What Other Plants Go With the Lily Tree?

Annuals

• Annuals live for a single season, but tend to bloom longer than perennials. The chenille plant thrives in light shade. It grows from 15 to 18 inches tall and produces drooping, 20-inch-long spikes of fuzzy red flowers through the summer. Provide chenille plants with adequate air circulation and at least 3 feet of space to spread.

  The summer forget-me-not (Anchusa capensis) grows well in full sun to partial shade. It grows from 8 to 18 inches tall and blooms from late spring through summer. Its red buds open into blue blossoms. This annual prefers moist, well-drained soil, but tolerates poor sites.

Perennials

• Perennials live for at least three years, but most only bloom for a few weeks. Plant species that bloom at different times during the growing season for constant color. Bergenias (Bergenia cordifolia ) bloom in early spring with dark pink flowers. They are hardy in zones 3 to 8 and grow from 12 to 18 inches tall. Bergenias prefer partial shade and moist, fertile soil.

  The astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) grows from 2 to 4 feet tall and is hardy in zones 4 to 8. This perennial blooms from early to midsummer with spikes of red, pink or white flowers. It prefers partial shade and moist, rich soil.

  Monkshood (Aconitum spp.) blooms from mid- to late summer with purple to blue flowers. It is hardy in zones 3 to 7 and prefers partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. Monkshood grows from 3 to 4 feet tall.

Ground Covers

• Ground covers help prevent weeds from growing under the lily tree. Armeria (Armeria martima) forms a rounded mat of grasslike, evergreen fronds. It blooms with spherical pink-to-white flowers in spring and grows to 6 inches tall with a foot-wide spread. Armeria is hardy in zones 4 to 8 and grows well in light shade and well-drained soil.

  The rockspray cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis) also produces pink spring flowers, followed by shiny red-to-purple fruits in fall. This low-growing evergreen forms a 2- to 3-foot-tall, dense mat of glossy foliage that turns red to purple in fall and winter. Plant rockspray cotoneaster in zones 5 to 8 in sites with partial shade and well-drained soil.

Ornamental Grasses

• The fibrous, spreading root systems of ornamental grasses helps prevent soil erosion and runoff. Blue lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) tolerates partial shade and wet to dry soil and is hardy in zones 4 to 10. This adaptable grass grows from 3 to 4 feet tall and has coarse, silvery-blue foliage. It produces blue-green to tan inflorescences in summer.

  Hairy melic grass (Melica ciliate) grows to 10 inches tall and is hardy in zones 6 to 8. This arching grass has long-lasting, white inflorescences and reseeds itself easily. Plant in partial shade and moist to dry soils.