Mixed Bed with Fine Foliage and Fun Flowers

Thanks to a foliage-first focus and a few carefully selected bloomers, this combo looks great from spring to fall—and it's no slouch in winter thanks to the handsome evergreen foliage of Bupluerum fruticosum and Picea pungens 'Ruby Teardrops'. 

Color play includes a surprising color echo; the ruby-colored new growth of the conifer is quite unusual and as showy as flowers. It's played up by the Forest Pansy redbud tree and a carpet of Sedum 'Dragon's Blood' which round out the burgundy scene. An easy care shrub rose and Agastache provide summer color. The overall color scheme is a balance of muted silver, blue, and peach played against the more colorful; red-to-burgundy with a splash of orange. Intermingle drifts of the thick and wooly carpet of the lambs ears and with the sedum for an attractive, drought-tolerant, multi-colored, weed-smothering groundcover.


Growing Conditions

Zone: 6, 7, 8
Exposure: Afternoon Sun, Full Sun
Water Needs: Average, Low

Design Considerations

Style: Northwest Eclectic
Features: Varied Foliage, Texture, and Form, Fabulous Foliage
Focus: Curb Appeal, Mixed Border
Seasons of Interest: Spring, Summer, Fall, Three Seasons of Interest

Care and Maintenance


Maintenance Level: medium



Plants In this Combo