green, i like strong contrasts in the spring, well actually all year. and that is a nice one

linaria a good background for plants is so important and that looks great with tulips and dicentra.

green_go, that combo is so cool...love it.

Lin, I am envious of that large stretch of new garden you have. Like you I really like "Bleeding Hearts" but for me I, like 'dave', I like contrasts. So *I* would have planted white Bleeding Hearts.

Lin, can you tell us what other perennials are in that garden?

accidental-kniphofia, rose and poppy

penstemon and tanacetum niveum

dianthus, geranium striatum and papaver rupifragum

'dave', my apologies for posting another "combinations" thread in which I had already posted!

Here's a few of mine from other years, my garden is getting a face lift this year, so not looking it's best right now.

Salvia 'Caradonna' with Nepeta/catmint

and Baptisia 'Solar Flare' with Nepeta

Geranium, Lupine, and a heritage iris.

Euphorbia, Nepeta, and Lupine

I seem to have mostly blue, purple, and yellow and a lot of Nepeta, but I think that that particular shade of lavender combines well with other colors.

And here's a link to Rouge's Combos 2015 thread.

Echinacea Razzmatazz and Leucanthemum Summer Snowball

Where is David?

Some fairly recent pics. Click to enlarge

Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold' Coreopsis

Eupatorium 'Chocolate with Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'

Fading Achllea 'Feuerland' with Leucanthemum 'Banana Cream'

Spirea 'Gold Mound' with Bay Laurel and Siberian Iris foliage

Great combos, All.

Yesterday.

My work.

Gorgeous!

I've been enjoying all these beautiful combinations!

I found a few from my gardens, which are a work in progress, but that's probably true for most gardens.

I threw this in for the combination of colors on the wings. :)

Thanks, Kez.

And more beautiful garden following.

Thought I would finally upload and share a few pics ...

My favorite combo is probably this container. Lime Nicotiana, variegated sweet potato, orange million bell, Sedona Coleus (barely peeking out) and 'Tiger Cub' variegated dwarf corn.

Also growing on me is my 'Gay Butterflies' asclepias and 'Becky Towe' Phlox foliage

Today.

Love that container.

I need you to do mine next spring ;). It is so hit and miss for our pots.

I love the color combinations in all of these photos. They are all so beautiful. I tried Nepeta and Coreopsis. It turned out pretty good considering this is these plants first year. This is the same photo I have on another thread here on the Houzz.

So gorgeous, everyone!

A recent pic from my Dutch garden.

I wanted to upload more photos but he upload feature seems to have a will of its own!

Nice stand of Helenium. It goes well with the liatris in front.

Mixed pastels

Buddelia with coreopsis moonbeam

Agastache black adder with Zagreb coreopsis

Mixed bed

Mixed part shade/sun bed:

Combination with Penstemon 'Andenken an Friedrich Hahn' (that's 'Garnet' for you on the left side of the big pond!), Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' , Foeniculum vulgare 'Giant Bronze'. The grass is Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine'.

GardenHo that picture of the Buddelia with coreopsis moonbeam is wonderful.

Such a healthy looking Penstemon 'gardenprince'!

Thank you Rouge.

View of some of the back beds...last ones I created. They are finally filling out....

GardenHo, what kind of buddelia is that? That's one gorgeous picture!

Thank you Kez, it's a "buzz" purple.

Thanks, GardenHo. I've had my eye on getting a butterfly bush for a long time. Haven't tried them yet, but I definitely plan to order one of those buzz series for fall planting this year. I think I'll get the buzz midnight. Your purple is about 3 ft tall? How old is it? Do you prune it a certain way for that beautiful shape?

Yes it's about 3ft and this is it's 2nd year. I do not prune, and agree about the shape. I have two of these, and also a "purple haze"...."buzz" being my favourites!

Persicaria "Golden Arrow" and Ligularia "Dragon's Breath" and Clematis "Polish Spirit"

Thanks, GardenHo, for replying to my questions. That's great! Can't wait to get this.

Rouge, what kind of heuchera is on the left in the photo you posted on Sunday? It's in the sun at the time of photo shoot, but my guess is that it gets shade most of the day? (I keep trying to grow heucheras in the shadiest spot I have right now (which is not much since it's in full sun until about 2PM - everything I have tried looks pretty awful. I think heucheras in Oklahoma absolutely have to be a near-total shade plant. (Sigh.)

Kez, I think it is "Rio". It would be considered a part sun location in my neck of the woods or deep shade if from OK? ;)

Wildflowers naturalized from seed: Flame Flowers, Fetid Marigold, Bitterweed.

Structure: Macrocentra Cactus, Yucca rostrata (Sapphire Sky)

Purchased plants: Yucca Rostrata, Pine Muhly Grass, closest to viewer where airconditioner drain keeps area damp: Corkscrew Rush, Prairie Fire Carex.

Very nice. I love the all the scenes above, TR2, but think yours shows a natural elegance which is quite exotic for we temperate gardeners.

We are considered temperate here too, its not xeric country so I have to make special efforts with drainage. Here in Oklahoma we get very cold in winter but also very hot in summer, 4 distinct seasons, sometimes too much water sometimes not enough. Unpredictable is the norm.

This is the spot I posted & complained about last year. I'd tried to grow a hibiscus by that drain. The plant looked fine but the flowers would turn black right when it was time to open and I never did see a red flower on the plant. I finally dug it out & ordered the carex from SRG last fall + one blue rush plant for that front area where its always wet. I am so happy with the results, especially after last year's failure.

The other plants are dirt common wildflowers that grow wild along the roadsides in a wide area of the country.

Yucca rostrata is one of the most cold hardy types, good to zone 5 with decent drainage. Its a fast grower, mine was a Monrovia plant I splurged on which I rarely ever do.

IMO, magazine-worthy, Tex, just lovely!

Thanks catkin, I'm real proud of it. You should have seen last year, it was depressing. The hideous hibiscus covered in black rotten looking flowers, then the yucca got attacked by red spiders, looked like a bad haircut with damaged leaves and it formed a terrible flat topped square shape that was rather creepy. I posted I had one to dig up in fact. I trimmed it up like a pineapple this spring leaving a stupid looking top knot. like a sprig of ugly hair, because it was impossible to spray and get them. Ends up that trimming was the best thing for it and no vermin this year. In fact I think it looks so cool now, I love it. Lots of people hate yuccas but I like the sculptural quality and its real pretty with snow on it.

This spring after it got a buzz haircut......

Salvia 'Black and Blue' (came back!) with deciduous Larch

Mixed

That ain't Oklahoma is all I can say. Very colorful.

No siree!

Lavender on its way out, with sage, yarrow, cosmos, sedum on its way in, delphinium 'Guardian', dianthus and a baby dappled willow which I wish was more pink. For 40 years I've been always too intimidated by delphiniums but this year I decided life is too short and yearned to have more wonderful blue in my garden. So here it is and it's white. I still love it :) and now I've taken the plunge, I will try for a boy next...

catkin, my Little Bluestem's of which I've gone wild bonkers over look good.......SO THERE. I just set in 5 more small plants in the old Hell Strip, add that to the swath of about 43 I planted Thursday.

Are you using photoshop on those fake plants?

TR2, I love your 'pineapple'. It's a beautiful statement plant.

Catkin, not only are your plants gorgeous, but your compositions are outstanding. You have an artist's eye (and a great camera, I assume.) I find it very difficult to have the colors come out correctly.

Catkin, your plants are beautiful. I love your color combos. TXR2, your "pineapple" is awesome. You should nickname it Sgt. Yucca. You would make the military proud. :-)

Tex, you are funny! Your plantings are exemplary--so there! Love the Bluestems! Love blue grasses, period! No PS here LOL! I'm paying attention to what you plant since we're sorely lacking in the rain department. I too, love the haircut!

a2zmom, thank you so much! Motorola MotoG smartphone is all I use. It's really the angle and evening light mostly, not any special knowledge! I have deleted many more shots on my phone than I have posted. I hold up plants next to each other and go with what's pleasing to my eye along with stealing combos of plants I've seen online and in person. I have spent untold hours walking around the yard tryng to decide where to stick plants! I have a screaming yellow Potentilla that needs to be moved to the warm section of the border--how/why I planted it next to pinks, I'll never tell! It's definitely been a learning process for me.

Thank you samnsarah--just copy what you like! :) I have combos/colors I love written in a spiral notebook because I forget them! Works for me some of the time but not ll of the time. I love white and think almost anything goes with long blooming white Shasta daisies or white cone flowers.

catkin, you obviously are one of those people blessed with a good eye, as I call it.

I know what you mean about wondering why you planted X next to Y.

Her's Phlox "Robert Poore" in kack of Heliopsis "Summer Sun". I don't like the combo at all and in fact, I moved the phlox a number of years ago. But it keeps coming back.. (Normally I notice way before it blooms, but I've been distracted this year.)

I have several bright orange blooms, and neither my camera phone or the DH's expensive Cannon 35 mil. captures the color. I wound up calling my son yesterday, who's a graphic designer. He gave me the technical reason, but in the meantime, I'm emailing them to him for color correction. He does it all the time as part of his job, so no biggie for him.

Peacock Cherry Red Phlox + Bobo hydrangea et al:

Love it! That is definitely the reddest phlox I've seen.

a2zmom, have you tried shooting around 8PM?