RED LIGHT
Longer wavelength Lower frequency
GREEN LIGHT
BLUE LIGHT
Shorter wavelength Higher frequency
UNDERSTANDING COLOR
Color is light, it is variety, joy, and exuberance—you cannot approach color from only one direction. As a designer you will need to be able to evaluate the color as it relates to the environment as a whole and the light that is available throughout the seasons. One way to help make these choices skillfully is to understand that color is more specifically a light wave, and light waves can be measured. Light’s three primary colors are blue, red, and green, and these primary colors have very distinct light waves. • • •
Blue is a short-wave (short wavelength) Green is a medium-wave (medium wavelength) Red is a long-wave (long wavelength)
GREEN
Let’s start with our most valued and dominant color in the garden, green. Green is categorized as a secondary color when it comes to a physical material such as paint, but not when it’s measured by light or light waves. 36
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