A Very Attractive Border Idea for Your Garden

Plant Combinations, Flowerbeds Ideas, Spring Borders, Summer Borders

This plant combination demonstrates that ornamental and edible plants can be mixed together with great success.

Sitting in front of the statuesque Yucca gloriosa (Spanish Dagger) and surrounded by the fiery red blossoms of Geum ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ (Avens) and Aquilegia ‘Crimson Star’ (Columbine), or the electric blue blooms of Centaurea montana (Mountain Cornflower) is the edible Atriplex hortensis Var. rubra (Red Mountain Spinach). Pull off its tasty, soft textured, deep purple-red leaves and eat them in delicious salads or cooked like spinach!

For great contrast, it is interplanted with perennial plants exhibiting very attractive foliage such as the variegated sedum ‘Autumn Charm’ or the chartreuse leaves of Tanacetum parthemium ‘Aureum'(Golden Feverfew).

Easy to replicate, most of the plants selected for this spectacular summer border are deer, rabbit or drought tolerant!

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Garden Information

Hardiness	7 - 8
Heat Zones	7 - 9
Exposure	Full Sun
Season of Interest	Spring (Late), Summer (Early, Mid)
Maintenance	Low, Average
Water Needs	Low, Average
Soil Type	Loam, Sand
Soil pH	Alkaline, Neutral
Soil Drainage	Well-Drained
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Plant of Merit, Showy
Attracts	Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Landscaping Ideas	Beds And Borders
Garden Styles	Informal and Cottage

Plants In This Garden

Geum 'Mrs J. Bradshaw' (Avens)

Award-winner Geum ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ is a clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with masses of showy, semi-double, rich scarlet orange flowers, 1.5 in. across (4.5cm), appearing in late spring to early summer.

Hardiness	5 - 9
Exposure	Full Sun, Partial Sun
Seasons	Spring (Late), Summer (Early)
Height	2' - 3' (60cm - 90cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Plant of Merit, Showy

Aquilegia 'Crimson Star' (Columbine)

Aquilegia Crimson Star’ is very eye-catching with its long-spurred, bright crimson-red flowers with a white corolla, rising with natural grace above a compact mound of fern-like, light green foliage.

Hardiness	3 - 9
Exposure	Full Sun, Partial Sun
Seasons	Spring (Late), Summer (Early)
Height	2' - 3' (60cm - 90cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Showy

Atriplex hortensis var. rubra (Red Mountain Spinach)

Very ornamental, Atriplex hortensis var. rubra (Red Mountain Spinach) is an erect, hardy annual plant, with lance-shaped, thin, deep red-purple leaves, 6 in. long (15 cm) and vertical racemes packed with tiny red-purple flowers, which give way to papery seeds. Slightly salty, the leaves are delicious in salads or cooked like spinach. A multiple-purpose plant!

Hardiness	4 - 8
Exposure	Full Sun
Seasons	Spring (Late), Summer (Early, Mid)
Height	3' - 4' (90cm - 120cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Showy

Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum' (Golden Feverfew)

A highly popular golden-leaved variety, Tanacetum parthenium ‘Aureum’ (Golden Feverfew) is a mounded, clump-forming, dwarf cultivar with sprays of small white daisies atop a particularly decorative aromatic foliage.

Hardiness	4 - 9
Exposure	Full Sun
Seasons	Summer (Early, Mid, Late)
Height	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Dried Arrangements, Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Showy

Centaurea montana (Mountain Cornflower)

Prized for its flamboyant, rich blue flowers, Centaurea montana (Mountain Cornflower) is an erect, stoloniferous, clump-forming perennial with fringed, blue flowers, 2 in. wide (5 cm), adorned with reddish blue, thistle-like centers from late spring to early summer.

Hardiness	3 - 8
Exposure	Full Sun, Partial Sun
Seasons	Spring (Late), Summer (Early)
Height	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Showy

Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' (Spanish Dagger)

Adding a bright note to the garden year-round, award-winner Yucca gloriosa ‘Variegata’ (Spanish Dagger) is a very ornamental, broadleaf evergreen shrub featuring a basal rosette of attractive, rigid, sword-shaped, spine-tipped blue-green leaves, striped and edged creamy-yellow. They are topped in early summer with a dramatic flowering stalk reaching 4 ft. (120 cm) and bearing dense panicles of nodding bell-shaped creamy white flowers. Adds architectural interest to the garden.

Hardiness	7 - 11
Exposure	Full Sun
Seasons	Spring (Early, Mid, Late), Summer (Early, Mid, Late), Fall, Winter
Height	2' - 4' (60cm - 120cm)
Spread	2' - 4' (60cm - 120cm)
Characteristics	Plant of Merit, Showy, Evergreen

Sedum 'Autumn Charm' (Stonecrop)

A lovely variegated sport of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, ‘Autumn Charm’ produces gray-green leaves with soft yellow, serrated edges fading to creamy-white. The attractive foliage is topped in late summer with showy creamy buds,

Hardiness	4 - 9
Exposure	Full Sun
Seasons	Summer (Late), Fall, Winter
Height	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Spread	1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm)
Characteristics	Cut Flowers, Showy

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Sedum (Stonecrop) Geum (Avens) Yucca Tanacetum Centaurea Aquilegia (Columbine)

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Alternative Plants to Consider

Geum ‘Fireball’ (Avens)

Yucca filamentosa (Adam’s Needle)

GAP Photos//Jonathan Buckley - Design: John Massey, Ashwood Nurseries

While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.