My name is Glendon Elliott. My garden is in Jamestown, Rhode Island, on Conanicut Island, where surrounded by water, we are always a bit warmer (or cooler in the spring) than our Zone 6 location.

I was trimming some new growth on Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ (Zones 5–8) and noticed the shockingly intense blue of these irises. I cut the only two open (three might have been better) and put them in a vase with the Cotinus to what I think is a nice effect.

Look behind this eye-catching iris (Iris siberica, Zones 3–8) and poppy (Papaver orientale, Zones 3–9) and you’ll see the airy fronds of asparagus. Glendon likes using it at the back of the border for height and structure and says that this particular one sowed itself into this location.

Brilliant orange Geum (Zones 4–7) flowers against a backdrop of purple irises

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, Zones 3–8) and butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa, Zones 5–9) look great together and welcome countless pollinators to feed.

‘Ballerina’ rose (Rosa ‘Ballerina’, Zones 5–9) and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (Zones 5–8) make magic together.

Weigela (Weigela florida, Zones 5–9), smokebush (Cotinus coggygria, Zones 5–8), bearded iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–8), and gateway Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’, Zones 4–8) make a beautiful garden scene.

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