Yellow daylily and coreposis add
sparkle to a purple palette of
smokebush, coneflower, petunia,
and phlox.

Gold Plus One

When yellow joins other flower colors, the scene invariably lightens and brightens. Yellow boosts the border with the visual equivalent of laughter. It shimmers in shady places.

Purple tones, from purplish green to lavender, respond warmly to a yellow partner. Bright spring yellows frequently pair up with purple and blue blooms. But what about a late-spring follow-up act of yellow peonies (Paeonia lutea) with purple-leaf rhododendrons; lavender irises and gold Veronica repens; or 'Baggesen's Gold' honeysuckle and hardy ginger (Roscoea purpurea)?

Use yellow shrubs as ornamental highlights in flower borders. They'll add spark to mellow monochromes of purple or pink. Many gardeners greet the spring with bright yellow forsythia, but other shrubs spread wonderful buttery color in plantings. For shade, Kerria japonica bears single or double popcorn flowers of pure gold against vivid green stems. Kirengeshoma, a large perennial, and Rhododendron luteum twinkle with pale yellow flowers, while mahonia glistens with sprays of bright yellow. In sunny gardens, witch hazel and broom (Cytisus) flower in early spring. Golden-leaf varieties of weigela, elderberry, caryopteris, and barberry enhance borders with their glow.

Related Slide Show: Best Yellow Flowers for Your Garden

 

A mass of purple and yellow pansies
shine under a cloud of lavender.

Yellow and white form a winning combination that glows dramatically when reflected in water. A midsummer border could pair fragrant yellow-throated Lilium regale and 'Stella d'Oro' daylily, or white astilbe and a gold-variegated ornamental grass. By adding 'Goldfinch' goldenrod or 'Garden Sun' helenium and white mums, the gold-and-white show lasts through the fall.

Many daisylike yellow flowers provide late-summer color. Sustain the sunshine of coreopsis, helenium, and black-eyed Susan by snipping off faded flowers after their first bloom. A second flowering soon follows.