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READER PHOTO! Drumsticks and coneflowers

comments (3) March 23rd, 2011 in blogs

Michelle Gervais, Associate Editor

18 users recommend

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Photo: Courtesy of Gregory Smaus

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Today's photo is from Gregory Smaus in Seattle, Washington. He says, "Here is one of my favorite photos from my own garden. I like it because it shows the fun of repeating forms. The cones of the drumstick allium (Allium sphaerocephalon, USDA Hardiness Zones 4-11) in the foreground are repeated in the 'Green Wizard' black coneflower (Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard', Zones 3-9) in the background. Each one works beautifully on its own, with the red Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum 'Autropurpureum', Zones 5-9) in between, and yet because of their similar enough forms, they tie the garden together from front to back visually. This combination also works wonderfully throughout the year. The 'Dapple Dawn' English rose (Rosa 'Dapple Dawn', Zones 5-10) has full red hips starting in mid summer, if I let it, which contrast well with the black of the coneflower. The allium and coneflower can stay all winter, providing form to the eye and food for the birds!" Thanks, Gregory, for sharing this great combo with us!

Welcome to the Fine Gardening GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY blog! Every weekday we post a new photo of a great garden, a spectacular plant, a stunning plant combination, or any number of other subjects. Think of it as your morning jolt of green.

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READER PHOTOS: We love featuring your photos, too. If you think you have a photo that we should share on the Garden Photo of the day, email us. Send hi-res images if possible. We'll only respond if we plan to use your photo.

posted in: Washington

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Highlighting a gorgeous tree

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A purple and white combo for full sun

Comments (3)

arboretum writes: greg, nice aesthetic of shapes and color compatibility!
thnx much,
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/ Posted: 4:51 pm on March 23rd

sheilaschultz writes: Love the Chinese rhubarb... I've never seen it before! Thanks, Greg. Posted: 1:58 pm on March 23rd

Wife_Mother_Gardener writes: Thanks for sharing, Greg! I love the strong punctuation of round flowers.
And the colors of the rhubarb and allium are great together. Posted: 10:23 am on March 23rd

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Welcome to the Fine Gardening GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY blog!

Every weekday we post a new photo of a great garden, a spectacular plant, a stunning plant combination, or any number of other subjects. Think of it as your morning jolt of green.

Sign up to get new posts delivered to your inbox each morning so you'll always remember to take a look, or subscribe to our RSS feed. We look forward to sharing our garden travels with you.

If you think you have a photo that we should share on the Garden Photo of the day, email us. Send hi-res images to mgervais@taunton.com with GPOD in the subject line. We'll only respond if we plan to use your photo.