Some Perennials Make a Lasting Combination
Discovering what plants grow together harmoniously is one of the joys of gardening. When you hit upon a great combination, you feel like shouting it from the top of a gazebo.
Last summer I achieved one of my most successful perennial combinations in a small area of the garden on which I had almost given up. This plot of rocky soil receives too little water and too much sun, so I needed plants that were tough and moderately drought-tolerant. But I also wanted plants that were permanent and pretty, with a long-lasting bloom period. Moreover, their colors had to complement my pink/lavender/blue color scheme for that side of the garden. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
Despite my demanding specifications, I found five perennials that met all my conditions and looked smashing together.
Cerise Queen, Geranium
Toward the front of the bed I planted “Cerise Queen” ( Achillea millefolium ) . This handsome yarrow has gray-green ferny foliage, dark-pink flower heads, grows 10 to 15 inches tall and thrives in hot, dry problem spots. An excellent choice for any Southland garden, red yarrow spreads easily without becoming a pest.
Also up front I placed cranesbill geranium ( Geranium incanum ) , a lovely plant producing low-growing mounds of mauve-colored 1-inch flowers. Don’t confuse this true geranium with the showy pelargoniums commonly, but erroneously, called “geraniums.” (Pelargoriums include Martha Washington geraniums, common geraniums and ivy geraniums.) Very different, the cranesbill geranium usually is found only at nurseries specializing in perennials.
To add a vertical accent, I used pink Veronica spicata. This charming perennial produces densely flowered spires, available in soft pastel shades, that reach 12 to 16 inches. Veronica looks as if it belongs in a moist and pampered English cottage garden rather than here in arid Southern California.
Once established, however, it does quite well in dry areas. A nursery professional in the San Fernando Valley told me that when he drastically reduced watering his own garden last year, his veronica plants survived where less-rugged perennials perished.
Next I included dusty miller, because its silver foliage contrasts nicely with blues and pinks and because it’s tough.
Don’t Forget Snail Bait
The most dependable and I think most attractive of the confusing array of dusty millers is the centaurea dusty miller ( Centaurea cineraria ) . It reaches about 1 foot and stays there, unlike the senecio dusty millers that insist on growing to 2 feet or more, often bearing unexpected and unwanted clusters of yellow daisy flowers. Whenever you plant dusty miller, though, be sure to spread snail bait or your plants may disappear on the first moist night.
Toward the rear of this flower bed, I used the perennial statice ( Limonium perezii ) , which produces lavender-blue strawlike flowers and grows particularly vigorously near the coast. However, it also survives the heat of the San Fernando Valley, although it may not bloom in the midst of summer. If you prefer a stronger blue and don’t mind replacing it every year, use blue salvia ( S. farinacea ) .
The perennials described here complement each other in various ways: They bloom for a long period, require minimal care and tolerate moderately dry growing conditions (although they all demand soil with good drainage). Best of all, their muted colors harmonize in creating a subtle, rather than strutting overall garden effect.
Next year I will repeat this winning combination in another garden area, but I plan to introduce within it additional durable perennials. Tall double Shasta daisies (“Marconi” is remarkable, strong and permanent in my garden) would add lightness, and false dragonhead ( Physostegia virginiana “Vivid”) would supply lavender spikes in early fall.
Some gardeners worry that false dragonhead, an old-fashioned garden plant finding its way back into today’s trendy perennial gardens, will become invasive; but I welcome its determination to grow, and in the spring I enjoy dividing it to share with friends. To prevent false dragonhead from becoming rangy, cut it back in July, as you would chrysanthemums.
Many garden centers are now stocking perennials. Some of the best sources are Sperling, Calabasas; Sassafras, Topanga; Green Thumb, Canoga Park; Burkhard, Pasadena; Desert-to-Jungle, Montebello, and Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.
