How to get 'True colours shining through...'?

Taking over from this thread , I decided to create at least some colour themes in my garden this season and I am 'all ears' for your advice or any practical tips. :D

First let me say that 2011 is only my second season of consistent effort in the garden, as our place is on a steep slope and is diagonally crossed by a small mountain stream which used to cause occasional (but quite destructive) floods. In 2009, we finally managed to get the municipality repair and clear its entire bed, so now the threat is no longer imminent.

Therefore, I'm a beginner.
Being on the northern side of the mountain (Vitosha), the garden is typified by lots of shade, moisture, reduced number of sunshine hours per day and sharp lighting contrasts. There are some very large coniferous trees and other 'existing' plants: hydrangea macrophylla shrubs, pink peonies, some old roses, mahonias... All of them 20+ years old. Most shrubs had been neglected and it took me some time to make them bloom again.

Slugs were a problem, but I think I can manage them now (otherwise all my dahlias, helianthus, tagetes and zinnias were merely slaughtered and for some time I had completely given them up... )
---------------------

Having considered 'colour themes' for several days now, I found out that I still don't have the capacity to adopt a more holistic approach to the garden, as I have really acquired lots of different individual plants, but very few of them are landscape-important. Moreover, many species are not readily available on the Bulgarian market and it’s expensive to buy many plants of the same variety.

Currently, my plants with expressive flowering habits and presence are scattered and most of them look drowned in the shady corners.

Annuals are particularly hard to grow here, but seem to be the only ‘filling material’ until I find/develop the appropriate perennials. Most annuals dislike the shade and the sharp day-night temperature variations and cannot compete successfully with tree roots.

However, I'm trying to fill all of the darker corners, and last spring I deliberately dispersed my seedlings to anything ranging between full sun, dappled shade and part shade. I was not very concerned about matching colour.

This year, I decided to approach the issue from a different perspective. :WINK1:

Here is a list of the varieties I will have to plant this spring grouped by colour. I think the list is self-explanatory. Not all of the seeds will germinate, but I’ll just strike off the names of casualties and move ahead. The entries with numbers in front show the actual number of plants I have bought/planted.

I will most gladly welcome your help in selecting some companion plants for those listed at the top of each ‘colour’ column.

-------------------------

WHITES
Established plants: will bloom, last long, deserve a theme
Shasta daisy
White hybrid tea rose

Expected to flower for the first season
Physostegia virginiana
15-20 Erythronium elegans
1 Filipendula ulmaria

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
5 Astilbe White
Gillenia trifoliate (white) (seed)
Tagetes white (seed)
Cosmos, low height, double-flowered, white (seed)
Dahlia white with pink stripes (seed)




Established plants: will bloom, last long, deserve a theme
Alyssum
Oenothera tetragona
Cytisus scoparius

Expected to flower for the first season
6 Eremurus planted in a group (vanilla 3, yellow 2, orange 1)
15-20 Erythronium pagoda

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
Dahlia ‘Polka’
Dahiila big, pale yellow
Dahlia pompon, yellow with reddened edges
Tagetes vanilla (seed)
Phlox drummondii Crème Brûlée (seed)
Althaea rosea Chater's Double Apricot (seed)
Helianthus yellow (seed)
Brugmansia Arborea (seed)
Caesalpinia gilliesii (seed)
Thunbergia Alata (seed)

GREEN
Expected to flower for the first season
1 Helleborus foetidus

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
Nicotiana langsdorffii (seed)
Cochia Scoparia (seed)



Established plants: will bloom, last long, deserve a theme
Hemerocallis fulva (late June, July)
Hemerocallis ‘Crimson Pirate’ (mid-July to mid August)

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
Helianthus annuus Claret F1 Hybrid – 25 (dark red) (seed)
1 Dahlia DECORATIVE Osirium
2 Dahlia Night Butterfly
2 Dahlia POMPON Dark Spirit
Dahlia, big, bright red
Bean, 'Barlotto Lingua di Fuoco 2' (seed)
Leonotis nepetifolia (seed)
Hibiscus (seed)
Impatiens balsamina red (seed)
Celosia burgundy red (seed)
Zinnia, low height, burgundy (seed)
Gailardia burgunder (seed)
Asclepias curassavica (seed)
Tagetes orange/brick (seed)




Established plants: will bloom, last long, deserve a theme
Dark pink floribunda rose (June, July, end-August, September)
Erigeron (June, early July)
Monarda didyma (July)
Hydrangea macrophilla (pink to violet) (mid-July to frost)
Dahlia DECORATIVE Prins Carnaval (lots of, mid-July to frost)

Expected to flower for the first season:
approx. 15 Campanula ‘Canterbury Bells’ (biennials, mix white, pink, blue)
1 Thalictrum aquilegifolium
1 Thalictrum delavayi
1 Achillea filipendula (pink)

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
2 Dicentra Peregrina
2 Dicentra Spectabilis Pink
5 Astilbe Pink
Impatiens balfourii (seed)
Verbena hastata Pink Spires (seed)
Cosmos, low height, bushy, double-flowered, pink to purple (seed)
Celosia pink (seed)
Cleome X (pink) (seed)
Cleome serrulata (seed)
Impatiens balsamina purple (seed)
Dahlia, big, dark purple
Dahlia ANEMONE TYPE The Phantom
2 Oriental Trumpet Lilium Purple Prince
Hollyhock: Powder Puffs Mixed (pink, red, white, yellow) (seed)
Nicotiana (high) mix (white, pink, purple) (seed)
Aster, dark pink, purplish (seed)
Purple hyacinth bean (seed)
Spinach, Malabar (seed)
Lupin purple (seed)
Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine' (seed)

Brassica (Don't know how to match this one...)(seed)

BLUE
Established plants: will bloom, last long, deserve a theme
Salvia officinalis
Platycodon grandiflorus (blue)

Expected to flower for the first season:
3 Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’
1 Veronica prostrata

Available, to be [raised and] planted this season:
Ipomoea ‘Heavenly blue’ (seed)
Amsonia tabernaemontana (seed, does it flower in the first year?)
5 Lupines Russell Blue
Phacelia tanacetifolia (seed)
Nicandra Phisalodes (seed)
Ageratum blue (seed)
Nigella damascena (seed)

OTHERS, mixes, unpredictable colours, invasive plants, etc.
North American Mixture (Gilia capitata, Nemophila Insignis, Nemophila maculata, Godetia, Alyssum white, Delphinium consolida, Rudbeckia, Linum rubrum, Eschscholzia, Clarkia, Iberis umbrellata, Papaver rhoeas + Hybiscus tritonum) (seed)
Poppy, red, double-flowered (seed)
Poppy, unknown colour, double-flowered (seed)
20 Ranunculus Mixed (tubers)

Zinnia (lots of, mixed) (seed)
1 Digitalis metronensis (planted, unknown colour)

Primula x tommasinii You & Me Blue (seed, height?)
Primula polyanthus Discovering Stripes Mixed (seed, height?)
Primula japonica, (planted, blooms in June, spectacular, high, unknown colour)

Calendula (self-seeds)
Nasturtium (self-seeds)
Mirabillis (banned) :D

 

I've looked at your pics Angelina. You have some really lovely plants!! That's me that sent the friends request on Facebook. I think its a matter of cramming in as much as you can to draw the eye to any one area. I know I have a bad habit of spacing things out too much. Also contrast in shades of plants. Lights and darks. Try taking a pic in black and white and see what stands out in it.

 

Huecheras

Terra Nova Nurseries - Home Gardeners - Heuchera

for white:
jack frost:
Terra Nova Nurseries - Home Gardeners - Heuchera

and lots of other colours here:
Terra Nova Nurseries - Home Gardeners - Perennials

 

Tricyrtis tend to go well in shady moist spots...............

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/general-gardening-discussion/39192-tricyrtis.html

For the green section, Hermodactylus would grow well if you can spare a sunny spot..........



It's low growing and spring flowering.

 

" Moreover, many species are not readily available on the Bulgarian market and it’s expensive to buy many plants of the same variety."

Oooh time to propagate and get down the market with them then

Jack McH

 

'Dim', thank you, I'm following your recommended plant combinations with great devotion. Lagging behind a bit with brunneras and heucheras, but I'll catch up. I cannot order from overseas on my own, because shipment is sometimes twice as costly as the plants. :(
All I do is wait for an appropriate order (from a good nursery) to be opened on the Bulgarian forum. As a group, we order in large quantities and often get discounts, including free shipment to Bulgaria.
This spring, I will get some variegated hostas from a local forum mate. And I'm really happy to have found Japanese ferns with one of the big Bulgaria traders. :yess:
Catztail, thanks! I've accepted someone's friend request on Facebook. Maybe it's you. :WINK1:
For some time I also thought that 'cramming' them will do, but I start to believe it's better to have some preliminary idea of their height or blooming period, or which plant can be the focus of the composition, which colours/structure/textures look complementary.
For instance, ensembles with my tulipa negrita as the centre looked 'truncated' in very bright sun against the background of trees.
But this was not my question. I already have a substantial list of seeds/bulbs to [propagate and] plant this season. Therefore, out of what’s available, can you recommend matches for the two or three plants positioned at the top of each column? Match means: likely to flower together, be of a suitable colour and shape, etc.
Just in case you spot a plant or two you are familiar with and have grown yourselves, please share when and how long it flowers. That’s all. I don’t want to pester you to examine the whole list for me. I will be growing most of the plants marked with “(seed)” for the first time.

For instance, this Verbena hastata 'Pink Spires':


Both Thompson & Morgan’s site and the packet say nothing about WHEN it actually flowers (and it’s gorgeous!)

Or, about the vanilla tagetes the period is: June, July, August, September, October. (And they were thrifty enough to put only 20 seeds in the packet!) :D



Will it make it as early as June? Most tagetes in Bulgaria begins to flower end-June or early July.
----------------

However, as all this mess in my mind started after finding the thread on PeterS’ garden, I’d like to share a curious fact.
I have lots of erigeron in a bed, which I want to empty and plant with roses. I have begun to clear it and I transplanted daisies and four large herbaceous peonies last year, but not the erigeron. I was literally planning to throw it away: it’s spread uncontrollably, it’s been here for so many years that I’m sick of it. It’s in every garden around, people grow it in tufts, very tightly tied with a wire, as it falls down in rainy weather, like this:


I hate to tie it.
So, early spring would have seen the end of my erigeron, if it was not for this picture!



It looks so delicate, and it convinced me that I was doing my poor erigeron an injustice.
:D
I browsed my albums to see what flowers together with it and I found two nice roses – a purple rambler and a white groundcover rose, which I had rooted from cuttings, and were in bloom on the same dates! They have to be transplanted to their 'permanent places' this spring, while dormant. And I thought some pink shade would look good and felt glad that I had ordered some astilbe plants, which will be here in March. I collaged them to get an idea of the ‘theme’:


I hope the composition will look great when the roses develop!

And another one, but erigeron has to be moved and I read here that August is the proper time for division:


Ceanothus and two miniature roses, each between 25 and 40 cm high, so the red will not be ‘too heavy’.

I’ll keep collaging and try to stay focused on what I can do now with the plants I have available.

I’m open to suggestions.

 

Angelina - that's an amazing list of plants that you have. You have my admiration. The subject is so wide that it is difficult to know how and where to start, especially as we don't have any experience of your climate, and don't know how developed the gardening scene is in Bulgaria.

Thank you, and others, for your kind words about colour combinations in "this thread" that you highlighted at the top. However I have to be honest and say that the combinations weren't really chosen - they just happened. But you can help them to happen.

If I may ramble .... I usually do. :D My feeling is that the appearance of plant combinations depends on four main things - colour, size, shape and flowering time.

Colour - Its difficult to plan colour combinations. You really have to see them to decide if they work. A suggestion is to restrict the palette say between cool colours (pink, blue, purple and soft/blue-reds) and hot colours (yellow, orange and hot/orange-reds). All the cool colours will get on well with each other, and if you plant groups of these together there should be lots of happy combinations even though you didn't plan them in detail. The great joy of perennials is that you can dig them up and move them. So you can try out lots of combinations, or select pairs that you think will work.

You can obviously do the same with the hot colours. But I think you get unhappy combinations when you mix cool and hot - like pink and orange. Although some gardeners love to do that intentionally.

Size - When we talk of colour combinations, sometimes we really mean visual impact, and this is where size comes in. If you have a snow scene on the television, all you see is white. But if you go very close to the television you will see individual red, blue and green pixels - which are very colourful. But move away again and the colours cancel each out and all you see is white.

I think its the same with plants. If you have individual plants and get up close you can see the colours. But as you move away the colours will cancel each other out and you will see grey. The solution is to have plants in groups that are big enough to be seen clearly from a distance. The greater the viewing distance the greater the groups need to be. That way you see the individual pixels clearly and not an averaged effect.

So I think that sometimes when people say I like that colour combination, they are really saying the groups are big enough to see the colours clearly.

Shape - the other aspect is shape and size, which have to be comparable. I don't think that you can have a colour combination between a tree in flower and a perennial. They are not the same size. And I wouldn't combine a Rose with most perennials. They have different forms. Having said that - that's just theory. You might have a stunning combination in practice.

Flowering time - You clearly can't have a colour combination if the plants are not in flower at the same time. The solution is twofold - a) know when plants flower and b) have plants with very long flowering times - that way they must overlap.

I used to go round my garden every Monday and record what was in flower at the time. Its a very good way of getting to know your plants, when they flower and for how long. Whilst the length of flowering varies a bit from year to year, there is a reliable band of plants that are always at the top of the list and reliable under-achievers who are alway at the bottom.

I have recorded my results on a spread sheet and would be very happy to send a copy to anyone who was interested.

 

Quote Angelina
"I cannot order from overseas on my own, because shipment is sometimes twice as costly as the plants. "

Why do you not ask on here, and I am sure someone will send you what you need. Hopefully FREE, but at least minimum postage costs

I do not know the "laws of importing plants to Bulgaria" so maybe banned without a certificate
You could at least give a shout out on the forum

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Angelina - this link may be of interest to you..............

KPR - Gardeners Club - seeds and plants for sale

It's Slovakian based.

 

Keith - thats an amazing site and pretty cheap too. It will take a while to look through it.

 

I'd forgotten all about it until I saw the OP's location!
Time to clear out my bookmarks..............

 

I once bookmarked a site that suggested unusual combinations .... these were the recomendations (was a pdf file, saved in on my pc, and cannot find the original link which had photos, but worthwhile checking some of these combinations:

Exceptional Annuals: Using new Annuals, Tender Perennials and
Tropicals in Garden Beds and Containers
​

Throughout history, people have been looking for unusual exotic plants. Ancient as well
as modern day plant hunters have been scouring the globe in pursuit of the unusual.

3. ​

Africa​

Tradescantia spathacea ‘Golden Oyster’, Geranium zonale ‘Distinctive’, Acidanthera
murieliae “Abyssinian gladiolus” Tradescantia palida “Purple heart”, Pelargonium
reniforme, Arctotis ‘Sunspot’, Impatiens niamnianmensis ‘Congo Cockatoo’,
Agapanthus ‘Midnight Blue’, Pelargonium crispum ‘French Lace’

4. ​

South America​

Passiflora ‘White Queen’, Passiflora ‘Lady Margaret’, Passiflora ‘Sunburst’,
Brugmansia ‘Jamaican Yellow’, Angelonia ‘Purple’, Angelonia ‘Zebra’ Angelonia
‘Pink’ Solanum jasminoides ‘Album Variegatum’, Ipomoea batatas ‘Bewitched’
Ipomoea batatas ‘Dwarf ‘Margarita’, Ipomoea batatas ‘Pink Frost’, Fuchsia ‘Mrs. J. D.
Fredricks’

5. ​

South East Asia​

Impatiens species, Impatiens ‘ Peaches and Cream’, Impatiens repens “Creeping
Impatiens”, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, Acalypha miltoniana ‘Giant Leaf’, Hibiscus rososinensis,
Colocasia esculenta ‘Mojito’, Coleus (Solenstemon scutellariodes) C. ‘Peter’s Wonder’
​

Garden Beds​

6. Hollockville turn of the century Victorian bedding out scheme.
Using: Castor Bean, Canna, Elephant Ears, Coleus, and Dusty Miller
​

Contemporary interpretation of tropical bedding out:​

7. Plumeria “Frangipani”, Canna ‘Sky hawk’, Anigozanthos Kangaroo Paws,
Bromeliads, Sedum, Echeveria ‘Rosea’, Kalanchoe thrysifolia , and Dichondra ‘Silver
Falls’

8. Colocasia Mojito , Solanum quitoense, Ipomoea batatas ‘Illusion Midnight Lace’,
Muehlenbeckia axillaris “Wire vine”

9. Phormium ‘Rainbow Queen’, Bulbine frutescens ‘Hallmark’, Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’

10. Canna ‘Intrigue’, Brugmansia ‘Jamaican Yellow’, Pennisetum villosum ‘Feather
Top’, Coleus ‘India Frills’, Verbena ‘Tapien blue’

11. Phormium tenax ‘Bronze’, Crinum bulbispermum “Orange river lily”, Rosa glauca,
Hardy Pampas Grass

12. Strobilanthes dyeranus “Persian shield”, Cuphea ignea ‘Flamingo Pink’, Crape
Myrtle ‘Hopi’, Nepeta sp.

13. Day Lilies, Hydrangea, Golden leafed Sumac, Medinilla magnificum, Hosta

14. Nepeta sp. with Coleus ‘Patten Leather’

15. Coleus ‘Patten Leather’ with Coreopsis ‘Pink Lemonade’ and Coreopsis ‘Tropical
Lemonade’

16. Colocasia ‘Thailand Giant’ Musa ‘Thai Black’, Musa acuminate ‘Siam Ruby’ Canna
‘Tropicana’ Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ “Red Abyssinian banana”

17. Colocasia ‘Thailand Giant’

18. Canna ‘Pretoria’, Canna ‘Australia’, hardy palm Trachycarpus fortunei “Windmill
Palm”, Acalypha miltoniana ‘Giant Leaf’

19. Asst Cycads, Coleus ‘Sedona’, Crinum splendens “Burgundy leaf Crinum”, Ginkgo,
Medinilla magnifica

20. Rose ‘New Dawn’, Clematis ‘Polish Spirit’, hardy palm Trachycarpus fortunei
“Windmill palm”, Clematis integrifolia “Bush clematis”

21. Solanum quitoense, Vitex, agnus-castus, Furcraea gigantea ‘Variegata’, Itea virginica
“Sweet spire”

22. Canna ‘Pretoria’, Canna ‘Tropicana’, Lantana ‘Radiation’, Datura metel ‘Double
Yellow’, Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’, Helianthus argophyllus ‘Japanese Silver Leaf’,
Cassia didymobotrya “Popcorn bush”, Nasturtium ‘Golden Moon’

23. Lilium formosanum (in bud), Verbena bonariensis, Acanthus hungaricaus, Ligularia
‘Britt-Marie Crawford’

24. Lilium formosanum “Formosa lily” in bloom with Imperata “Japanese blood grass”

26. Cyperus papyrus “Egyptian papyrus”, Hydrangea paniculata “Pee gee hydrangea”,
Eucomis comosa ‘Oakhurst’, Verbena bonariensis

27. Cyperus papyrus “Egyptian papyrus”, Hydrangea paniculata “Pee gee hydrangea”,
Verbena bonariensis

28. Star Gazer Lillie with Gomphrena ‘Fire Works’

29. Imperata “Japanese blood grass”, Eucomis bicolor “Pineapple lily”, Perilla frutescens
“Beefsteak plant”, Verbena bonariensis

30. Colocasia esculenta ‘Illustris’ “Imperial taro”, Arundo donax ‘Variegata’, Euphorbia
‘Diamond Frost’, Centaurea gymnocarpa ‘Gloucester White’, Strobilanthes gossypinus,
Acidanthera murieliae “Abyssinian gladiolus”

31. Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’, Datura innoxia ‘Evening Fragrance’, Gossypium herbaceum
‘Nigra’ Black cotton’

32. Verbena ‘Silver Ann’, Nassella (Stipa) tenuissima “Mexican feather grass”, Imperata
“Japanese blood grass”,

33. Juncus effuses “Soft rush”, Nassella (Stipa) tenuissima “Mexican feather grass”,
Pennisetum villosum ‘Feather Top’

34. Leycestera formosa ‘Golden Lanterns’, Melianthus major “Honey flower”,
Chrysanthemum koreanum ‘Sheffield’

35. Datura metel ‘White Ruffles’, Perovskia atriplicifolia “Russian sage”

36. Mussaenda frondosa “Flag bush”, Hibiscus tiliaceus ‘Tricolor’, Musa ‘Siam Ruby’,
Canna ‘Tropicanna’

37. Farfugium gigantea “Giant leaf ligularia”, Golden grove bamboo​

Vines
​

38. Alocasia ‘Black Stem’, Plectranthus argentatus, Ipomoea alba “Moon flower”

39. Rosa veilchenblau “Blue Rambler”, Jasminum officinale ‘Fiona Sunrise’

40. Argyreia nervosa “Wooly morning glory”

42. Solanum wendlandii ‘Giant Nightshade’ with Furcraea gigantea ‘Variegata’
​

Containers​

46. Grouping with Agave Americana, Bromeliads, Kalanchoe “Felt Plant” and other
assorted succulents

47. A mix of topiaries, succulents, grasses, and Agaves

49. Agave with Acidanthera, Tradescantia, grasses , topiaries, and Petchoa ‘SuperCal
Terra Cotta’

50. Shade grouping Begonia ‘Cracklin Rosie’, Caladium ‘Miss Muffet’, Caladium ‘Mini
White’, Asplenium “Crested birds nest fern”, Water Lily Begonia

52. Bright golden foliaged Bromeliads with Kalanchoe thrysifolia and Dichondra ‘Silver
Falls’

54. Grouping of sun loving plants including Agave, Cycads, Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’

55. Another grouping of sun loving plants including Carex, Dioon, Agave, Plumeria,
Echeveria, Sedum, Euphorbia

56. Single planter at end of Carpinus alle planted with Bismarkia palm​

 

and this may be of interest .... a list of all the plants that were awarded 'International perennial plant of the year (in bold lettering), with a few others in the same families that are also exceptional plants .... I always use many of the ones that won perennial plant of the year in cottage style gardens

~ PROMISING PERENNIALS~
David Culp
Introduction​

1990 Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year:

​

​

Phlox stolonifera

Phlox ​

​

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‘Blue Elf’

Phlox ​

​

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‘Margie’

Phlox ​

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​

‘Charles Ricardo’

Phlox divaracita ​

​

​

‘Manita’

Phlox ​

​

​

‘Montrose Tricolor’

Phlox divaracita ​

​

​

‘Mary Ellen’

1991 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

​

​

Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’

Heuchera ​

​

​

‘
Dales Variety’

Heuchera villosa

Heuchera villosa ​

​

​

‘Caramel’

Heuchera ​

​

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‘Tiramisu’

Heuchera ​

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​

‘Peach Flambe’

Heuchera ​

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‘Brownies’

Heuchera ​

​

​

‘Miracle’

1992 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’

Coreopsis ​

​

​

Crème Brûlée’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Sienna Sunset’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Full Moon’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Big Bang’ series

Coreopsis ​

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‘Red Shift’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Cosmic Evolution’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Star Cluster’

Coreopsis ​

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‘Galaxy’

1993 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’

Veronica ​

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‘Royal Candles’

Veronica ​

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‘Purpleicious’

Veronica ​

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‘Baby Doll’

1994 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Astilbe ‘Sprite’

Astilbe ​

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‘Key West’

Astilbe ​

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‘White Sensation’

1995 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Perovskia atriplicifolia

Perovskia ​

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‘Little Spires’

Perovskia ​

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‘Blue Spire’

1996 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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​

Penstemon ‘Husker Red’

Penstemon strictus

Penstemon ‘Blue Buckle’
1997 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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​

Salvia ‘Mainacht’ (‘Maynight’)

Salvia ​

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‘Caradonna’

Salvia ​

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‘Eveline’

Salvia ​

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‘Swan Lake’

1998 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Echinacea ‘Magnus’

Echinacea ​

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‘Elton John’

Echinacea ​

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‘Pica Bella’

Echinacea ​

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‘Pixie Meadow Bright’

Echinacea ​

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‘Sundown’

Echinacea ​

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‘Virgin’

Echinacea ​

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‘Sunrise’

Echinacea ​

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‘Green Envy’

Echinacea ​

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‘Green Jewel’

Echinacea ​

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‘Red Knee High

Echinacea ​

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‘Double Delight’

Echinacea ​

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‘Irresistable’

1999 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

​

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Rudbeckia fulgida var. sulivantii

‘Goldstrum’

Rudbeckia ‘​

​

​

Early Bird Gold’

Rudbeckia ​

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‘City Gardens’

Rudbeckia ​

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‘Henry Eilers’

2000 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’

Scabiosa ​

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‘Pink Lemonade’

Scabiosa ​

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‘Moon Dance’

2001 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’

Calamagrositis ​

​

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‘Avalanche’

Miscanthus ​

​

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‘Gold Bar’

Pennisetum ​

​

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‘Red Head’

Pennisetum ‘​

​

​

Karley Rose’

2002 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Phlox paniculata ‘David’

Phlox p. ​

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‘Danielle’

Phlox p. ​

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‘Jeanna’

Phlox p. ​

​

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‘Peppermint Twist’

Phlox p. ​

​

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‘Sorbet Cocktail’

Phlox x arendsii ​

​

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‘Ping Pong’

2003 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Leucanthemum ‘Becky’

Leucanthemum ​

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‘Daisy May’

Leucanthemum ​

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‘Highland Dream’

Leucanthemum ​

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‘Goldrausch’

Leucanthemum ​

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‘Old Court’

2004 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Athyrium nipponicum pictum

Athyrium nipponicum pictum ‘The Ghost’

2005 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Helleborus hybridus

Helleborus hybridus ​

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‘Brandywine Hybrids’

2006 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Dianthus ‘Firewitch’

Dianthus ​

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‘Tatra Fragrance’

Dianthus ​

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‘Laced Hero’

Dianthus ​

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‘Her Majesty’

Dianthus ​

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‘White Hills’

2007 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’

Nepeta ​

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‘Joanna Reed’

2008 PPA Plant of the Year: Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Geranium ​

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maculatum ‘Expresso’

Geranium ​

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pratense ‘Midnight Reiter’

Geranium ​

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‘Sandrine’

2009 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Hackonechloa macra ‘Aureola’

Hackonechloa ​

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‘Albo Straita’

Hackonechloa ​

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‘All Gold’

Hackonechloa ​

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‘Beni Kaze’

2010 PPA Plant of the Year: ‘Baptisia australis’

2011 PPA Plant of the Year: ​

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Amsonia hubrichtii
Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’​

 

and here is the 'proper' colour wheel to use when planning a garden/flower arrangement:



and here is a link which goes into details as regards creating container gardens (several pages of interesting info) .... the same principle is used with flower beds:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/floriculture/container-garden/lesson/colorwheel.html

 

longk, thanks for the link!
Jack McH... (it's a stammering nickname even for the eye, pls have mercy :D), I have a lot to learn in this forum and this is it's most valuable quality. It is not very likely that I would 'give a shout out on the forum', unless there is no alternative option.
Anyway, it's too early.

'Dim', you had me googling again, and thank you wholeheartedly for the colour wheel! Well, at least I found the name of my rose: Rosa veilchenblau “Blue Rambler”. By the way, I have been alerted to this Jasminum officinale ‘Fiona Sunrise’ before, and had checked it, but it will not survive a winter in Bulgaria.
I have a juncus effusus, and I will be able to have this Mexican feather grass from a dear local friend, who's crazy about ornamental grasses...

Then I surveyed this Plant of the Year List - Astilbe 'Sprite' is a great find! And this Amsonia hubrichtii got my heart throbbing! (I also checked whether the 'Elton John' echinacea was not in the shape of extravagant sunglasses and was bitterly disappointed :D). Thank you again. This spring I'll join a forum order from Plantentuin Esveld - www.esveld.nl and see how I can manage with all the hydrangeas I've selected + 1 kalmia. The astilbes will be on the order necessarily!
Thank you all!

Peter, now I can see what you're getting at: size! It is not size on absolute terms, but if I imagined the garden as a canvas on which I had to paint, 'size' would stand for some bolder 'strokes of the brush' to fill the emptiness. A group of plants must have some relative weight in the scene...

And I have been creating plant combinations as if I was arranging a bunch of flowers - totally unaware of all the empty space around! :DOH:

Thank you! Very simple, very practical and... measurable! I just have to play the unprejudiced viewer, who would never know where to look for a plant combination, but will rather have to be drawn to it. Therefore, when I tread the most usually treaded routes (not all of them are really paths :( ), a plant combination of the appropriate size has to appear in the angle of vision and arrest the eye. I have a particular place and distance in mind, I just need to check the dimensions below which the composition will not 'happen' and make sure I have filled a much larger space with the right content.

I am also convinced that trying to find out the size of the 'plant combination' by standing at the spot where it is to be planted, without 'marking' it and moving away to look, I will be mislead about its actual potential. (I'm curious to see the 'error' range). :D

For the better part, it's an amazing list of intentions! :D

I thought of it, but I wanted your, GC experience (regardless of climate in Bulgaria). Just a mention of the USDA zone will be enough. The more parallels I can draw the more used I will get to the 'season shift'.

I don't think you have one, but I'll be most happy if I could show you how it goes with a brugmansia (this was overoptimistic)...
You can find a climber for your lovely clematis, however.

And the most unusual (and great!) rose+perennial combination I've seen is this:
Ôîòî-Åëåíêèíà-Charles Aznavour

And here is one I loved very much in my garden. All its new growth is ruby red and against the blossoms it looks like a streak of blood on fine porcelain. I bought it in a pot two years ago. The first season it bloomed twice, with large single flowers. This year it branched and bloomed almost incessantly, with tens of flowers. I wonder how to promote this beautiful view and I'm thinking of some thinly laced red berberis:



Or... what else?