I just advised my students at Columbia to use 'jewel tones' when coloring their landscape plan.....I realized after class that they may not know what that term means...then I thought that perhaps others might be interested in my explanation as well - thus this blog entry...
Jewel tones are rich colors with a high level of saturation which makes them bold and distinctive. Their richness resembles the color of gemstones, including but not limited to, emerald green, amethyst purple, ruby red, topaz yellow, sapphire blue, tourmaline green, and turquoise blue. Many jewel tone colors can be seen in the great Western masters' paintings and have religious significance - these colors excite us with their richness and vibrancy.
In gardens, jewel tones create a very lush look, especially when paired with other similarly saturated colors. For example, complimentary jewel tones like amethyst purple and topaz yellow are amazingly vibrant together but make sure that both are equally rich in color or one will overwhelm the other....Jewel tones are bright and elegant....but they must be used in moderation or their impact will be become an overbearing colorful cacophony rather than a scintillating song....
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