The Perennial Matchmaker

Few perennials can beat pincushion flowers (Scabiosa) for the length of their bloom season. For many months—or practically year-round, in mild climates—these cottage-garden classics produce grayish green leaves and 1- to 2-foot-tall stems topped with blue, purple, pink, yellow, or white flowers. Some are selections of S. caucasica or S. columbaria; others are hybrids. Though sometimes short lived, these perennials are generally hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

The soft colors of lavender blue ‘Butterfly Blue’, light pink ‘Pink Mist’, creamy yellow ‘Moon Dance’, and other pincushion flowers work best in pastel-based combinations. Pair them with other light to medium tints in the pink to purple to blue range, like those of many hardy geraniums (Geranium).

To expand the palette, try your pincushion flowers with soft yellows, like those of ‘Happy Returns’ daylily (Hemerocallis), or pastel oranges, like those of ‘Peachy Seduction’ yarrow (Achillea) and ‘Sienna Sunset’ coreopsis (Coreopsis). Pincushion flowers also make wonderful partners for white or cream-colored flowers, like those of Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum) and ‘Snow Hill’ perennial salvia (Salvia).

Blue-leaved grasses, such as blue fescues (Festuca), complement the soft colors of pincushion flowers. Perennials with white-, cream-, or yellow-marked leaves are also lovely partners through the pincushion flowers’ extended flowering period.

A Perfect Match

It took me a while to find a color companion that I really enjoyed with the lavender blue of ‘Butterfly Blue’ pincushion flower, but I finally found a favorite: the deep blue spikes of ‘Twilight Blue’ meadow sage (Salvia pratensis). By chance, I’d moved a clump of the pincushion flower near a drift of the salvia that I’d started from seed the previous year, and I really enjoyed the harmony of color and contrast of form when they flowered together this past spring.

Pincushion flower plants are mounded at the base, with oval to lance-shaped foliage, but they’re relatively loose in bloom, with open-branching flowering stems that carry small, deeply cut leaves. For a contrast in form, use them in front of or next to distinctly upright partners, such as blazing stars (Liatris) or summer phlox (Phlox paniculata).

The 2- to 3-inch-wide blooms of pincushion flowers are composed of a domed center surrounded by a ruff of short, broad petals. They look lovely next to slender spikes, like those of perennial salvias (Salvia) and many speedwells (Veronica). For a contrast in size, pair them with larger blooms or bloom clusters, like those of daylilies (Hemerocallis), star-of-Persia (Allium schubertii), or true lilies (Lilium), or let them mingle with tiny blossoms, like those of baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata), catmints (Nepeta), or lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis).

Pincushion flowers typically begin blooming in late spring to early summer and continue well into fall, often until a hard frost. In mild climates, they may continue through winter, as well. Clipping off the spent flower stems helps to keep the plants looking their best.

Bloom Buddies

Marvelous Matches for Flowering Combos

Pincushion flowers (Scabiosa) thrive in full sun but can take light shade, especially in southern gardens. Average, well-drained soil is fine (they need very good drainage in winter, particularly), and a neutral to somewhat alkaline pH is a plus. Below are some compatible perennials that can make great companions at some point during the pincushion flowers’ long bloom season.

Agastaches (Agastache)

Alliums (Allium)

Bellflowers (Campanula)

Catmints (Nepeta)

Coreopsis (Coreopsis)

Daylilies (Hemerocallis)

Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri)

Hardy geraniums (Geranium)

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis)

Lavenders (Lavandula)

Lilies (Lilium)

Perennial salvias (Salvia)

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum)

Speedwells (Veronica)

Summer phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Yarrows (Achillea)