Creative Combinations

 

 
 In my last post I wrote about color combinations being important for a visually pleasing display.  This is not easy for many people including me, so I have found that it helps to always be aware of my surroundings for ideas on color combinations in the garden.  My family spends time each summer at amusement parks around Virginia.  One in particular, Busch Gardens is an amusement park that has beautiful floral displays throughout their grounds.  We were there in the spring and I was looking around to see what I could copy in my own garden.  The pot in the pic to the left is one example of what I found and copied.

I get excited about plant combinations that I see in garden magazines, however trying to find those varieties of plants in my local garden centers can sometimes be impossible.  If I see something local, then I know I can probably find it in the garden center down the road versus a magazine where the picture of the plant combo was taken in another state.

 

Garden Centers have also become good sources for creative combinations as they frequently have pre-made flower pots. I was at a local garden center this week and saw their combination of 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies and an orange/gold Lantana. Like most gardeners in Virginia, I have 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies in my garden. I loved the way the daylily picked up on the gold in the lantana. It was a stellar plant combination, so I picked a couple of the lantana up and planted them in front of the 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies which are in full bloom right now. 

A sea of Shasta Daisies

 

I don't keep track of daylily varieties!

 

Daylilies and Coneflowers