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Complementary floral combinations in purple and yellow

Combinations in purple and yellow




On the color wheel, purple and yellow are opposites, making them complementary. That's why this pair will always look good in your home and landscaping. A list of some of our favorite flowers in these two vibrant colors will inspire your horticultural creativity, including lupine and yarrow, foxglove and delphinium, and hyacinth and anemone. As far as we're concerned, you can never have too much color in a flower garden!


1. Hanging Planters Draw the Eye



Yellow attracts the eye, and purple keeps it there. Superbells Lavender calibrachoa and Bidens ferulifolia pair well in a hanging basket, where they both need full sun and die to themselves. Let the soil dry out completely before watering, as these drought-tolerant annuals do not like consistently wet soil. But on hot summer days, you may need to water daily.


2. Dynamic Dios


Lilies and clematis can be best friends because they grow at the same time and bloom at the same time. Both produce more flowers in full sun, but their roots are cool, moist, and shaded. Plant them together in a bed of rich soil that will receive midday sun but protect from afternoon heat.


3. Golden and Sunny



A golden barberry (Berberis thunbergii) such as 'Aurea' or Sunjoy Gold Beret will brighten up the entire garden. Barberry's thorns make an effective deterrent to critters, and deer don't like to eat the golden leaves. It combines beautifully with the red-violet 'Carnaby' clematis and the white and purple 'Art Deco' iris climbing the rugged arbor.


4. Nature's Palette


A rustic path leads through beds of yellow mullein (verbascum), blue catmint (nepeta) and purple and pink lupins. To keep mullein blooming, remove spent flowers before they set seed. These spiky perennials are deer resistant and perfect for a country-style garden. Repeat the planting to maintain the purple and yellow theme in the long bed.


5. Subtle shades of purple and yellow



A color combination is not always clear. Rich hues focus on a mix of purple allium, burgundy iris, purple lupine, golden arborvitae and yellow yarrow. When planning a combination of purple and yellow gold, remember that both colors range from bold to pale, warm to cool. Any combination will blend, but it's often best if you stick with similar flowers, such as all saturated, warm colors.


6. Layers add interest


If you have a tall plant, add dimension with low growth. Here, the bright flowers of low-growing perennial Sedum camtsaticum and annual verbena create a stunning purple and yellow carpet at the feet of tall purple and yellow irises and spiky annual yellow butter and eggs (Linaria vulgaris). If you don't want to reseed butter and eggs, keep it dead.


7. Texture Counts



When planning your flower arrangements, mix it up a bit. Start with tall, spiky foxgloves (shown in pink and pale purple) and spiers of deep purple delphiniums. Add contrast with round shapes like yellow roses and nasturtiums. Since nasturtiums are annuals, foxgloves are biennials, and delphiniums are short-lived perennials, this grouping can be easily changed from year to year.


8. Pink for Prettiness


Looking for the perfect companion to go with purple and yellow flowers? Pink always works. Pale yellow daisies and pale pink roses add a cool welcome to the foreground. Meanwhile, warm tones of purple coneflowers, red-purple liatris, purple catmint and golden black-eyed Susans anchor the background. Everyone loves a spot with full sun.


9. Accent colors add interest



Some flowers have color combinations within their structure, such as the Lemon Symphony African Daisy, which has yellow petals accented with a purple center. Play purple with a matching nemesia like 'Bluebird.'" Nemesias and African daisies are cool-weather flowers that don't like summer heat. So when temperatures drop in fall, prune them back and wait for the blooms to reappear.


10. Thrillers, Fillers, and Spillersrs



You can't go wrong with the classic formula for container plants: Thrillers (spiky, tall), Fillers (medium, rounded) and Spillers (trolling). The blue pot adds depth to this composition because the color is close to purple on the color wheel. Here the thriller is an angelonia, the filler is a yellow dahlia, and the spiller is a deep purple petunia (look for the varieties that follow.)


11. Roses and clematis: kindred spirits



Roses and clematis are natural garden partners. Airy clematis vines can climb upwards on a support or horizontally between perennials. Choose 'Polish Spirit' or Jackman's Clematis for a deep, rich purple variety. Roses like 'Graham Thomas', an award-winning golden English rose, can provide support - just make sure the rose bush isn't crushed by vines so that its leaves can't get enough sunlight.


12. Paired to Perfection


Look to Calibrazoa and Marguerite daisies for feathery leaves and long-blooming flowers. Place red-purple Calibrachoa where you want uninterrupted color. The yellow marguerite daisy does best in cooler climates, although newer varieties such as 'Butterfly' are more heat tolerant. Both do well in the ground, but excel in containers.


13. Spiffy Spring Performers



Count these spring bloomers in purples and yellows, then go quiet. Grape hyacinths and buttercup anemones pair well. Among the many varieties of grape hyacinths, try Muscari latifolium, with flowers that are light purple above and dark purple below. Plant both with other woodland perennials that grow to cover the bare spots left when they are dormant.

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