Susie You got it girl.

Thanks Jo Ann!

What variety knautea is that.I gotta get me some to interplant with lilies.

It's plain Knautia macedonica. It seeds itself readily so you might have to hoe some seedlings out.

Thanx

Beautiful photo, Susie.

I used to grow knautia and got rid of it. Maybe I need it again.

Karen

I'm back and forth on knautia also! I loved Mars Midget but I lost it last year. I have a giant one that is kind of a monster. I put it in a hard to grow space that was sparce. It did just fine. And there are babies all over. I'll have to decide what to do with them next year

There are some advantages to living in zone 3 some of the plants especially the small ones don't survive the winters so it isn't so hard to keep it contained here.

She has a point.

I am interested in Knautia and have checked several websites .Mars Midgit has several zones listed starting with Z 4 the other three zones started with 5.
I never trust a zone so close to the one I am in ( z6a ) It might not be the plant for me.

I choose plants that echo but when it looks like the entire garden is going into one color (ie. pink,not my favorite ) I plan a complimentary multicolor bloom and continue in another direction.
I find it easier to choose a lily like Royal Sunset to take a pink area into oranges or melon colors .
Here are a few of my echos not necessarily pink to melon.

Jo Ann those are lovely, the white of the variegated iris and the daf combo is something I wouldn't have thought of but I really like it. Also the astilbe and the iris, but the colors really set each other off .

All these are wonderful, I'm getting so many ideas!

Jo Ann - the lily and astilbe are so stunning! Love the iris and daffodil, too.

You're totally right about changing the color scheme to lead it where you want it to go. That's exactly what Pamela Harper mentions. She also said, when faced with a stumbling block of two colors that won't match but are getting too close to each other - use a hosta. Many can take some sun. If faced with full, hot sun, use a sedum.

Blues and purples tend to blend very well but pink is more difficult. Too many have peachy tones that will conflict with pure pink.


The darker wine heucheras help the transition of the pink/peach family as well. Check the color of the heuchera flower spike to be sure it won't conflict.

Jo, love the iris and daffodils. Now that's an unusual combo, leaf and bulb

I found the book and bought it - it will make some great reading this winter. I've really enjoyed all the photos you folks have posted here. I am anxious to take a fresh look at my flower beds to see what can be moved/changed to accommodate this echoing feature. It's really beautiful.

I like contrasting combos as well. Especially the ones across the color wheel, like purple and orange. Echoes do make it easer on the eye though.

I was talking to a gardener who mentioned a problem with bloomtime.
I have tried to search echos that bloom together.Usually there is a weather disaster that changes that from year to year.
I find it easier to combine a blooming plant with a plant in leaf,such as an early phlox with the dark actaeas.Problem solved.
Thanks for the daffodil compliments everyone. I love the all whites like Thalea.

This thread is great - I've looked back through my photos and find that most of mine are 'portraits' of individual plants. I now realize why I am so fond of one garden vignette - Stella daylilly, plain-jane shasta daisy, and goldflame spirea. The shasta center echoes Stella, and the spirea foliage is another golden echo while its fucshia bloom contrasts. The white of the daisy adds pop, and there is a not-yet blooming macrophylla hydrangea behind it all which gives good leaf contrast. I have this in my front bed and every year it stops me in my tracks. I will make a note to get a picture this season. Thanks for the inspiration - this will certainly be good for winter cogitating!

Orange and purple is a classic combo and I've used it many times. Each color combination can have a place in the garden.

That's so true, Jo Ann, which is why I really appreciate when people put the actual date of the photo they take on the database. Just "May" doesn't work but knowing it's the end of May helps a great deal.

Here's an orange rose that matches the beard of the iris.