Burgundy is a valuable color to have in your garden design tool kit. It's both potent and sophisticated. From garnet to merlot, maroon to mahogany, these dark, purple-red hues can take your garden to a whole new level. Read on for some creative ways to put burgundy flowers and foliage to work in your yard and garden.
The early autumn color of a shrubby Cornus with ornamental grasses, Bergenia and birches. Photographed in Adrian Bloom's Foggy Bottom Garden in Norfolk, UK.
Create Accents and Focal Points
In a landscape that’s dominated by foliage in shades of green, burgundy is an unexpected color that always attracts the eye. It’s also a solemn hue with a refined manner. Together, these characteristics give burgundy a gravitas that can be put to great use in a garden.
Burgundy flowers and foliage are difficult to ignore, so it takes no effort to make them focal points. Weaving splashes of these darker tones through a garden can establish a sense of rhythm and be used to guide the eye from one area to the next.
Another photo from Foggy Bottom. Dark-leaved heuchera with blue fescue, rudbeckia, asters, eupatorium and miscanthus.
Add Depth and Layers
As with other dark colors, burgundy flowers and foliage tend to recede, while brighter colors come forward. This means you can use these dark tones to add depth and mystery, and make small spaces seem larger. Burgundy foliage reads like a shadow and accentuates the shape and volume of neighboring plants.
Berberis 'Concorde' (a non-invasive variety) with Heuchera 'Marmalade'.
Cultivate a Range of Moods
The hushed tones of burgundy have a calming effect and add a feeling of serenity to a garden. Yet moody, purple-red hues can also be used to create drama and excitement. Pairing burgundy with gold or lime makes these bright colors look even more vibrant. Conversely, the sophisticated base notes of black currant and plum, make pale blue, pink, grey and creamy yellow look even softer.
The burgundy foliage of purple fountain grass and Alternathera 'Purple Prince', combined with coleus, Helichrysum 'Gold' and a fancy-leaved geranium.
Leverage the Light
Don’t hide burgundy flowers in the shadows. Dark-colored foliage absorbs the light and can be difficult to see in the shade. A sunny spot is usually more effective. You’ll also find that in most cases, sunlight intensifies deep pigments, so most plants are at their darkest when grown in full sun. Glossy petals or shiny leaves also take on a silvery sheen in the sun, which adds yet another layer of visual interest.
Spirea 'Goldflame' and Berberis 'Concorde'
Create Color Echoes
Burgundy flowers and foliage can be used to compose exquisite garden vignettes that are as pleasing to the eye as any work of art. Connecting two plants with a common hue creates a “color echo” that highlights each partner’s special beauty and also delivers a new and satisfying color harmony.
Hellebore and Epimedium versicolor
There's no end of pairing possibilities. Combining tulips ‘Ronaldo’ with ‘Princess Irene’ brings out the latter’s plum-colored flares. The wine-red brushstrokes on Asiatic Lily ‘Patricia’s Pride’ look even more dramatic when they’re blooming beside a dark-leaved Heuchera.
One of the best places to play with color echoes is in pots and planters. Some of the many candidates for container planting include the velvety coleus ‘Dark Star’, pearl millet ‘Purple Majesty’, Alternathera ‘Red Threads’ and elephant ears ‘Diamond Head’.
For a list of sixty plants with burgundy flowers and foliage, scroll to the bottom of this article: How to Use Burgundy in Your Flower Garden. To learn more about using color, read: How to Use Orange in Your Flower Garden, How to Use Pink in Your Flower Garden and 6 Tips for a More Colorful Flower Garden.
