Date: Fri 08-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Gardener-Bleach-combinations

Full Text:

SUBURBAN GARDENER: Classic Spring-Summer Combinations

By Anthony C. Bleach

Twenty years ago, Fred McGourty explored combining plants compatible in

colors, forms and textures in The Avant Gardener . I have shared some of these

combinations with my students every year.

The magazine has just published a slightly abbreviated edition of this

classic. I was remembering gardens on the way to school. How raw some of those

lonely clouds of daffodils look. But how harmonious and right if only a few

blue squills or grape hyacinths were planted in front. It is in their

combinations ye shall know them!

Fred McGourty's, and I'll bet Mary Ann too, prove their artistry. You will

find them at their garden, Hillside Garden in Norfolk. He starts with spring

and suggests Doronicum `Miss Mason,' and the old standby Dicentra spectabilis.

The former has bright yellow daisies that are a good foil for the pink

lady's-locket of the latter. The height of each in bloom is about two feet.

Their foliage becomes tatty as the season progresses, but a hosta or two in

front will hide this.

Shad bush looks so cold and frosty in spring, but Pulmonaria `Mrs Moon,' with

pink buds, and blue flowers planted underneath, will transform this. This

pulmonaria is always interesting through the spring, because of its spotted

leaves. It will benefit from the light shade above.

Another sweet combination is Allegheny foamflower ( Tiarella cordifolia ) and

creeping polemonium ( P. reptans ), noted for the neat compound leaves, that

are as symmetrical as ladders, and dainty blue flowers. Its prettier name is

Jacob's Ladder.

The delicate red-and-yellow native columbine ( Aquilegia canadensis ) is given

more substance when it is grown with the globeflower ( Trollius cultorum ),

which has huge buttercup flowers. This combination works best in a

semi-shaded, semi-wild area.

By late spring, gardens are often waning. For the brightest yellow and blue

combinations, try Coreoptis grandiflora and Delphinium hybrids. Another

gentler double would be Artemesia `Silver Mound' in front of Astilbe `Peach

Blossom.' I love the purple spikes of Salvia `East Friesland' with the soft

yellow plates of `Coronation Gold.' It is a perfect match, where the

combination is stronger than the sum of the parts.

Summer offers far more possibilities. At Hillside Gardens they like to start

off the season with the towering spires of snakeroot ( Cimicifuga racemosa )

behind the Astilbe `Fire,' a glowing red. For the front of the border, try

prostrate yellow-flowered Coreopsis `Goldfink' with Veronica `Minuet,' which

is pink or Vincana, blue.

The compact Shasta daisy, `Little Miss Muffet,' is so reliable and popular.

But when it is underplanted with Allium sphaerocephalum , which flowers in

burgundy drumsticks two feet high, it becomes a player on a larger stage.

Another allium, A. senescens , with lilac-pink flowers, similarly lends

respect to Helopsis scabra `Incomparabilis,' a yellow summer daisy. In late

summer, the maroon-leaved Sedum `Autumn Joy' is everywhere. Even this regal

plant will be enhanced by the gun metal blue Festuca ovina planted in front.

(Anthony C. Bleach is the coordinator of the Horticulture & Landscaping

program at Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College in Waterbury).