The quality of light can have a strange impact on the way flowers and plants look in both the garden and photographs. Light levels may change with the seasons, weather or surroundings and a cloudy sky will produce a different effect to a clear blue, early morning sky. The greatest single effect is caused by colour temperature as the photographs reveal.

Colour Temperature
Light’s colour depends on the temperature, if you heat an iron bar, it will eventually start to glow dark red . Continue to heat it and it turns yellow and eventually blue-white. We say that red is a “warmer” colour than blue! Colour temperature is measured only on the relative intensity of blue to red. Early morning light has more blue whilst early evening has more red. (see below for a small graphic, measuring temperature of light in degrees kelvin, from Ephotozine)

Tips
Oranges and red-yellow flowers look even better in early evening. Blue purple and some green looks best in the morning.
Quality of colour is in the eye of the beholder so experiment.