A tetradic color scheme with yellow-green and magenta to blue-violet: A Lamium maculatum ‘Anne Greenaway’; B Thalictrum flavum subsp. glaucum; C Ranunculus acris*; D Thermopsis caroliniana; E Hypericum sp.; F Petatsites japonicus ‘Variegatus’*; G Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Karmina’; H Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea Nana’; I Polemonium reptans ‘Stairway to Heaven’; J Campanula glomerata ‘Joan Elliot’; K Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’.

 

With years of experience, seasoned gardeners may be able to conceptualize combinations for planting designs before they ever put spade to earth. Rather than wondering what steps there might be to take, we’ve brought suggestions with the hope that you can skip ahead on the path to success.

This book is not a standard “how-to” manual, but rather an aesthetic “what-to” reference. Natural Companions is like a travel guide suggesting possible itineraries, directing you to fascinating places and things to see on your journey. Our goal is to illustrate some artistic points of interest along the way, relationships for plantings and design.

I recommend starting from the ground up—with the soil. Plants, and especially the ornamental perennials we rely upon for excitement throughout the growing season, want a well-drained, moisture-retentive medium with a lot of organic matter. Compost from leaves and perhaps some well-rotted cow manure will be enormously valuable. If the soil is sandy, or there is too much clay, incorporate compost and well-rotted cow manure.

I also suggest bringing in as much of any one variety of annual, herbaceous perennial and groundcover that you can for the middle layer and the front of the planting that draws the most attention. We hope to have them grow in colonies, as they would in nature.

It is likely that in time, you will discover the stalwart, reliable plants for your garden that you can arrange with other species and varieties for the most triumphant combinations. Within these pages, we hope you find information, stories, and most of all, inspiring ways to help each plant boost its neighbors, look its best, and enhance your natural refuge. Combining plants is definitely an art, and like all art forms, it takes practice to master. Good art also requires taking some risks, so don’t be afraid to dive in and experiment.

Even professionals tinker with outdoor arrangements. After all, we don’t necessarily want our gardens to ever really be finished; this is a passion we hope to practice for a lifetime.

The images in this book present flowers and foliage that will look good growing together. As you wander through the book, make lists of combinations that appeal to you, and jot down names of plants in the photographs that you hope to replicate.

Whether it’s color associations, ideas for themes, or collections of fantastic plants that drive your arrangements, you’ll revisit Natural Companions time and again. I know that returning to the images in this book will be a perennial delight for years to come.