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Creating Winning Combinations

Sometimes the most brilliant gardening combinations come about by happenstance. A climbing hydrangea spillsover the arbor and clambers up a nearby tree, exuberant clematis vines burst in on a bed of roses, or a drift of forget-me-nots taken by a spring rain into a drift of daffodils come to bloom together the following spring.

There are some plants that, although you would never think to combine, look simply smashing together! Let us take you through a gardening season and suggest a few "marriages made in a garden".

Early Spring-This is a great opportunity to utilize spring flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, as well as minor bulbs like muscari, snowdrops and crocus, using early flowering perennials that focus in shades of blue. These will accent the bold yellows, reds and whites which are readily available in your bulb beds. We suggest myosotis or as it is commonly know, forget-me-nots, brunnera, or even a ground cover such as vinca, with its early season periwinkle-blue flowers. These can be accented with a touch of pansies or johny jump-ups to create effective color from March till you are read to plant out your annuals.

Early Summer-Roses love clematis! Incredible color combinations can be achieved by combining the blooms of climbing or grandiflora roses with the vibrant shades and flowing nature of the clematis vine. Sequence your clematis for early and mid-summer blooms. C. Jackmanni is a proven winner. For the more adventurous, who enjoy a "wild & crazy" look, let loose with a planting of a climbing roses intertwined with C. montana "rubens". Experiment with your vines. They don't all need to be staked in the upright position. Exotic effects can be achieved by letting them find their way.

Mid-Summer- This is a particularly effective combination for up to three seasons of blooms and you only need plant it once! Another feature is that this planting, which utilizes daffodils, hostas, daylily and liliums, can be effective in a partial sun situation. Plant it along a fence line or naturalize it along the edge of a woodland garden. Use a moderate sized variety of hosta, such as an edging variety with slight variegation, to delineate and hold together your design. Support that with your daylily. Hemerocallis "Hyperion" is a gorgeous mid-summer flower with a clean yellow bloom. Finish it off with a variety of lilium which will stretch over and through the combination to create a vibrant, colorful splash to any landscape. Overplant with daffodls in the fall and you've got three seasons of color!

Late Summer/Fall- A classic combination of grasses, black-eyed susans and sedum 'autumn joy' will last forever together in gardening bliss! Create the backdrop with a miscanthus variety of ornamental grass, frame it with sedum and let the rudbeckia go wild. Let your imagination go, plants can be moved. Why not create your own winning combinations!