As spring approaches at jet speed and you start thinking about planting mixed containers (but perhaps with a little fear of the partnerships) keep in mind three-part harmony. It certainly works in church music, and it is perfect for gardeners too!

In the world of garden color, we call it triadic harmony. Simply put, triadic harmony is three colors spread equal distance apart on the color wheel. So in the mixed container or basket, this would be three colors of flowers to create pleasing harmony.

Rowe Farms is not only one of my favorite growers of seasonal flower color, but their Facebook page is a textbook on design ideas. Though they are in Jacksonville, a small city in east Texas, their product is found in Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Houston and Shreveport and locations in between.

Recently they featured some recipes that would soon be hitting garden centers. One was called Prime Time, and the other was Santa Belle. Of course, if you find ready-made baskets or planters, you’ve got your design creation. If you find the individual plants for sale you can copy the recipe. But Prime Time and Santa Belle, though created with different plants, have one thing the same, and that is color. They each have red, blue and yellow in a perfect triadic or three-part harmony.

The PrimeTime recipe features three Supertunia Mini Vista petunias, Yellow, Indigo and Scarlet that will dazzle all summer. Superbells Grape Punch, Pomegranate Punch and Yellow calibrachoas could have accomplished a similar look or recipe. This is what the Santa Belle recipe did but using Laguna Dark Blue lobelia, Superbells Yellow calibrachoa and Superbena Scarlet Eye verbena.

The red, blue and yellow scheme is one of the easiest for gardeners to put together. I used Superbena Violet Ice verbena, Supertunia Mini Vista Scarlet petunia and Superbells Yellow calibrachoa. Triadic harmony with red, blue and yellow delivers a lot of dazzle in quick and easy fashion.

Last spring I did another container with some of this year’s new flowers, Virtuoso Classy Carmine dahlia, Stardiva Blue scaevola and Supertunia Saffron Finch petunia with cheerful yellow flowers. The colors were perfect!

If you have noticed, the rules in triadic harmony, particularly when using flowers, are not exacting or mandatory in color, but approximations. Some of our blues were violets and indigo, and even Superbells Grape Punch is purple with blackeye but looks blue throughout the day with changing light angles.

Always remember substitutes are allowed. One of my favorite containers from a couple of years ago featured Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa, Supertunia Mini Vista Scarlet petunia and since I did not have a yellow flower available, I used Snow Princess sweet alyssum with white flowers as the perfect substitute. They say white is the absence of color, but I am not sure I buy that when it comes to flowers.

Red, blue and yellow is like harmony for beginners. Look at color wheels online and pick out your favorite color. Then you can see which colors are equal distances apart. I like orange so one of its colors is green, which of course will come from leaves.

You may have heard an old saying that close only works with horseshoes and hand grenades, but I assure you it works in picking harmonious flower colors too.

Start planning for spring and follow me on my Facebook page @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy for more photos and garden inspiration.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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