"A lot of the landscape is seen from indoors. If the dining room is soft yellow and you're looking out into the garden, you might want to see more soft yellow repeated outdoors. It helps make the garden feel like it's part of the house," she says.

The Big Picture
An effective way to illustrate color is by example.

In the Victorian cottage pictured, the front door and brick dictate the color palette. "The door is a rich color, chosen to work well with the old brick. We had to find flowers to complement both and not compete," says Bill Nance, a garden designer in Huntsville, Alabama. "The salmon impatiens lead your eye up the stairs to the door and mirror its shade. The green ferns add inviting texture and prevent color clutter," Bill says. The brick, door, copper light fixtures, and flowers are all planned to present a unified presence.