Garden Plans for Day Lily Companion Plants

Limits

• Sometimes day lily choices seem limitless; the plant is, after all, hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, grows in sun or part shade and comes in every color but blue. Large clumps of similar day lilies bring order to a plot that could easily resemble a jumbled wildflower garden. Distance between clumps -- all it takes is 18-to-24 inches -- creates space for maintenance and digging divisions every few years. Shrubs and fences help define spaces. Several inches of well-rotted compost unifies the whole, conserves moisture and contributes nitrogen to these least demanding of garden plants.

Blues

• Although day lilies bloom in a variety of colors, combinations and shapes, the one color they haven’t achieved is true blue. Use shrubs such as a blue French lilac (Syringa vulgaris), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 7, or mountain lilac (Ceanothus “Concha"), hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10, to provide strong contrast. Blue perennials such as blue sage (Salvia azurea), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, or blue larkspur or delphinium species (Delphinium spp.), hardy in USDA zones 2 through 7 or 5 through 9, make a statement among day lily clumps.

Texture

• Day lilies’ grassy foliage is distinctive but really shows off when set against different textures. Patches of cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9 in sun, or hostas (Hostas spp.), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8 for part shade, provide completely different textures. Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9, and Shasta daisies (Chrysanthemum x superbum), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, provide upright plants with dense clusters of aster-type flowers to emphasize the garden’s texture.

Height

• Day lilies that rise 4 feet tall are rare. Tall perennials placed toward the back of gardens or in centers of islands establish a boundary and also break up the uniformity of clumps of 2- to 3-foot tall day lilies. Use phlox such as sweet William (Phlox maculata) and garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), both hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8, to add height and floral substance to the garden. Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) makes an exclamation mark with its column of bright lavender and is hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9.

Backup

• Spring bulbs and Asian lilies (Lilium hybrids), autumn mums (Chrysanthemum morifolium) and asters (Aster spp.) bracket day lilies’ summer blooms with color in USDA zones 5 through 9. Naturalize bulbs along the edges of the garden, interplant mums and asters and place lilies in back or center positions.