Plant Combos that get noticed!

Impress the neighbors and beautify your backyard with these 10 attention-grabbing plant partners.

1. Asiatic lilies and daisies top right: Plant Asiatic lily bulbs amid clumps of Shasta daisies for an attention-grabbing grouping. Perfectly suited to a sunny site, this dynamic duo combines unfussy and unpretentious flowers with more elegant trumpet-like forms. This combination also shows how right-white blooms can be used to create a cheerful splash in any landscape.
2. 'May Night' salvia, 'Johnson's Blue' geranium, and deep purple and white Russell lupine: Create a dramatic, monochromatic arrangement—with pale to deep shades of purple—in a partially shaded corner of your early-summer garden. The geraniums' breezy blooms and delicate foliage are a fun contrast to salvia's coarser leaves and lupine's towering spires.
3. Purple moss verbena, 'Early Sunrise' coreopsis and pink begoniasmiddle right: Layer waxy begonias and ferny leafed verbena with lanky coreopsis for a well-rounded display of contrasting colors and textures. Use half-hardy annual ground covers like moss verbena and low-growing plants like begonias to prop up perennials with heavy blooms and lanky stems that have a tendency to droop.
4. Rosy pink garden verbena, purple petunias and lavender lobelia: bottom right Edge perennial borders with cheery annuals and half-hardy perennials that will spill across pathways and bloom from late spring well into fall. Or, plant the pumped-up partners in large containers or hanging baskets to bring color to a porch, patio or deck.