class that they may not know what that term means.  I thought that  perhaps others might be interested in my explanation as well ...


Jewel tones are rich colors with a high level of saturation which makes them bold and distinctive.

Their richness resembles the color of gemstones, such as  emerald green, amethyst purple, ruby red, topaz yellow, sapphire blue, tourmaline green, and turquoise blue.  

Many jewel tone colors excite us with their richness and vibrancy. Many artists use these saturated colors.
 
 
 
In gardens, jewel tones create a lush look, especially when paired with other similarly saturated colors. For example, complimentary amethyst purple and topaz yellow are amazingly vibrant together.  But make sure that both are equally rich in color or one will overwhelm the other....

Jewel tones are bright and elegant....but they must be used in moderation or their impact will be become an overbearing colorful cacophony rather than a scintillating song....

Comments

  1. LynnJanuary 23, 2010 at 9:56 AM

    In the middle of the winter your blog transcends me to another time of warmer days and brightness! Just magnificent.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan JohnsenJanuary 23, 2010 at 12:48 PM

    Thanks! the grayness of January melts into the jeweltones of spring....

    ReplyDelete

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