We noticed two sets of beautiful plant pairings to share with you this week to help give you ideas when filling your gardens at home. In these instances, both are full-sun pairings, but one prefers wet soil, while the other prefers it dryer.
Both boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) and blue vervain (Verbena hastata) are both starting to bloom now, in blue and white respectively, and prefer full sun to part shade in average to wet soil. They make a great pair in a rain garden or low spot in the yard, with their contrasting flower shapes standing tall at 4’ or sometimes more. Metallic sweat bees seem to be a common visitor to vervain, and boneset brings in a dizzying variety of small wasps. Both attract butterflies as well! Blue vervain also hosts over 10 species of caterpillars, with boneset hosting over 40.
Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) and nodding onion (Allium cernuum) are a much lower-growing duo that prefer average to dry soil with full sun or part shade. Each growing between 1 and 2 feet tall, they can do well in small spaces and stay relatively tidy. They also do great when neglected and are therefore great low-maintenance options. When purple love grass is in bloom around the middle to end of summer, its flowers can look like an enchanting purple mist from afar. Nodding onion, meanwhile, blooms around the same time (maybe a little earlier in some conditions) and will dangle its nodding flower clusters well above the foliage of both species, bringing both a sense of elegance and whimsy.
