nastutiums & caster bean leaves
Colour Contrasts: Combos with Punch, Pop and Tssssssss
yellow nasturtiums & blue nemesias
A large pot combo at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Lovely Sue! The blue and yellow combo is so happy, like blue sky and lemonaid!
Sue, just spectacluar!
This is an old pic of my front planter, I've posted it several times during other conversations (I fear people will soon tire of seeing it pop up! LOL). I just love these and will plant this combo more. Rose 'Shadow Dancer'; Salvia 'Blue Queen'; Dianthus 'Ideal Carmine'; Agapanthus 'Rancho White' (in bud); and Euonymus 'Emerald & Gold' left un-pruned to ramble through the plantings. The mini Iris bloom the color of the Salvia so I have this color combo from spring through fall and into winter before things start to poop out.
K
Kachinagirl, it's hard to tire of such a lovely grouping. You reminded me of this one in my files. It's a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, old fashioned Bleeding Heart, and Spiraea 'Goldmound.' I need to add some blue to really punch it up next year. Thanks for the reminder!
That's the WRONG view of that. Not much Tsssss! there. LOL Now I have to go search for the right view of it.
Kachinagirl - If you hadn't have posted it here, I would never have seen this stunning combo! I'm sure those that are new to DG appreciate it too.
mickgene - love how the yellow of the spirea lets the shape of the corkscrew hazel just pop.
Kachinagirl, that is a stunning combo! The euonymous entwined with the rose is sooo awsome, and the blue and magenta accent perfectly. Thanks for the ideas.
mickgene, wrong angle or no, thanks for the idea! Like sanannie, I really dig the way the Harry Lauder's Walking stick is so nicely displayed against the gold foliage. A good friend of mine has a HL's walking stick that needs to be moved and we've been trying to come up with an idea how to best display it; you've just given the needed inspiration. Thanks, Neal.
Thanks. Glad it's a new pic for some! There are some awesome combos on this thread, truely lovely. It's nice to see what others have done, it's so helpful! :~D
K
Neal, I'm glad you like the idea. It's definitely a good match in the spring when the spiraea are leafing out and Harry's still bare. It's less so in the wintertime, though, since the bare sticks of the spiraea detract somewhat from the form of the naked Harry. But once he's bigger, that shouldn't matter as much.
This view really shows how nicely the branches twine through the Dicentra. Next year I'll be sure to take one that captures both the 'Goldmound' and 'Goldflame' spiraea and their color interplay with both these plants rather than just providing the very slightest background color you can see here. (And I'll have added some blue and/or purple by then, too.)
be nice to have that pic in!
Been following this thread and thought I'd post pics of two containers I potted up this summer. All plants were chosen for their foliage, not flowers. Posted info on the names of plants in the pots on this thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/541501/
First one I planted:
Second one
Although there's not much 'echo' in this planting, it was my favorite combination this spring, Lamium 'Aureum' and Geranium 'Terra Franche'. Next year I need to add something to spice it up a little.
mickgene, that last pic is beautiful!
rcn48, your combos are scrump! Can't pick a favorite; such lovely contrasts in all your groupings. I've got to get some of that geranium and lamium!
Neal
rcn48, names please. Hosta? Heucheras? Other goodies? They look fabulous!
rcn, those are textbook examples of how to use foliage to great effect. Lovely!
Thanks for the positive remarks everyone! I had so much fun making the containers. As I explained on my post in Container Gardening, I thought about this for weeks (mostly waking up in the middle of the night with fantastic ideas and than having to jot them down first thing in the morning before this 50+ brain forgot them!). Then off to find the perfect container - I searched high and low for what I wanted - when I finally made my decision at the local Lowes, it wasn't exactly what I was envisioning, but it was close enough. But, lo and behold, as I was approaching the register, I found garden hose containers that were almost exactly what I had been searching for: simple, classic design, right size, no fancy scrollwork and "earthy" looking, and best part is they were less expensive than most of the other containers and with the hole at the bottom to feed the garden hose through, perfect drainage!! What more could you ask for?
pins2006, the plantings are as follows:
First one clockwise, Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold', Caryopteris divaracata 'Snow Fairy' (I absolutely love this plant!) , Hosta 'Stained Glass' (been one of my favorites for the past two years and after planting found out this has recently been chosen 2006 Hosta of the Year!), Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls' around the edges, and Cimicifuga 'Brunette'.
Second one, Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate', Victoria Lady Fern, Tiarella 'Neon Lights' (love this Tiarella because its foliage almost has a 'sheen' to it and the dark centers hold out all through the summer), Hypericum calycinum 'Brigadoon' around the edges, and Brunnera 'Jack Frost' (a favorite of mine since the first time we saw it at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria four years ago).
I forgot to mention, and if you didn't check the link I posted above, these were both planted with plants "for foliage only", because I entered them in Fine Gardening Magazine's Container Contest. I wanted to enter last year, but the requirements were too strict for me - one herb, one vegetable, one annual, one perennial, etc, etc. But this year they're requiring "foliage only"!
gemini - the Geranium and Lamium was outstanding this spring. 'Terra Franche' must have bloomed for six weeks and the Lamium kept its bright foliage until the heat of the summer kicked in. Where is Morehead? We're heading to Louisville next week - first time ever in Kentucky - I can't wait!
mickgene, where the heck is Linden, VA? I've only lived in VA for five years and still trying to familiarize myself with all the different parts of the state. We go to plant shows in northern Virginia and Richmond area but not sure where Linden is?
rcn48 - those containers are truly inspiring! Who says you need flowers for pizzazz? Nuh - uh.
rcn48, I have some (have collected several this year) fun foliage plants and ground covers, so if you'd ever like to trade, give me a holler. Morehead is right off I64, about an hour west of Ashland. If you do come that way, and you need to make a stop in the Morehead area, feel free to stop at the flower and gift shop where I work. It's also a deli-cafe, so a nice alternative to fast food on the road. It closes at 5pm on weekdays and 3pm on Saturday. In any case, Welcome to Kentucky!
rcn48, You're definitely more artful than I am. I have all the plants in your first pot except for the Cimicifuga, but they're nowhere near each other. These color echo and combo threads are really helping me hone my eye for what I already have. That means my transplanting skills are really going to be honed this year, too. LOL
Linden is SW of Winchester, right off I-66, about 13 mi W of I-81. We're just outside of what would is considered "northern" VA, so is growing way too fast for my taste. I may have to move down your way before much longer. (I was going to edit this to tell you about the semi-annual sale at the state arboretum, which is near me. I got out my card from Rick's Custom Nursery to get the dates, and guess what I saw is their e-mail address! LOL So I guess you already know about the sale! See you there.)
This message was edited Sep 3, 2005 7:25 AM
Just got back on line after a few days away---I love all the pics, especially rcn's containers, and mickgene's, lincolntess' and gemini's garden pics...lots of great ideas here for next year. And I especially like that hardy geranium (that I don't think I've seen in the garden centers around here--must be new or rare, or both!).
Beautiful day here and I'm going out later to look for some great contrasts. Hope to get some pics to share. This is a fun thread. As vossner says, "lord have mercy! lol t.
Just found this thread. I love colors that pop & sizzle! Let me dig a
few out... here's a couple of daylilies that sizzle
Tam
Those pair certainly do sizzle! Do you know the names of the daylilies?
mickgene LOL! Well if you got a postcard you must have bought plants from us at one of the sales! Make sure if you stop by Oct 8 or 9 at Blandy to introduce yourself! We've been trying to let our customers know about DG ever since I found it last fall - I love this place!
Now back on track, tabasco that Geranium was sold by Terra Nova years ago, lovely foliage, very similar to Geranium renardii http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/609/index.html, but with much nicer flowers and a vigorous grower.
thanks, rcn, I will look up g. 'terra franche' at Terra Nova, t.
I loved seeing all of your pictures! Although masses of one color really stand out, I love the contrast.
Here's another.
I like this one, too. :-)
Evolvulus & Lysimachia nummularia
another view
Oh I do like those little blue and purple flowers.
jmorth - Love your Evolvulus combined with the Lysimachia! Evolvulus is one of our favorite annuals - we plant it along the sides of our driveway every summer, but maybe next summer we'll have to move it closer to our Lysimachia!
Here is one I like.
Rudbeckia and Phlox
What a beautiful piece of garden, Starzz!
Can I sneek a couple of annuals in here:
Heliotrope underplanted with Licorice Plant 'Limelight'.
Trunnels..thank you. There is a tiny pond in there so you can sit on the bench in the shade and listen to the water bubbling.
Sanannie..that is so sweet. I really like heliotrope..if I can get down low enough to smell it. LOL
This message was edited Sep 6, 2005 6:38 PM