skip to main content

What are your Favorite Companion Plants?

16 years ago

I know this has been done in previous years, but what are your favorite combinations using between 2 and 5 plants? Love to hear if you have some new ideas or old favorites. Sun or shade combos would be welcomed!

(You could even include an annual or two...)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

prairiemoon2 z6b MA
16 years ago
Hello proudgma :-)

I am always looking for combinations too. I think we should do a thread like this every year. I did want to mention to you, that I almost didn't read the thread because I thought it was about 'companion' plants and not perennial combinations. You might want to let this thread go and start a new one to get the best participation.

To answer your question. I fell in love with Coreopsis Moonbeam and Dianthus Siberian Blues in the front of a border last year. I liked it so much I moved all the Coreopsis Moonbeam into the edge of my border this spring and hoping it will look even better than last year.

pm2
highalttransplant
16 years ago
Well Proudgrma, you didn't say what your favorites are : )

Last year, I really enjoyed Echinacea 'Summer Sky' next to Agastache 'Apache Sunset'

{{gwi:201053}}

... and Gaillardia 'Goblin' next to Achillea 'Paprika' and Coreopsis 'Creme Brule', but I don't have a picture of that one.

Bonnie
Related Discussions
Your favorite companions for WHITE roses
Q
Comments (17)
Sorry for late response- limited access to email this weekend! Gorgeous photo, Jacqueline3! My Sombreuil only has 1 cane- I hope she beefs up. I'm fertilizing this evening, actually! seil- I love shades of lavender and apricot. I think those both look nice and soft with white. But the bold of the red and purple in the photo above is really striking. Jay, it did not occur to me to mingle irises next to my roses in front. I have no idea why! I'm definitely going to do that, as well as look for the apricot variety of Diascias, Rozanne geranium, and more cat mint. NewGirl - "not a word, still using it" - this made me laugh. And I LOVE the idea of violets under roses! Mingled with these icy-colored, barely-periwinkle irises I have, it would be very pretty. Also thought about nicotiana alata and nigella... Many good ideas from everyone here! Thank you!
...See More
companion for rose glow barberry?
Q
Comments (9)
Deer-Resistant Shrubs & Rugosa Roses: * Some Deer have not read this list American Holly Andromeda (Pieris japonica) Aucuba japonica Barberry - Japanese deciduous as well as evergreen species Beauty Berry (Callicarpa) Blue Spiraea/Blue Beard (Caryopteris) Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) Boxwood (Buxus) Brooms (Cytisus and Genista) Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) Chaste Tree (Vitex angus-castus) Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) Cotoneaster Cryptomeria Daphne Grape Holly (Mahonia) Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) Japanese Maple Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus) Juniper - especially J. virginiana varieties Kerria Leucothoe Lilacs (except Miss Kim) Magnolias - deciduous species Miscanthus (Ornamental Grasses) - not a shrub, but because of its size, sometimes can be used in place of shrubs Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) Nandina Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) Pee Gee Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) Potentilla Rose of Sharon (Hibsicus syriacus) Rugosa Roses Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika) Serviceberry (Amelanchier) Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) Spiraeas - spring-blooming white as well as summer-blooming in shades of pink St. JohnÂs Wort (Hypericum) Sweet Box (Sarcococca) Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) Viburnum Garlic, Eggs and Tabasco Combine one garlic clove, one egg, 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce and, one cup water. Mix in a blender. Let the concoction sit to ferment for several days. Apply fermented mixture to plants. Warning - This deterrent has been known to repulse humans too!
...See More
Your favorite 3 companion plants
Q
Comments (31)
Mary4b, I can't imagine anyone confusing swedish ivy and strawberry begonias - the telling feature for strawberry begonias and where they get their name from is from the strawberry-like runners with the little plantlets on the end that root and grow a new plant. I have also had some seeds volunteer to sprout on the rocks of a rough stone wall, so they do reseed (not invasively for me) I have never actually tried to find the seeds themselves, they must be really tiny with such a small bloom. So if you really do have strawberry begonias, you certainly don't have to treat them like an annual outdoors. Good luck - I hope you love them in the garden as much as I do! BettyLu
...See More
Hydrangea pairings
Q
Comments (3)
Early flowering camellia sasanquas or late flowering camellia japonicas will give you evergreen look and bloomage when other shrubs are shutting down or waking up. Hollies also sound good if their pointed leaves will not cause problems near walkways. Nothern Bayberry would produce food for the birds but it becomes semi-evergreen in some areas. Common juniper (Juniperus communis) may be ok if you like junipers. Canadian yew (Taxus canadiensis (sp?)) is good & hardy in Z6 shady spots. Some azaleas/rhodies are evergreen but I do not know about which ones are so in New England. Even if they are not, some varieties will produce bloomage at times when the hydrangeas are not blooming. Plus some produce nice autumn foliage.
...See More
proudgrma
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your comments...you're right. I'll start a new thread for this. Bonnie, I love your photo with the Apache sunset and Summer Sky. What kind of bloom time did you get from them? I'll post my pics in the new thread.
gldno1
16 years ago
That is a great combo! Love the colors.
SandL
16 years ago
I've been playing with this idea in my front entryway bed. Hopefully this link will work. The plants I've been experimenting with are Liatris, Bearded Iris in an assortment of purples, Lamb's Ear, Salvia 'East Friesland', Creeping Phlox, Giant Crocus, Coreopsis, Asters, and Russian Sage.

Every year I use annuals to fill in empty spots then try to find corresponding perennials to replace them the next year. This year I'm experiementing with Allysum and an annual Salvia called 'Faery Queen'.

What I like about this bed is that all the plants have different bloom times. When my Bearded Iris finish blooming, the Liatris will take over (they are planted around the light's base. The first to awaken in this bed are the giant Crocus.

Heather

{{gwi:229353}}
highalttransplant
16 years ago
The Agastache didn't get planted until June, and it still bloomed for 12 weeks, the Echinacea was 10 - 12 weeks, I believe. I can't wait to start seeing everything blooming again!

Bonnie

Related Stories

EDIBLE GARDENS Garden BFFs? Why Your Vegetables Are Begging for Companion Plants

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Foster friendships among plants for protection from pests, pollination support and color camaraderie

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Make Your Roses Even More Beautiful With These Companion Plants

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Nourish your rosebushes and create a visual feast with these 7 classic and unexpected plant pairings

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Euphorbia

By Annie Thornton

The daring colors and low water needs of this tropical plant make it a favorite for injecting life into tired landscapes year-round

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Skylands Oriental Spruce, a Favorite Conifer

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

Brighten up a drab corner of your garden with Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’, a smaller spruce that a bird family might just call home

GARDENING GUIDES Invite Mining Bees to Your Garden by Planting Their Favorite Plants

By Pollination Press LLC

Look for mining bees (Andrena) pollinating woodland wildflowers in U.S. gardens this spring

FALL GARDENING 20 Favorite Flowers for the Fall Landscape

By Marianne Lipanovich

Vivid blooms and striking shapes make these annuals and perennials a delight in autumn gardens

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Viridis

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Green antelopehorn is a milkweed that is short, drought-tolerant, not aggressive and a monarch favorite

BLUE AND GRAY FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Blue Chalk Sticks

By Annie Thornton

Great color and texture make this drought-tolerant succulent a favorite for landscape designs

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Sambucus Nigra Caerulea for the Birds

By Debbie Ballentine

Blue elderberry is a favorite of birds and other wildlife in its native California

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Santa Rita Prickly Pear for Purple Appeal

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Distinctive colored pads and yellow flowers make this cactus a favorite in Southwestern gardens

Sponsored

More Discussions

Tulips in your garden 2023

44

Minimum spacing for tomato plants

20

Does anyone realistically need 200 foot of garden hose?

18

Anyone growing stylophorum (lasiocarpum)?

8

Moving Rhubarb in Zone 6

4