About Garden Design - Tips and Techniques

Garden Design - Combing Plants for Color Echos

Good garden design takes into consideration the form, color and texture of the plants being used in the design.  Sometimes it can be easier to pull together a garden design by first breaking it down into smaller parts.  A good way to learn how to successfully combine plants is to take note of plant combinations you see and like in other gardens and try to duplicate them in your own garden.

In the example here, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium 'Apple Blossom'), and the fading globes of Allium 'Purple Sensation' all contribute to what is called a color echo, in garden design.  Each plant's shade of purple/pink complements and enhances the other flowers around it.

The feathery texture and sprawling habit of the yarrow foliage contrasts nicely with the spiky leaves of the clump forming Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal') behind it.  'Heavy Metal' will further add to the color echo as it sends up purplish flower stakes in late summer and the leaves pick up a burgandy tint.