Phloxes in landscape design: photo, combination, composition

Garden landscaping experts say with confidence that phlox can be planted with a huge number of companion plants, creating excellent ensembles and compositions. These bright spectacular flowers are annual and perennial, tall and creeping, have different flowering periods. The richest variety of their varieties and colors opens up unlimited scope for the designer’s imagination.

Ideas for using phlox in landscape design are truly inexhaustible. You can make them a central focus or use as a background. It looks great as an independent planting of one or more species, as well as their combination with other ornamental and flowering plants. A well-thought-out composition with the participation of these flowers can be made in any style, from strict classics to cozy country music, and will be an excellent solution for enlivening a flower bed, garden or plot.

Design planning features with perennial phlox

Phloxes are native to North America. In domestic ornamental gardening, these colorful flowering plants gained popularity back in the XNUMXth century.

The word “phlox” is translated from Greek as “flame”

Landscape designers love these plants, noting a number of their inherent advantages:

• a variety of varieties of flowers that differ in colors, height, shape of peduncles, etc .;
• lush and abundant flowering;
• unpretentiousness in caring for a flower;
• universal purpose – the ability to use in gardens of any size and style;
• frost resistance;
• the ability to grow quickly and well;
• easy transplantation even during the flowering period;
• quickly getting used to the new soil.

These plants do not bloom for very long. However, due to the correct combination of species with different budding periods, you can continuously admire them for almost five months a year.

The existing classifications will help you navigate the motley variety of species and varieties and choose exactly those phloxes that you would like to see in the design of your own garden.

According to their shape and growth, they are usually divided into three large groups:

1. Bush, when several dozen stems originate from one root. They are represented by tall, medium and short forms.
2. Intermediate, or loose-turf. These are forms that have creeping stems, from which straight-growing shoots rise up.
3. Creeping, or ground cover. During flowering, they look like a solid bright rug and can occupy a large area.

In accordance with the shape of the peduncles, phloxes are most often:

• paniculate;
• splayed;
• subulate.

The periods of their flowering can be designated as follows:

• early, when flowers appear in May;
• medium, if the first inflorescences open in June;
• late, allowing you to admire the flowers in July-September.

The variety of species, varieties and forms of perennial phlox is impressive

In order for phloxes in garden design to remain lush and bright for a long time, while maintaining health and a beautiful decorative appearance, you need to remember some of the subtleties of caring for them:

1. These flowers cannot grow in one place without a transplant for more than 6-8 years. By the end of this period, the plant thoroughly weakens and loses its attractiveness. It should be rejuvenated from time to time by dividing the rhizome and seating the lateral parts.
2. If the summer is dry and hot, these flowers definitely need regular abundant watering. Otherwise, the lower leaves will turn yellow and fall off, unsightly exposing part of the stem.
3. If the choice fell on varieties that are considered vulnerable to powdery mildew, it is better not to be too lazy and carry out the prevention of this disease in time.
4. A correctly drawn up fertilizer application schedule and properly selected compositions will help them bloom for a long time and abundantly, decorating the garden.

What are phloxes combined with

When planning a composition in the garden with the participation of phloxes, you need to select neighbors for them who will be satisfied with similar growth conditions:

• sunny or semi-shaded area, ideally with diffused light;
• the location of the landing on a small hill, excluding stagnation of water at the roots;
• providing abundant moisture;
• loose sandy or loamy soil enriched with peat or humus;
• slightly acidic or neutral soil reaction.

It is also important to take into account that the roots of the phlox are powerful and branched, located close to the surface.

The structure of the root system of companion plants should be such as to exclude “competition” for moisture and nutrients within the framework of planting.

What flowers can be planted next to phlox

Now it is worth dwelling in more detail on those flowers and ornamental plants with which phloxes in the garden are most interestingly combined. To imagine how such compositions look in the design of the site, a selection of photos will help.

Is it possible to plant phloxes of different colors side by side

One of the simplest and at the same time spectacular solutions is a combination of several varieties of phlox of different types, sizes and colors in a flower bed. When choosing which of them to plant nearby, you need to pay attention to other details:

• how the flowers are colored – monotonous or combine two or more colors;
• how the shades are distributed – in the form of spots, stripes, edging;
• color intensity – gentle or, on the contrary, saturated, bright gamma;
• the shape of the petals is even, corrugated or wavy.

Experienced florists recommend avoiding sharp contrasts of varieties, trying to combine the palette harmoniously.

You can also give preference to one color, combining its shades and tones in various versions.

Examples of the use of phloxes in the landscape design of a summer cottage are shown in the photo:

By placing high or medium-sized varieties in the center of the composition, and bringing the low ones to the fore, you can easily arrange a beautiful front flower garden

On a green lawn, a bright area looks very impressive, made of plain varieties of phloxes of pink, red, white or purple flowers, or a combination of them.

By planting strips of ground cover varieties nearby, it is easy to get a bright motley “carpet” of any shape and color.

From compact, low forms of varieties, flowering borders near a green zone or path are best obtained.

Panicled phloxes of several varieties with the same flowering period look great in the design of a discount or just in a group planting

Can phloxes be planted next to roses

When deciding what to plant phloxes in the garden with, it is worth considering the option of combining them with roses. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that a lush beauty, present in any composition, always acts as the main plant, and the task of the “companions” will be to successfully shade and emphasize it.

So, a thick carpet of creeping forms of these flowers, spread out at the foot of a spray rose, will make it look even more impressive. But the most common are combinations of the “queen of the garden” and panicled phlox flowers.

If the roses are tall, such “companions” will be an excellent border, if they are low, they will be suitable as a background.

Early varieties of phlox bloom at the same time as roses, while later varieties will continue to decorate the composition even when the latter have already faded

It is important that the color of the “companions” be determined successfully in order to avoid disharmony and the effect of variegation.

You can select plants “in tone”, combining pale pink, peach or yellow roses with phloxes of blue, lilac, dark blue flowers

A monochrome composition looks great when, for example, shades of a delicate creamy white range are selected.

The game of contrasts is also successful.

Combination of hydrangea and phlox

Undoubtedly, phloxes can be wonderful “companions” for hydrangeas.

The secret of the hydrangea’s charm lies in the fact that it is able to organically fit into the composition of any style, however, partner plants will have to “set the tone” for the design theme of this corner of the garden.

When choosing a hydrangea bush to decorate a flower bed, it is advisable to give preference to low-growing varieties with narrow leaves. As for the shape and color of the inflorescences, there is a rich scope for the manifestation of imagination.

Hydrangea tree varieties are well combined in mixborders with plants of different heights. The wide leaves of the hosta, planted in the foreground, will give the flower garden a decorative effect and cover the stems of panicled phloxes, the pink flowers of which, in turn, will sparkle with bright colors against the background of snow-white balls.

Another example of a combination of phlox and hydrangea in the landscape is shown in the photo. The white inflorescences of the Polar Bear hydrangea perfectly set off the tall phloxes, painted in contrasting lilac tones.

In addition, the caps of white phlox can themselves be very similar to flowering panicled hydrangea. And, if you choose varieties of suitable shades, sizes and shapes, as well as matching the flowering period, and just plant them side by side, you will get a very interesting result.

The combination of phlox with other flowers in the flower bed

Phloxes in the garden are in harmony with many flowers. Summarizing, a number of patterns can be noted. Early-flowering awl-shaped varieties look great in alpine hills and rockeries, in the design of borders near paths and lawns. “Companions” for them will successfully become ground cover flowering perennials: saxifrage, cat’s foot, alpine two-seed, carnation, periwinkle, aubrieta.

Wonderful “companions” for phlox blooming in summer can be asters, veronica, knotweed, geraniums, some varieties of bluebells

In the neighborhood with summer-autumn varieties, astilbes, cornflowers, lungworts, Siberian irises will perform wonderfully. A very good company for late-flowering phlox will be spirea or Thunberg’s dwarf barberry.

In combination with phlox, delphiniums, geleniums, somedago, lupins, pyrethrums, oriental poppies look spectacular.

Such potential “companions” of these flowers as peonies and daylilies deserve special attention.

With peonies

Peonies on the site remain decorative from early spring until autumn frosts. If you choose the right varieties, their flowering can last almost two months.

Most often, these plants are placed “in the stalls” or in the foreground of the composition. Even after the end of flowering, their carved leaves will serve as a magnificent background for bright panicled phloxes, and the lush greenery of the bushes will cover the lower parts of the latter’s stems, which often lose their attractive appearance.

You can also plant phloxes with peonies in a high flower bed, like the one in the photo:

The edging made of forget-me-nots and Turkish carnation emphasizes the neatness of the form and gives the flower garden a complete look.

With daylilies

Perennial phloxes in landscape design perfectly coexist with daylilies. The photo below shows examples of successful compositions:

Daylilies, like phloxes, amaze with a variety of varieties and richness of colors. When planning a decorative planting, you need to consider the compatibility of shades and the timing of flowering plants. Subject to these conditions, a flower bed can look very advantageous, on which low daylilies complement tall varieties of multi-colored panicled phloxes.

The “finest hour” of the duet of these flowers usually comes in the second half of summer. Both those and others at this time appear in all their glory. Large multi-level flower beds and mixborders, where they play a leading role, look great from a distance, so they will become a great decoration for spacious areas and parks.

But at the same time, even a small, neat flower garden with these plants may well become the “highlight” of a small area, if you place it, for example, against the wall of a country house.

The agrotechnical conditions for growing phloxes and daylilies are very similar, moreover, neither flower can be called capricious. Therefore, the key to their successful combination will be the harmony of shades and well-chosen height.

What ornamental plants are combined with phlox

It is worth noting that not only flowers can be used as “companions” of phloxes in the design of the site. The photo below shows the embodiment of great ideas involving ornamental plants.

Ground cover awl-shaped phlox catches the eye in the central tier of a multi-level flower bed. The brightness and beauty of their flowering is emphasized by bizarre rosettes of ornamental cabbage and colorful red-brown foliage of the Thunberg barberry.

A cloud of small delicate flowers of phlox splayed will enliven a secluded corner of the garden in the company of ferns and hosts

Groups of colorful panicled phlox blend wonderfully in a colorful mixborder along with Hoopsy spruce, astrantia, lilies and roses

Dwarf shrubs – euonymus, cotoneaster, some types of spirea – look especially picturesque against the background of bright spots of creeping phlox and large stones

Tall panicled phloxes can look very organically framed by large-sized evergreen perennials.

Next to what you can not plant phloxes in the flower bed and in the garden

In order for a border, flower bed, mixborder or rabatka to successfully fulfill its decorative function, you should know well what phloxes can be planted next to on the site, and with which plants these flowers do not get along at all.

It is highly undesirable that trees and shrubs with a powerful surface root system are located in the immediate vicinity. The rivalry with lilac, spruce, birch, plum, cherry, willow or poplar will end in the death of the phlox: he will definitely lose the fight with them for food.

Conclusion

The examples above allow us to conclude that it is safe to plant phloxes with a variety of “neighbors” in regular and landscape compositions of any shape and style, invariably getting an excellent result. These bright beautiful flowers are easy to grow and do not require complex care or special environmental conditions. Knowing what phloxes are combined with in a flower bed, taking into account the size, shape and color range of ornamental and flowering plants selected by him as “companions”, you can make an excellent ensemble that will decorate any green corner.