Mixing Plants in Borders: Contrast, Repetition, and Nature’s Palette

A border doesn’t need a complex plan—just a few guiding principles. Keep taller perennials at the back, shorter ones up front. Separate clashing colors by several yards or buffer them with masses of blue, white, or gray‑foliage plants. Group perennials with similar water and light needs, and pay attention to leaf texture and color.

Contrast: Bold Meets Delicate

“Put bold next to delicate and big next to small,” advises perennials expert Judy Wigand. “Contrast flower shapes, too—let spiky, flat‑topped, and pompom blooms play off each other.”

Color Inspiration from Wild Landscapes

Wigand lets nature teach color combinations: miles of purple desert verbena with white desert primrose in Anza‑Borrego, or orange poppies against blue lupine in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. She likes red beside yellow, or orange with blue, softened by gray foliage.

Personal Palette: Calming Pastels

“I’m fast‑paced, so I like my garden to calm me down,” Wigand admits. She chooses soft peach with blue, interspersed with white, and yellow as a distant highlight.

Repetition Unifies

Clumps of three or more gloriosa daisies repeated throughout a border tie the planting together. So does placing side‑by‑side plants whose flower or foliage colors echo—like a rudbeckia with a chocolate‑brown center beside chocolate‑bronze purple fountain grass.