Curbside Color

I recently admired a beautifully planted curbside garden in full sun with a lovely color palette. Right in front were lavender creeping phlox, and behind those was the low-growing cranesbill geranium ‘Rozanne' and low-growing perennial salvias with purple flowers. Behind these low-growing plants were taller Russian sage with its grey foliage and blue/lavender blooms. They were interspersed with Caryopteris ‘Lil Miss Sunshine', which has chartreuse foliage and blue flowers. It blooms mid-summer to mid-fall and grows 2-4 feet tall and as wide.

If winter interest was desired in a planting such as this one, small evergreens with yellow foliage could be substituted for the Caryopteris sub-shrubs that die to the ground each winter.

One of the advantages of this garden just described is that it is low in height in the section that abuts the street. The color scheme with the contrasting chartreuse and purple/lavender/ blue hues ties it together, and the plants selected ensure that there will be flower and foliage interest from early spring right through into fall.

Purple and chartreuse always look good together in a garden. Some other taller plants, such as the shrub Sambucus ‘Lemony Lace' shrub, could be placed in a moist part of your yard with purple Siberian Iris and a sedge such as ‘Banana Boat'.