Best perennials to plant near purple leaf shrubs

Hi. I have a purple leaf sandcherry shrub. I would like to know if anyone can tell me the best looking perennials to plant in front of or near them. Thank you.--Irishlass

I have one too. Is the sand cherry standing alone or inside a garden? Also, are you pruning it like a shrub or like a tree? Since the sand cherry is rich colored but not very interesting out of bloom, you might want to plant colors that will accentuate the purple of it. What you plant there will also depend on how high your bush is presently. If you give some more info, that may help! :)

Hi britbrighton. Thank you for your comments. I actually have two sandcherries. I am growing both as shrubs in my perennial garden,They are approximately fifteen feet apart . They are about three to four feet high. I keep them pruned. They are the focal points of the garden and I want to add perennials that will look the nicest in front and on each side of them. Any suggestions you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

Do you know what zone you're in? That might help people come up with suggestions for you.

My favorites for my garden are also stagger-blooming so there is a lot of variety all season. Also, with the exception of the bulbs, they are long blooming perennials and easy to maintain (yay!)I would go for Peonies (if you don't want to wait a few years for the peonies to grow big enough to bloom there are peony-style tulips that are lovely), Daffodils, Tall Phlox (NOT the low creeping kind) Asters or Dwarf Asters and miniature roses or Tea Roses are nice. Mini roses are one of my favorites because they only grow about 1 1/2 foot high but fill out nicely as the years go by, they bloom all summer and as far as maintenence-I just pluck off the old bloom heads to make more flower growth. I personally cut mine low every fall and they love this, I don't know why! All these plants (except peonies) are inexpensive and won't take away the focal point of your Sand Cherry. They all come in an amazing variety of colors too. I would check out catalogue companies like www.springhillnursery.com or www.henryfields.com for plant, zone and care info and you can get a great idea of what color choices are out there. I like their sites also because they have a lifetime guarantee on their plants. For beautiful and reasonably priced bulbs like Peony style tulips and daffs go to www.johnscheepers.com. They have a lovely catalogue and the best prices I have found! If you need help choosing colors, I have plenty of ideas! Hope all this helps- Brit

That's my daughter hamming it up, but behind her the pink tall phlox is just starting to bloom. It is quite fragrant and will have blooms all down its stalk from June to frost in zones 4-11. It has many nice colors, I just happen to LOVE pink flowers! :)

Hi Brit. Thanks very much. They all sound great. I actually have some peonies, and I will try some of the others also. You have been a great help.-Phyllis
P.S. Your daughter is a cutie.

Thanks and you are welcome! :)

Hello ecrane 3. I live in Nova Scotia-on good old Cape Breton Island and my garden zone is 5A.

Here's my two cents: I love purple and yellow combinations. I think that the bright yellow really pops when placed near the darker color. I don't have sandcherry myself.

I couldn't find the picture that I wanted to post, but this is close. This is a purple fountain grass and rudbeckia and some echinacea.

Perhaps you could find a shorter yellow annual or perennial to place in front of your sandcherry. If I find the picture that I was looking for later, I will post it.

Hi pennefeather. Thanks so much for your input. You are right, they would look wonderful together. That is a lovely picture.

Purple and yellow are lovely together.One of my favorites with purple is silver or silver-grey foliage.

Lynn

My hubby love to put chartrues or variegated leafed plants in with purple. He also uses white flowered or leaved plants since it really makes it *pop*

Depending on soil, look out for Lupins, large taller Carnations, shorter types of Delphiniums, Roses and anything with a Daisey flower, Big heads on poppies are great and the foliage is attractive too, all these come in shades of pinks, pale blues, purples, creams, yellows etc, so the choice is endless really, I love bright outrageous colours in among less bright colours, so you can mix the colours up as much as you like, with all those plants you can test the colour schemes out using different things before you plant if they are not in flower, paper napkins, balloons, any colourd household things will help you find the right mix, just stick them on top of some garden canes of different heights and stand back, it aint perfect, but if you have never done a mixed border before, anything is a help to get you started, just dont let the neighbours catch you at this moment of madness, ha, ha, ha. good luck. WeeNel.

Hi Ibrabec. Thanks a lot for your help. Your suggetions sound lovely. Everyone has been so helpful. I love this site.-Phyllis

Hello nanbernier.Thanks for your suggestions. I like the idea of the white also. I really appreciate your input.-Phyllis

Hello WeeNel. Wow. Your suggestions are great. So much to choose from. I just love your idea of hanging the colored items from the branches. You are so clever. As far as the neighbours go, who cares; it will keep them wondering what I'm up to now. Sometimes they probably think I'm a little off centre anyway. What fun. Thanks very much for all the great ideas.-Phyllis

Phyllis,
If you have extra room a pot or two of silver and purple Strobilanthes (Persian Shield) would look great.They are annuals,but one plant fills a large pot.

Lynn

Here's a picture.
http://www.nzenzeflowerspauwels.be/StroDyer.jpg

Hi Ibrabec (Lynn). What a lovely colored plant. Unfortunately, I have never come across this where I live or in gardening catalogues either; but be assured, I will keep my eyes peeled for this one. Thanks again and have a great day.--Phyllis

Phyllis,
Around here they sell it at local nuseries about 2 weeks later than most plants.I think it can be grown easily from seed,too.
Lynn