What Potted Flowers Work Well Together?

Spring

• Natural colors of spring flowers in nature are pastels such as soft pink, light yellow and purple. Malcolm Hillier, author of "Container Gardening Through the Year," suggests planting pale creamy yellow primroses and narcissi, with blue-flowering bulbs like hyacinths and scillas. These fragrant blooms will go well together in one large pot, especially a light blue or white pot. Other spring combinations include a bowl of primulas such as polyanthus, cowslip and polyanthus primrose, or a large pot of different colored sweet-perfumed iris. An alpine combination, which goes well in a stone planter, might include stonecrop, saxifrage and phlox.

Summer

• Bright colors abound when creating summer potted floral arrangements. A summer gold combination could include light yellow petunia, African marigold and sedum. A deep purple combination could include larkspur, campanula and senecio (silver dust) for accent. Other summer potted flowers that work well together include red dahlia, impatiens, begonia, nasturtiums and ivy geranium. Any of these work well together, although mixing just two or three with an accent such as a fern looks the best.

Autumn

• Autumn provides the opportunity to create potted flower arrangements that are rich in gold, orange and red as well as mixing this rich palette with accents such as berries. Fuchsias are useful because they come in a range of colors and flower heavily in cooler weather, often producing a second wave of blooms in the autumn. Asiatic gentians such as the Inverleith flower in autumn, as do cyclamen, chrysanthemums and michaelmas daisies. Try creating a fiery-colored combination such as pyracantha (orange or gold berries) with coleus and marigolds which are a cold-tolerant flower that comes in dozens of yellow, gold, orange and red colors.

Winter

• It is not often winter that comes to mind when thinking of potted flower arrangements, but there are a few combinations that work well together. Well-clipped topiaries in simple containers can work well outside, as can many varieties of evergreens. Inside, there are several winter flowering plants such as jasmine and narcissus (both highly aromatic), orchids and poinsettias which work well to created potted arrangements. "Peaches and Cream" Poinsettias go nicely with pink azalea and red primula. Viburnum, skimmia and English ivy are also a possibility. Greenhouses are the best places to keep these flowering plants during winter.