Combining annuals colors

As a painter or interior decorator may say, with justifiable envy, “Wow, what a palette!” Annuals come in literally every color of the rainbow, and the only limit is your imagination. If you want to be absolutely sure of a splashy display, you can use the following principles.
However, sometimes rules are made to be broken, or sometimes a combination idea happens accidentally or just occurs to you. Not only are annuals reliable, but they’re also forgiving. So feel free to try anything, removing or shifting plants around as you fine-tune. Yes, you can move an annual from one place to another without much trauma (just get all or most of the root system when you do, and water the plant in well in its new home until it adjusts).
Throwing a bunch of flowers together in a flowerbed or container can look like a lively bouquet, or it can look like a hodgepodge. So try to decide on a mood or focus and stick to it. Here are some useful color principles you can try:

• Go for the bold: Mix annuals in bright primary shades of red, yellow, and blue. Ideally, they’re of the same color intensity so one doesn’t steal the spotlight. Yellow zinnias with blue calibrachoa is a stunning combo.
• Hot, hot, hot! Compose an exciting, traffic-stopping display out of any or all of the following: hot pink, bright orange, ruby red, magenta, and bright purple. Try some bright orange marigolds combined with purple petunias.

• Soft and sweet: If you like romantic, soothing pastels, go for colors of similar strength or intensity; combine pale yellow, lavender, pink, baby blue, and cream rather than white. A tranquil pairing is lemon-colored osteospermum with powder blue verbenas.
• Aim for contrast: Colors considered opposites (complementary colors) —such as orange and blue, yellow and purple, and red and green — look terrific together. Orange nasturtiums topped with blue salvias is a good choice.
• Use neutral hues: These colors go with everything and thus make nice, calming filler in a display that may otherwise look busy or cluttered; try cream, beige, silver, or gray (supplied by foliage if not flowers). An occasional white-flowered annual is also welcome in color-filled layouts. Silver leafed foliage plants like the dusty millers can be nicely combined with any white-flowered plants like angelonias or petunias.