We’re back enjoying more photos of Cherry Ong’s visit last June to the garden of perennial gardening expert Pam Frost in Vancouver, Canada. Cherry visited as part of a tour organized by the Vancouver Hardy Plant Society.

Here are some expert combinations in color and contrast. The dark-leaved smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria, Zones 5–8) in the back makes a strong contrast to lighter foliage and to flowers in shades of yellow, yellowish green, and white.

Contrasting texture and form is key to an exciting garden design. Here we see bold leaves contrasting with fine ones, and the formal shape of a perfectly trimmed shrub contrasting with the informal plantings around it. No flowers, or even brightly colored foliage, are needed here to make a beautiful design.

Each of these planters going up the steps uses different plants but echoes the same colors—red and pink flowers, contrasting with silver and white foliage. Using similar terra-cotta pots for each planting further unifies this area.

Epimedium (Zones 5–9) have delicate beautiful flowers in the spring, but their real value in the garden is their long-lasting foliage, which can look delicate but is quite tough and does well in difficult sites like dry shade.

Moss, wood, stone, and ferns—simple and perfect

It is easy to overlook hostas as common and overplanted, but there are good reasons they are used so much: they’re durable, easy to grow, and their foliage is just beautiful.

This Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum sp.) has variegation so elegant it looks like it was painted.

Cardiocrinum (Zones 5–9) are lily relatives that thrive in a woodland garden and, after many years of patience, produce towering stems of huge white blooms.

Lily buds are ready to burst open, with a perfect background of variegated grass.

If you loved seeing this garden, we have an article with design tips from Pam you should check out: Create a Garden with Cohesiveness

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