Mum Marriages

In this month's issue of HGTV Magazine (read it here) I wrote an article about plants that marry well with mums... shrubs and annuals and ornamentals that bring out the best in this fall icon...that, quite frankly, can all too often


(in my opinion) look a little too rigid, too formulaic, too
kinda... Marriote-hotelish  (if you know what I mean).

I like to plant, or more accurately, nestle, mums into new or existing garden areas that have plants which can soften their form and accentuate their colors and textures. 

Annuals like coleus, ornamental peppers and crotons look great and scream fall.







 Lorapetalum, nana nandinas, and oakleaf hydrangeas 





will happily and beautifully cradle large pots of mums within their branches, hiding their unsightly plastic containers in their foliage, 


while saving you the labor of actually planting these short term beauties.


For more ideas on how to play matchmaker with mums, join me tomorrow on NewsChannel 4, FOUR YOUR GARDEN, at 4:30.