OT: Companion plants

Since my stated gardening objective is to extend bloom and interest,
companion planting is one of my favorite topics.

I have had great success using Chrysantemum pacificum as a ground cover
around TB's. It's silver-edged foliage combines nicely. It's flower is
less than spectacular, looking more like tansy than a mum. I gave it to
my brother in South Carolina and he now considers it a nuisance, but it
has not gotten out of hand for me. In dry soil, it rarely grows over 10"
tall and the TB's next to it are none the worse. I have used liriope and
lavender with TB's with great success also. The results with liatris
(gayfeather) were not great, but passable. I planted sternbergia lutea
(autumn daffodil) at the edge of a TB bed last fall. I'll let you know
how that works out. I've also planted elephant garlic in the TB bed. The
blossom looks like a giant allium--and you can dig it and eat it. 

Buddleia lindleyana (also known as B. alternifolia) is also a natural in
the iris border. It blooms on last year's growth, so it can be pruned
after the June bloom. It can also be trained or grafted to standard
form. There are spectacular specimens at Longwood Gardens.

I'm going to plant foxtail lilies (desert-candle) with the TB's this
fall. I think their cultural requirements are close enough. 

I've had mixed results with TB's and daylilies. I find that the
daylilies do better with the Japs and Siberians.

I could go on with this topic ad nauseum, but I'll spare you--this time.

R. Dennis Hager
on Delmarva
Zone 7 AIS Region 4
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