Lets see some combinations!

All the plants we grow are beautiful, but I think stunning, for the most part, comes in the combinations of those plants. I also think it is true artistry in a garden. I know I am constantly aware, not only of the growing conditions that a plant favors, but what it will look like in the proximity of its neighbors. I would love to be inspired by pictures of your most loved combinations. It would also be fun to hear what you think would be good combos even if you haven't tried them yet.

Here are a few of mine.
1st pic. Kolkwitzia 'Dream Catcher' and Allium 'Sensation'

2nd Euphorbia 'Blackbird' and Creeping Jenny

3rd. Lamium 'Aureum', Brunnera 'Jack Frost', Bleeding Heart

4th. Hellebore, Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain', Lamium 'Shell Pink'

Your photos are lovely. Finding or creating great combinations is great fun and viewing photos in winter is such a nice way to spend time.

1. Azaleas and lupines.
2. Clematis Pink Champagne and candytuft.
3. Caladium Florida Sweetheart and fuchsia Mrs. JD Fredericks.
4. Echinacea, Russian Sage, Yarrow and Balloon flower.
5. Lily Triumphator (now 'Zanlophator'), Yarrow and Echinacea

Thanks for this thread, rteets. I'm sure we will all find new combinations to try.

What a good idea! Before I post, here's a technical question I have.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1328351/

Wow. Pirl, all your combinations are lovely! I will have to say the last one of the lillies, echinacea and yarrow blows me away..... I am in awe ... Thank you.

Really like the last photo too! Very very nice combination. Caladium and the fuschia are very nice too! Great combinations.

Thanks for the compliments, rteets and cam! I'll find more tonight but now it's nap time for this old broad who is tired from cutting back plants in the hot sun!

Arlene - your gardens are always so gorgeous. I see you are following the 'Color Echos' ideas. I am thinking that I should do more of that. I really love the effects.

Hi Carolyn. I've followed Pamela Harper's Color Echoes theory for the last 10 years and couldn't be more pleased. It just makes flowers look better by having a good neighbor that echoes some of the color in the featured flower.

Japanese iris 'Sing the Blues' with yellow Asiatic lilies. Same JI in all photos. The third and fourth show the Easter lilies and campanula 'Chettle Charm', an icy blue, in the background.

I had some I was going to add and lost the whole thing. I will try again tomorrow!

Love the JI's.

That's so maddening. We'll look forward to your photos tomorrow.

Thanks!

1. Lily Bonbini with astilbe in the rear.
2. Japanese irises. I love how they blend together
3. Phlox, yarrow and drying up astilbe in the rear!
4. Hakonechloa, Marguerite
5. Tango lily with Dimension lily

Pirl
Maybe we should just sit back and let you teach this lesson! Again, stunning combinations. I absolutely understand the value of the color echoes theory, especially after seeing your photos. Really, really striking.

However, I do like opposite and complementary colors as well.
The pictures loaded differently than I typed, so this list is not in order, but the numbers are correct to the pictures.

#2 Heuchera 'Plum Pudding'
Cedrus Deodara 'Snow Sprite'
Elijah Blue Fescue
Lamium Aureum
Salvia 'May Night'
#1 Lamium Aureum
Lamium 'Shell Pink'
Dicentra 'Gold Heart'
#3. Spruce 'Fat Albert'
Golden Creeping Jenny

Eek! I hope I'm not being too pushy!

Heuchera must be one of my top five favorite plants for foliage along with caladiums and coleus. Love your photos!

Question: What is the fine needled plant on the left in your second photo? That is so gorgeous! You do such good work with shrubs!

Here are two based on color contrast.

rteets - I just sent a link to ge1836 (Jo Ann) so she can add some of her fabulous photos to your thread.

Thanks for the thread Pirl.
The hold back for me is #5 images and then you need another post.Garden Showcase is unlimited.
Here goes anyway.
#1 Woodpile annual garden.We stack wood here so no perennials

#2 LilyLionhears and sedum Frosty morn

This message was edited Sep 6, 2013 8:03 AM

ge1836, what's the lily to the left of the bear sculpture?

I believe its Original Love.
more garden
Deck Garden containers
#1 hosta nanna,dicentra,funhouse coleus and coleus Grace ann
#2 basket of Sempervivums
#3Kalenchoe Flapjack
#4coleus Limon Blush,caladium Florida Sweetheart,superbells Rosevain
#5Astilbe younique white,Siberian campanuls Blue Falls

For years I've been trying to get a perennial garden (cottage garden, really) that has colors inspired by the Milne poem The Dormouse and the Doctor. The Dormouse is happy with a garden of "geraniums red and delphiniums blue." My mother read the poem to me when I was very little. I don't care for geraniums, so it's just the red I'm trying to preserve. Delphiniums have proved to be very difficult, but I may be approaching a point where I can deal with all problems. Two colors don't work for a whole garden, so I've added butter yellow and shell pink and dark purple. Still haven't achieved my goal, but my attempts can be seen in Garden Showcase. Link below.

http://davesgarden.com/showcase/album/view/68617

Here are some happy combinations that have sprung up on our property. I have very little formal flower beds. Mostly just encourage stuff that grows naturally. Or plant stuff that would grow naturally.

Your frustration is mirrored by all of us. Pirl met me when I joined Daves in '07.
She was a great guide thru my early attempts to reign in all the garden space I started.

Here is a link to my albums.I really like the Showcase feature,especially at the height of bloom season from May to July
http://davesgarden.com/showcase/albums/user/ge1836

Pirl
Are you asking about the fine needled plant in MY 2nd photo? That would be a small tree Cedrus Deodara 'Snow Sprite'. It is rather unusual and has very pale needles. I have included a couple pictures.

Yes! That's it - Snow Sprite. The photo you just posted with the snow is so wonderfully cooling and it's not even hot up here.

We're going out tomorrow and I'll see if I can find a Snow Sprite. Did you buy it at a local nursery or online?

I actually bought it on eBay from a vendor called bonzaibob. He has a number of unusual conifers. I would not hesitate to buy from him again.

Here are a couple more pictures of it in the snow.

I just love it. That second shot could easily be a Christmas card! Thanks so much.

Ge1836 and LAS14 you both have beautiful gardens!!! Ge, I loved all the pictures but I am particularly impressed with the caladiums and the shade garden. How restful it looks! LAS, you have so many true blue flowers! I love them. True blue stops me in my tracks every time I see it. Also just letting nature decide turned out to be lovely.
Great job to both of you.

I sure wish I could get my grandiflora delphinium to perform. They keep dying over the winter or just sitting at 4 inches all summer. My plan is to have the scattered all up and down the middle "row" of the garden. Then there are the tall delphs in back. I've beaten back the snails and slugs and earwigs and mites. But they just refuse to all bloom at the same time!!! Dunno what to do about that yet. It's not variety related. It's just orneriness.

I'm out of my league once Pirl & GE get going, but of course I've been enjoying the show. I can't imagine my garden ever looking that nice.

Rteets, I was also enjoying your garden. I wondered if you've ever tried juniper horizontalis Mother Lode - it's a golden ground-hugging creeping juniper which is quite striking - it's done really well for me and would serve just like your golden creeping jenny to compliment your beautiful deodora cedar.
I'd post a picture, but I'm out of town (way out of town, in Wales!).
I'll gladly post a picture of it next to a dwarf blue spruce when I'm back in town!

Thanks, Scott.

I'll be looking forward to your photo upon your return from Wales! How lovely is that!?

Weerobin,?
I do not have that juniper but I would love to see the pictures! I'm always up for a new plant and I particularly love yellow foliage. I'll be waiting...

I cannot compete with JoAnn or Arlene either, however I do love looking at their photos for inspiration.

Love your photos, Carolyn. The phlox and lilies as well as the clematis and peony are gems.

When I checked my folder of favorite combinations I saw I have 72 of them!

Thank you, Arlene.

This is my white and pink Hibiscus .

This is my spring garden stella doro lily, hydrangea and shasta daisy

My cone flowers and summer sun beautify my back driveway every year, and yellow iris and dianthus in my back yard and I add my stack of pots.

Very pretty, cytf.

Rteets, here are a couple shots of my golden juniper.
(I hope it's OK to hijack your perennial thread with a couple conifer pix!)
First pic shows the contrast between 'Blue Rug' juniper and 'Mother Lode'.
Mother Lode is the golden one spilling down the middle of the berm.
Blue Rug is the groundcover juniper covering the far end of the berm.
Second pic shows another Mother Lode with some other dwarf conifers,
including a nearby (small) Colorado blue spruce.
I couldn't find a very good picture of just Mother Lode with blue spruce,
so pic #2 will have to do.

Thanks weerobin, That juniper is lovely there! Ok, I'm going shopping....

I just finally organized summer pics, found a few combos I like.

Pic 1. Veronica Sunny Border Blue, Platycodon Hakone Blue. The Platys were from seed last year, still not full size plants, but the colors and textures are good together.

Pic 2. I love all the blues and purples, set off by the cool green Monarda foliage. I think the Lupine bloomed itself out this year, but I'm adding tall iris and more Salvia Caradonna to the mix for next year.

Pic 3. This was a surprise- Veronica Minuet mimicked the soft pink cast of the Lambs Ears flower perfectly.

Pic 4: Veronica Red Fox, Potentilla Miss Willmott

Pic 5. Another lucky accident-- a wild daisy with daylilies :-)

Nice, Pam, but you short-changed us!
Where's the daisy & daylily??

Oops! Sorry! Forgot to post it!