Color

"Color is a powerful emotional element in a work of art.
I have spent a lifetime trying to figure out exactly what
plant colors do..."

Courtesy Marion Brenner

Courtesy Marion Brenner

Recalling a lecture Hand gave at a NARGS Winter Study Weekend in North Carolina, Bobby Ward wrote: "I became simultaneously amused and mesmerized as Harland Hand rolled around on the floor among pieces of colored construction paper explaining how to "see" plant combinations in the garden using his simple method."

"When the concrete was finished, I became intrigued by the color relationship between it and the surrounding plants. There seemed to be something very special about the way the colors sharpened and gave drama to each other.

The relationship of these dark and light colors reminded me of the grey granite glacial formations of the high Sierra. The area of the mountains near Silver Lake with its strong color contrasts between the very light grey granite and the dark islands of conifers, was one giant, dramatic dark and light garden. I decided to use the strong dark and light contrast of that powerful landscape as the color motif of my garden."

The Color Garden, by Harland J. Hand

Reprinted by permission of Pacific Horticulture, Spring 1978, Vol. 39, No. 1).

Courtesy Harland Hand