Flower Gardening

Plant Combinations that Work

By Jean Starr

When I first started gardening, I carefully selected plants from glossy catalogs (there was no “online” back then), and was inspired by the gardens shown in magazines. I grew everything that caught my fancy, divvying it up into three beds—two in sun and one in shade. And I wondered why my garden didn’t look as fantastic as the gardens in the magazines.

I planted lots of lilies, flowering tobacco, marigolds, roses, and lamb’s ears. In another bed I grew sunflowers and sweet peas, tulips and daffodils. It took years before I realized why, although the flowers were beautiful, the garden looked like a turbulent mishmash.

It’s simple once you know the secret: The most beautiful gardens don’t rely on flowers. They feature plants that enhance the drama of the bodacious flowers simply by just being green and healthy. So now, when I plant something grown for its flowers, I consider its foliage and I pick out its companions.

Ugly duckling below the neck, beautiful swan above, the lily is a plant that cries out for company. Some Lilium grow stems from three to six feet tall before unfurling their colorful trumpets. One of the newer hybrids, called Orienpets, is a cross between Orientals and trumpet lilies. They’re easy to grow, seldom need to be staked, are sometimes fragrant and get better every year.

Lily Combos

There is no denying the beauty of a lily, but a lily with Liatris? The contrast of fuzzy purplish spikes standing shoulder to shoulder with the smooth and brilliant lily flowers is an easy feat if you know what to plant.

Lilium ‘Sweetheart’ is an Orienpet with bi-colored flowers of mango yellow and apple red. Accent this fragrant three to four-footer with Salvia ‘Cherry Chief’ autumn sage, which starts blooming in earnest after the lilies are finished.

Lilium ‘Conca d’Or’ is an award-winning lily that grows from four to five feet tall before opening its soft butter yellow trumpets. Plant it near the peonies that have finished flowering and adjacent to Liatris ‘Kobold’, which reaches just under three feet. An alternative for any Lilium companion is the three-foot tall Salvia Van houttei in either deep red or orange.

Lilies of any shade look best with a complimentary backdrop. One of the best is Cotinus, or smokebush. I like Cotinus ‘Grace’ and ‘Royal Purple’, with their deep purple leaves that keep their own counsel until fall when shades of orange and red are added to their repertoire.

Coleus that are both tall and sun tolerant make great lily buddies—especially the varieties with solid-color leaves. ‘Redhead’ grows up to three feet tall, its sturdy stems bearing leaves of a solid red that will go with so many colors. Other solid colored performers include ‘Campfire’, a fiery orange, ‘Glinda’, deep reddish purple, and ‘Inferno’, a deep orange.

Peony Combos

There is no doubt that peonies are the divas of May and June. But while they command all the attention, they’ll look even better with the right companions. One of the best plants to use with peonies is a North American Native that’s been hybridized to a dizzying array of colors and heights. Baptisia in its original form comes in white, blue or yellow. For hybrids, you can’t beat ‘Purple Smoke’ or Decadence ‘Blueberry Sundae’, because this kind of blue goes with every peony color, even the corals.

Baptisia is a plant that looks good even after it blooms, spreading very slowly, its soft stems arching prettily with grey-green leaves. I’ve yet to see one anywhere that has been damaged by insects or disease. Give its location choice a good deal of thought, though. Once this pea relative is in the ground, you’ll have to hire a backhoe to get it out.

Amaranth ‘Oeschberg’ puts out new leaves of a deep wine color, making the perfect companion for the pink peony flowers. Keeping it pinched back through June keeps it compact, and, because it promotes new growth, assures the leaves will remain colorful. Later in the summer, when the peonies are just a memory, this tall, dark and handsome plant will continue to give. The newest leaves can be harvested for salads, and if you let the flowers go to seed in late summer, the neighborhood birds will be sure to come by for a nutritious snack.

A bulb that can be planted in the fall along with peonies is Ornithogalum magnum, a white and spiky plant that unfurls at the same time as mid-season peonies. Because it is white, and reaches nearly three feet tall, it’s an ideal accent for peony flowers.

Shady Springtime

Good partnership choices seem easier in the shade. For one thing, there aren’t as many large-flowered plants vying for attention. In springtime, Helleborus flower buds give us new hope, and cautious peony sprouts are a cause for celebration. One of the plants that I love to see in early April is Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream’. With its pale sage leaves bordered in cream, it’s a great mixer with any Hellebore, especially the white flowered varieties.

Around the same time as the Brunnera’s leaves appear, Pulmonaria also makes its debut. With its silver-speckled deep green leaves, it offers fresh cover for shade-loving companions. The purple and blue flowers of Brunnera and Pulmonaria bloom just a bit later than the Hellebores, creating a great sequence of color for shady gardens.

I consider Dicentra ‘Gold Heart’ one of the great classic bleeding hearts. It has those beautiful heart-shaped flowers that dangle from each stem, but it also lights up a shady spot with its bright chartreuse leaves. The leaves disappear when the heat comes to stay, but by then you have the Astilbe, whose lacy leaves provide a nice backdrop for the bleeding heart and shift into their floral display in early to mid-June.