Fall Plant Combinations

Color, Texture, Form

Originally Published: September/October 2004

AUTUMN'S STRIKING SEASONAL colors get even bolder with winning garden combinations. Jeff Epping, director of horticulture at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, considers three elements when partnering plants: color; overall texture and form; and growing conditions.

Jeff groups hot colors, such as bright reds, yellows and oranges in beds and containers. Cool tones, including pinks, blues, purples, whites and very soft yellows go in separate gardens. Foliage plants with silver or burgundy leaves serve as neutrals to blend or transition between colors.

"Color is important and flowers may be the first thing you see, but they're more fleeting and less important than foliage," Jeff says. "Foliage plants are more 'bulletproof,' so even if you have harsh weather, at least you have the leaves to carry you."

Contrast textures of the leaves and plant forms rather than matching them. It's more interesting to place a plant with medium or fine leaves against one with bold leaves. "I'm a big believer in using all textures in compositions," Jeff says.