Hi!

I fell in love with Flower Carpet Roses in Coral and am trying to figure out some complementary colors to work this rose into my front yard. I originally had a plan worked around Little Mischief Shrub Roses, which is closer to a hot pink. Plants in the original plan, but not actually purchased yet, were Caramel Coral Bells, Little Suzy Black Eyed Susans, Ruby Phlox, Max Frei Geranium, Hakone Grass, and Vinca Bowles. Existing plants are Purple Leaf Sandcherry, Nepeta Walkers Low, Boxwoods, and red switch grass.

Any opinions on whether switching the pink roses for coral would still look good or suggestions for switching the other plants for varieties in a color better suited to complement the coral roses?

What are your favorite color combinations with coral?

Thanks!

Flower Carpet Coral Rose


Little Mishief Shrub Rose

Hi Joann. I think with a hot, coral pink that you should stay away from yellows - no Black-eyed Susans! Blue and white flowers would be good, complimentary colors. Also grey, or grey-blue foliage would tone with both bright pink flowers and the purple-leaved sandcherry. The Nepeta is a good choice!

Coral shades have become favorites for me, and I agree with June's recommendations. Blues and lavenders are among my favorite complimentary colors, as well as bronze foliage. As June said, yellows do tend to fight with coral shades. I have tried a few pale, creamy yellows and have been pleased, but bright, strong yellows tend to make corals looked washed out. I like using shades of peach and salmon among coral as well.

The coral shades in these Lilies were gorgeous this summer.

Hi Joann. I like coral broken down with softer peach and apricot tones, with cream and with soft primrose yellow. I also like the complementary soft mauve/lavender in there too. In my bed of these colours I have Cephalaria, Feverfew, near white, soft yellow, peach and apricot daylilies, a range of daffodils and jonquils in those tones, Bearded Iris Margharee and a similar one, Regal Lilies, Rain Lilies, Freesia refracta alba, OT hybrid Lilium Yelloween, Asiatic Lilium Frangipani, Paeonia lactiflora Coral Charm and also Bowl of Beauty, and Alstroemeria Camilla. In the past I've also had a lovely apricot carnation and a warm toned mini Chrysanthemum that had a colour blend similar to the bearded iris. The cooler tones have been mainly from Wahlenbergia and Isotoma (Australian natives with soft lavender blue flowers en masse, lower growing with small flowers). Instead you could use Campanulas though. I can try and see if I have any photos from earlier, as right now it's 'in-between' flowering while my weeping cherry holds the floor.

However in my rose garden I've gone down a different path: the bed with the coral roses is my apricot bed. It ranges from peach-pink like Abraham Darby and Evelyn, through apricot like Crepuscule, to deeper copper orange like Pat Austin, and the coral like Lilian Austin. I've decided to have only these tones and white in this bed, as I think apricot and white has a crisp fresh look. I have put white Campanula, Russell Lupin, Penstemon and Gladiolus in here, and apricot Foxglove. It's all new plantings so I have no photos yet.

South Seas daylily is a pretty coral color and there is also a rose called coral drift.

Joann, Flower Carpet Coral is my favorite! I find the coral color to be very soft, almost pastel, until it starts to get cold; then it gets brighter. Mine is in front of a large stand of baptisia, and it is planted with Dickson's Gold campanula, Autumn Charm sedum, Palace Purple heuchera and Zagreb coreopsis. The campanula is right next to the rose on either side, then the sedum, then the coreopsis, and the heuchera is in a row behind all of those. So I did use a bright yellow, but it is some distance away. My opinion is certainly not objective, but I think that combination looks quite nice. The campanula suffered badly after last winter. I nursed it all summer, but alas I plan to replace it with something else in purple/blue shades.

WOW Jeanie that sounds beautiful. Thank you for the idea. I planted that rose last year and was looking for a color match.

Cinta, let us know how it turns out!
I think the only color I would not put near this rose is pale pink. That leaves a lot of choices.

Okay I will post pics. I have the purple palace so I have the beginning.

Someone needs a Coral Pot!