Naturally living together, the Black Eyed Susan and Aster bloom in the early Autumn providing color and beauty on my morning walks. Each beautiful on their own; their charm is enhanced while blooming amongst each other. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
So similar that we recognize both as perennial flowers; yet each unique. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
The colors of autumn warm the cooler days quickly becoming cold days and nights of the arriving winter season. The stained glass at The Original Pancake House in Lincoln Park compliment the autumn hues of nature. Bundle up and stay warm everyone.
Colored glass pieces mimic nature’s autumn colors. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Peppers and tomatoes in a window box outside The Original House of Pancakes. They were used for summer harvests, but are hearty enough to remain harvest-able while they compliment the fall colors of the surrounding scenes. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Planter boxes are abundant decor for many condominiums of Lincoln Park. This seasonal design rich in autumn color and design interest. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
The fuzzy seed heads are Goldenrod, whose flowers were a short while ago bright golden yellow. The background is the golden flowers of Jerusalem Artichoke, unintentionally reminding us of the recent blaze that was Goldenrod.
Goldenrod in seed, Lincoln Park, Chicago. Copyright 2016 Pamela Breitberg
The long lens allowed for a short depth of field making the Goldenrod in focus and the background Jerusalem Artichoke to fade in detail. Despite the strong yellow color in a large portion of the image, the contrast in focus makes it clear to the viewer that the attention belongs to the seed heads in this image.
False Indigo copyright 2012 Pamela Breitberg
My original goal was to have a perennial garden of blues with some pink and purple for depth while maintaining a calm, comforting arena. Wild Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), another “false” plant was one of my first choices. I had come to appreciate the beauty of the Indigo plant when first seeing the Cream False Indigo on a restored prairie; so to keep with my goal I purchased the blue version. Read “How to feel inferior…”, one of my past blogs for my opinion of falsely named plants.
Then I fell in love with a few non-blue species like the brilliant orange Oriental Poppy. The Indigo and the Poppy bloom at the same time of year, late spring. I would like to say that I was the wise designer who planned to have these two favorites bloom at the same, and be near each other to complement each other. But in truth they are near each other because they are both in the rare sunny spot of my yard which fortunately happens to be in front of my largest window.
I now know that their close proximity brings out the beauty of each because their colors are complimentary on the color wheel (see below). The warm orange poppy in this image is the ideal background for the cool blue indigo.
The complementary color scheme is made of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. This scheme looks best when you put a warm color against a cool color, for example, red versus green-blue. The complementary scheme is intrinsically high-contrast.
When using the complementary scheme, it is important to choose a dominant color and use its complementary color for accents. Using one color for the background and its complementary color to highlight important elements, you will get color dominance combined with sharp color contrast.
| Pros: |
The complementary color scheme offers stronger contrast than any other color scheme, and draws maximum attention. |
| Cons: |
This scheme is harder to balance than monochromatic and analogous schemes, especially when desaturated warm colors are used. |
| Tips: |
1. For best results, place cool colors against warm ones, for example, blue versus orange. |
Taken from: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-schemes.html