Color captures attention. It beckons. It invites. It fishes for compliments like no other element in the garden. Small wonder that we plant too much of the stuff.

Make the most of your flowers by planning your color strategy. You'll probably find it takes fewer flowers to make an impression when their location is carefully considered. Flowers will focus attention on the area where they are growing. Plant bloomers or colorful foliage plants in places that deserve attention. The spot immediately outside your front door is an excellent location for eye-catching color. If you have problems with people bypassing your front door to enter through the garage, plant a single bright color beside the main entryway. Repeat the same shade in pots or hanging baskets so the color is seen at more than just ground level. A concentration of flowers calls attention to the front door and welcomes family and friends to your home.

Favorite sitting areas, spots looked upon through windows from inside your home, and views framed by arbors and gates are other prime areas for adding color. Beds of flowers are usually more effective than rows, which tend to emphasize length. A patch of concentrated color is like a centerpiece; it draws attention to a specific spot, while making the most of its setting. Location deserves key consideration when you're ready to start digging. Create the structure of your landscape first, leaving room for pockets of flowers. Try to include enough greenery so your landscape will not look bare while annuals are young or between seasons. A neutral zone around flowers will make them even more noticeable. Walls, steps, evergreen shrubs, and ground covers provide good backgrounds for color beds.

Remember, if you plant too many competing colors, they'll declare war among themselves. The hue of one flower will clash with another in a garish attempt to establish dominance.

Don't let your landscape become a battlefield. Stand firm. Keep the upper hand. But if lavish displays of flowers at the garden center tempt you to overindulge, try digging your planting beds before you go shopping. You're much less likely to purchase one of every blooming thing if you've already done the dirty work.

You'll also enjoy your flowers more if you don't feel as if you're a slave to the seasons. Planting modest yet carefully placed beds or containers will save you time and money while you dig into the joy of coloring your world.

Make the Most of It

• Don't divide to conquer. Group annuals together for a victorious splash of color in your landscape. Appealing displays don't have to break the bank. If one flat of annuals is all your budget will allow, buy one flat of all the same flower instead of a few of this and a few of that.
• If there are things in your yard you wish would just disappear, such as an air-conditioning unit or garbage cans, don't plant color near them. Doing so will only call attention to the more utilitarian aspects of life.
• The smaller the spot of color, the less variety of colors you need to plant.
• Throwing a party tonight? Purchase matching hanging baskets of flowers and remove the hangers. Place each basket in a terra-cotta pot for a welcoming arrangement of instant color.
• Planting clusters of the same color is a quick shortcut to a professionally designed look. But if you want to mix colors, blend related hues randomly together in a bed. Resist the urge to plant alternating stripes of color. This results in a look too commercial for the home landscape.
• Because of its reflective qualities, white is the best color to plant for a garden that will be seen at night. Blues and reds recede.
• Consider the color of your home when selecting flowers. Bright orange or hot pink blooms may not be the best choice beside a redbrick house. Try yellow, white, pale pink, or soothing blues instead. Set the flowers against dark green foliage for maximum impact.

"Color Your Wordl" is from the Southern Living Garden Guide 1998.