Working combos

Doing a bit of daydreaming/planning for upcoming season (instead of pruning my apple tree). I thought it would be nice if folks could post pictures of plant companions that have worked well for them. I'm hoping to be inspired for changes, and perhaps see some that I wouldn't think would work (but do). Here's one my sister brought to my attention - as I was moving the red valerian to a sunnier spot, she commented how the lambs ear was such a nice contrast to it, which I had totally not seen and had not intended to move. So, I relocated some of the lambs ear as well, which is now just starting to fill in. I also like the forgets in the background, I let them colonize wherever they want, then yank them out when they look spent and see where they show up the next year.

And here's one that totally planned and planted itself -- borage and calendulas - both self-sowers to me. I let the calendula set up shop pretty freely, but limit the borage to one plant every 6 feet or so, provided it doesn't overcrowd purposely planted plants.

Alas, I don't think I have a picture to post, but will always remember one accidental grouping that thrilled me. It was Stargazer lilies with the common purple coneflowers with a pink rose behind them. I don't still have it as I think the rodents of some variety took care of the lilies. Gives me ideas, however, about adding my potted lilies in that site when in bloom........

Thanks for starting this thread bonehead. I will be anxious to see postings here.

The borage and calendula are lovely together. I haven't had good luck with borage. It just doesn't get very big and definitely didn't self sow. I'm getting very discouraged that I can't seem to grow anything! I do okay with vegies but flowers, shrubs, etc., do not seem to like me. :(

I'm glad you started this. I'm always on the lookout for plant combos and always take that into consideration when planting (trying to plant) an area.

Here's another area that pleases my eye - aubrieta, masterwort, euphorbia. Behind the euphorbia is oregano and crocosmia that come on for the later show. Last year I concentrated my photos on plant portraits, I will try to be more diligent about plant combos this year -- it's nice to go back and look at sunnier days.

Wow, really pretty! Btw, where is Cedarhome?

Northeast of Stanwood, very near the Snohomish-Skagit County line, about a mile west of the freeway. Not a town per se, but a local area.

wow! Your timing is fabulous for this topic. I have a "new" garden having recently relocated and I'm still very much learning about what I can/can't/shouldn't grow here and what I have to compete with. This thread and the combinations will provide some great opportunities to experiment in my planting spaces.

I'd be very interested in learning how you contain borage in a small space. Mine, in the veggie garden, last year went wild and I found it's seeds sprouting all over the paths and beds near it's planted location. If not kept up with, I imagine it could get really going.

Unfortunately, I have yet to plant and photograph anything to add to your combination folder. Hopefully that will change this year as we move into summer.

I have stumbled onto a few flower combinations that I really enjoyed. Here is tiarella with lavender (the kind with the purple topknot).

Helianthemum (orange) with nepeta (blue) and dusty miller (gray).

Gwendalou, I'd love to take a crack at your garden & see why you're having trouble.

Does anyone think that this is a feasible idea? What if, once a month, those who could make it got together for an afternoon at the garden of someone who needs ideas? (I need ideas.) It would just be ultra-informal. Those of us who haven't managed to commit a weekend to a roundup might be able to make an afternoon+evening even if it meant a few hours' drive.

For instance, who wouldn't like to visit Portland & Judi? Or me & the Lincoln City beaches? With the crux being that you didn't have to commit 2-3 days to planned activities?

Just a thought.

Kris - if you have Borage seedlings this year, would you pot up a couple and save them for me? I didn't have much luck with Borage this year, so I'm going to put it in a sunnier spot.

A late summer pot:


Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Red Clover, Carex, Ipomoeia

Did any of you read my compost articles back when I wrote for DG? Borage reseeded beautifully in that setup. But it definitely preferred the sandbox from the previous owners' swingset -- which was 4 inches of sand on fertile clay, with strawberries being the only competition.

Another favorite box, though the flax hasn't overwintered too well:

Flax, E. 'Bonfire', H. 'Obsidian' (my favorite, but hard to find), Ipomoeia, Geum (on the other side and not yet in bloom), and S.

Good to know. Thanks, Summer.

Come to think of it, there was always a lot of garlic interspersed with the strawberries too. I'm no interplanting genius, but perhaps that helped?

Borage also popped up yards away on my straw-mulched beds. Maybe the lesson here is that the seeds need a very friable sprouting medium, i.e., soft sand or loose straw?

The puzzle is definitely worth solving. I'm a sucker for that color combination of pinky-purple turning to blue. Goes so well with the apricot shades of hardy chrysanthemums.

Borage: I used to grow it. It seeded into the gravel between the beds.
For some reason, plants LOVE the gravel paths...

This is a not great picture of an area that was an experiment in red. Better in person...

Wow, kinda liking it. Better in person how?

it's 3-D!
Seriously, while I have extreme visual tendencies, I prefer being "in" the garden. Texture/shape/colour/space all come together in a most rewarding & pleasurable experience.
Think of it in these terms: newborn baby. A picture of said Baby - real cute.
But holding Baby: the fragrance of the little bald head, the wiggily toes, the colour of the eyes that hold your reflection, the oh-so-perfect ears & nose, the soft tiny hand that grasps your finger, the beat of the heart & rhythm of the breath. Well - all this is a rich experience. And that is what i mean about better in person.
Besides, I'd rather walk with you in my garden & feed you fresh berries & watch the dragonflies together.
More fun in person.... =:0)

Holy cow. I feel like running out into the Chicago snow & stealing a baby.

Caveat: they wear diapers and erupt at the mouth!

Hungry?

Apples in Kate's garden:

One cute little corner by Kate's shed:

Some really nice color combinations from Kate's pots out front (this is from the Saturday of the Roundup). Pardon the fuzziness. I didn't realize that my camera was dying . . .

Last one (though there were many more):

Ok, I've been lurking. A regular ole peeping Tom here. And I'm coming out of lurkdom to say LOLOLOLO about the baby. That was just too funny.
And Kathy those photos of your plants are so pretty. Makes me wish it were already spring.

Ok, I'm going back to my lurking now. :-)

Joy

Wow, that red garden is stunning. And I normally don't care as much for red flowers as other colors.

Summer, once a month would be a bit too much for me! But others may be more able. It sounds like fun!

Lovely photos - good inspiration for the spring. Here's another -- lamium, sweet william (not yet blooming), tiarella (covering the spent tulips), backed by centaura, all under the canopy of a Sam cherry tree.

some more great ideas, wonderful photos make me wish it was summer time already as I'm having trouble waiting to get out and play in the dirt.

Kathy, I'll be sure to save some seedlings. Alex likes the borage as it bring in bees for pollenation in his garden, although he buys a small plant instead of starting it from seed. I do think there is something to the ease of seeding in loose materials. We have mulch pathways in the garden and it must be just right because there were several dozen seedlings from 2 plants.

I agree that borage is a magnet for bees. It self-seeds in my herb labyrinth, which used to be my raised veggie garden (reconfigured about 4 years ago), and has been basically foot-free and well mulched/composted for about 30 years so the soil is very loose. My borage gets quite large, I have to limit the seedlings to one here and there. Creates lovely blue accents and I like to see where it chooses to pop up. I also do the same with johnny jumpup, feverfew, calendulas, and sweet annie - all welcome in limited numbers. Lemon balm would take over if I let it, so that one gets just a few designated spots.

Thanks, Joy. Only the first two are from my garden. The subsequent pictures are of Kate's (Katye's) garden. She did some great color matching this year.

And thanks, Kris. I would buy borage if I could find it. You know, just to get it started to so I could complain about having it everywhere. :-)

BH, I have the same reseeders that you do, except for sweet annie. What's that?

I haven't grown borage in years. My grand daughter used to love to eat the flowers. They have a taste similar to cucumbers. I really should try growing them again.
Kathy, by what I recall, I don't think they transplant well, so seeds might be the only way to grow them? Mine self sowed for many years but eventually stopped for some reason.

Joy

Kathy, Alex corrected me - he didn't buy it but got it as a gift in a plantable pot, took off immediately and did great! I'll write a note on the garden chalkboard to help us remember to pot seedlings.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2010 12:50 PM

I hope if I get them small enough, they'll transplant. I guess I could just buy some seeds . . .

I threw out some borage seed years ago and still have it coming up. It isn't in the right spot so it gets long and leggy. I've had it get over four feet tall and about 2" around at the base. Love it.

HI Joy, Hope you stick around and add to our conversations. What kind of a garden do you have?

Nice combos everyone! I've changed software and resizing photos has become a real pain, but I'll try to find one or two things that I liked last year. I've got one combo that I've wanted to get some opinions on, too. IF it worked or if it was kind of a disaster. I haven't been able to locate the picture though. :(

Katye, that red bed is great. I think red is hard to work with-that's lovely, even in 2d (and without babies, lol)
Kath, nice containers. I'll have to show you my flax pot (Wahhh, I think it died this winter).

You've got me all thinking I should give borage a try again, too. I think I planted mine in too much shade.

Summer, I didn't realize you liked serendipitous gardens with a bit of chaos! In that case, you're welcome to drop in anytime. ;) I'm sure I can oblige, at least with the chaos part-serendipity is less easy to plan. Plus, I could use some ideas myself. Lots of things I'd like to change.

Joy, please don't lurk, join in, we need more "southerners" around here. ;)

Sweet Annie is an aromatic herb in the artemesia genus. It is very delicate looking with ferny foliage that smells wonderful. It's an annual for me, atlhough I've seen perennial varieties at the nursery (haven't tried one). It grows about 4 feet tall, no noticeable flowers, little round seeds. Every time I go past one, I have to run my fingers through the plant - heavenly. Sorry, I don't know how to plug in the PlantFile link -- but there are nice photos of it there. (How do you add a link?) I also realized I don't have a photo myself, nor is it listed in my plant database - likely because it just pops up here and there so is never in any 'plans' I might have. It's another one I only allow here and there, it makes a nice feathery accent, and the seedlings are easy to pull up.

Go to the page that has the photo, copy and paste the url at the top of the page into the post here.

Bonehead, this is a great idea for a thread, especially when we are coming into the perfect time to plant, move, and design things!

Summer, I like the idea of garden work parties, but I find that unless there is something "big" planned, it is really hard to pull me out of my own garden! Too much to do and enjoy.....

Katye, I am drooling over your red garden, even in 2D! What is the grass with the red tips? I am totally convinced that I want to work a bit more with grass type foilage this year, as long as I can know ahead of time that they are the "clumping" variety. Still suffering the invasion of ribbon grass!

Joy, it is good to see you here! We would love to have your participation... it is a really fun group of folks, and every bit as friendly as the daylily group.

Holly and Kathy, your combos are great as well! I love looking at the ideas of others, especially those that you wouldn't normally think to combine!

Here is an awesome accidental that always makes people drool in my garden. Hemerocallis Outrageous front and center, asiatic lilly mix, Grandiflora Rose Rosa 'Crimson Bouquet' to the right, Hybrid Tea Rose Rosa 'Love and Peace' in the background, and my own "Rarejem" marigold filling in.

I love this spot in May, especially as it is all perennial and I don't have to do anything other than barge my way in and weed it. Tree heather in the background, daphne burkwoodii carol mackie in the front, wallflowers, a golden heather that I can't remember the variety at the moment, Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' "Japanese Forest Grass", daylilies, astiblie, wallflowers, and oh yes, the dreaded "snake grass" that hadn't been weeded out yet, but makes a lovely addition.