Plant combos from multiple views

I realized last evening as I walked the garden -- we've had a week of wonderfully cool weather here in St. Louis so it's a joy to be outside -- that many of my plants make great combinations when looked at from different angles.

So I'm going to try and give you a sense of this with many images. I started at the front door, went down the driveway, then circled the backyard ending up on the deck stairs. Sort of a clockwise circuit of the garden, but skipping the south side. Let's start! (It's important to read the image captions, as that's where most of the info is in this post)

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The large Aloe on the front porch always catches my eye (I go out the front door with my head turned sideways now I think):

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) with bamboo (Sasa tsuboiana)

The same Aloe vera with crimson queen japanese maple

Aloe vera with potted Pleioblastus viridistriatus bamboo

Moving on to Perilla, which I have so much of everywhere this year (about to start getting yanked out):

Perilla with that unknown silver plant -- is it an Artemesia of some kind?

The same Perilla with Jewels of Opar, Talinum paniculatum

Moving on to the Perilla along the driveway:

Perilla with Rudbeckia triloba

Or do you prefer your Perilla with "Vertigo" grass?

Maybe Perilla is best with castor bean (Ricinus communis)

Enough Perilla! Something green?

Bamboo (Sasa tsuboiana) with Alocasia macrorrhiza

The same Sasa tsuboiana with the lowly yew

More bamboo?

Pleioblastus viridistriatus with Rudbeckia triloba

Indocalamus longiauritus with trees (black locust and mulberry)

Canna with bamboo (Fargesia 'rufa')

The same canna with ninebark 'Summer Wine'

The same canna plant with grasses (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

The same again canna with bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Aureocaulis') and castor bean

That canna by itself -- such a beauty this year!

More bamboo? Or grasses? Or yellow blooms?

How about all three? (With the focus on the grass)

Rudbeckia subtomentosa with "Vertigo" grass and the white bamboo in
the background (Pleioblastus fortunei)

The same "Vertigo" grass with Artemesia 'Powis Castle'

The same "Vertigo" with bamboo (Phyllostachys bissetii)

Now that I've mentioned bamboo again...

Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) with bamboo (white variegated Pleioblastus fortunei)

Huge leaved Indocalamus tessellatus bamboo with Sasaella bitchuensis bamboo

Bamboos L to R: Sasaella bitchuensis, Hibanobambusa tranquillans 'Shiroshima'
and Indocalamus 'Solidus'

I can't promise that's the end of the bamboo images, but how about other grasses?

Big Bluestem grass (Andropogon gerardi) with Elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta)

Grass with grass: Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberpfeil' with Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus'

Grass with maypop: Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberpfeil' with Passiflora incarnata

Maypop with other grasses (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

Maypop with "all" of the grasses!

Maypop is winning

How about some alliteration?

Banana with bench (Musa basjoo)

Bench with bamboo (Shibatea kumasaca)

Banana with bamboo (bench buried between)

Let's just finish with an "everything" image or two:

Too much going on there to single out plants or views. It's packed! (You might recognize papyrus, three types of cannas, three types of colocasia, Paulownia tomentosa, Mexican petunia, Cotinus obovatus (smoke tree), another "Vertigo" grass, purple fountain grass, Maypop, spider plant, and of course bamboo -- plus more)


See any combinations that you especially liked?

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