A Sunny Combination for Summer

While I’m usually a fan of the deep, dark, gothy plants with purple, black or copper foliage, by the end of a long Northwest winter I am craving some color! Cheerful, bright, sunshiny color.

That’s why I’ve fallen in love with Supertunia^® Citrus, a lemony yellow petunia hybrid perfect for trailing over the edge of a pot or hanging basket. It has a corona of pale yellowy white surrounding a sunburst of deeper golden yellow, and the slightly darker veins give each flower a quilted look.

Though yellow and dark purple used together is one of the hottest trends of the season, my favorite way of using this stunner is in monochromatic combinations which show its moon-shaped blossoms against plants with similar colors but different shapes and textures.

We’ve all heard about the “thriller, filler and spiller” method for a great container combo. You take something tall and pop it in as a centerpiece (the “thriller”), combine it with a low, bushy plant to fill the bare areas around its base (the “filler”), and lastly choose a spilling plant to tumble over the sides of the pot and help make the planter feel integrated with the plants.

Well, Supertunia^® Citrus makes a fantastic spiller because it trails gracefully over the edge, blooming all the way. Pair it with Banana Cream Shasta Daisy as a thriller, which shoots up in summer with light yellow blossoms that perfectly highlight the color of Supertunia Citrus^®. Lastly, use Going Bananas Daylily to fill in the blank spaces of the pot and add a different textural contrast with its strappy foliage.

Going monochromatic is a great way of experimenting with colors that are just a bit outside your comfort zone, and it works with every color under the sun, so you can feel confident trying new things in the garden and knowing you’ll always be able to find some chic plant pairings that will never clash.

^© 2012 Proven Winners, LLC