Here’s another combo in our series from NYC’s Conservatory Garden in Central Park. I love the subtlety of this combo, and also how different all of the plants are.

• First you’ve got a couple of hydrangeas:
  • both a green-flowered smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens cv., USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9)
  • and a white-variegated bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla cv., Zones 5-9).
• Then there’s the dramatic foliage of:
  • annual purple perilla (Perilla frutescens cv.) in the front that echoes the
  • purple-flowered burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis cv., Zones 3-8) in the back.
• A just-past-peak astilbe (Astilbe cv., Zones 3-8) adds some ferny texture to the front.

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