Associate Osteospermum

In a romantic sunny border

Easy to care for and flowering for long months, Osteospermum brightens sunny borders in a garden without any hassle, requiring little maintenance. It reaches a height of 30 to 50 cm depending on the varieties. To accompany it, you can draw from the wide range of annuals and perennials with summer and autumn flowering.

For a scene full of freshness and vibrancy, featuring shades of purple and white, combine the ‘Osteospermum ‘Cape Daisy White’ with a violet heart, almost black, alongside other Osteospermum ‘Deep Purple’ in bright, vivid violet. Add the mauve pom-poms of decorative dahlias ‘Blue Wish’ that also irresistibly catch the eye. Complete with white Japanese anemones ‘Snow Angels’, as well as Pennisetum orientale ‘JS Dance With Me’, grasses also known as cilia, which add a touch of lightness and softness to the border. You can also add at the base of these plants summer heathers – Calluna vulgaris ‘Silver Knight’ with evergreen foliage.

Another romantic scene to try is the combination of pink, blue, and white colours. Plant some Osteospermum ‘Cape Daisy Softly Pink’ and ‘Summersmile Soft Violet’ with Gaura lindheimeri ‘Baby Butterfly Dark Pink’ for their airy quality. Add the more voluminous and exuberant shapes of Allium Millenium and agapanthus ‘Charlotte’. At the back of the border, plant shrubby sages Salvia microphylla ‘So Cool Pale Blue’ which will bring light touches of colour.

Osteospermum ‘Cape Daisy White’, agapanthus ‘Charlotte’, Gaura lindheimeri ‘Baby Butterfly Dark Pink’, Salvia microphylla ‘So Cool Pale Blue’, Allium Millenium

In a dry or Mediterranean-style garden

Low in water requirements and preferring sunny climates with no frost in sight, Osteospermum is a plant well-suited for dry and Mediterranean-style gardens. It can be paired with other drought-resistant flowers.

If you live by the sea, Osteospermum is a plant to include in your garden, as it tolerates sea spray well. Install for example Osteospermum ‘Summersmile Soft Violet’ and ‘Deep Purple’, along with ‘Cape Daisy Spring Bouquet’ and Perovskia (x) atriplicifolia ‘Silvery Blue’ for a harmonious blend of soft pink and violet. Add silver foliage such as santolina ‘Edward Bowles’ and wormwood – Artemisia alba ‘Canescens’, whose small yellow flowers will provide contrast with the violet of Osteospermum. You can also add clumps of lavender, everlasting flowers, and herb plants. To add verticality, include Mediterranean bushes such as the olive tree and other blue shrubs suited to dry soils, like shrubby sage ‘Blue Note’.

Perovskia (x) atriplicifolia Silvery Blue, lavender ‘Arctic Snow’, santolina ‘Edward Bowles’, Osteospermum ‘Summersmile Soft Violet’, shrubby sage ‘Blue Note’

In an elegant blue and white border

With their finely cut foliage and elegant daisy-like bouquets, Osteospermum bring a bright and stylish touch to a sunny border.

To create a bicolour white and blue border, plant in full sun clumps of Osteospermum ‘Cape Daisy White’ with white flowers and a dark centre and add in the foreground pansies or Viola hybrida ‘Blue Moon’ in pastel blue and light yellow, as well as blue fescues and Cineraria maritima ‘Silver Dust’. To enhance the presence of blue, install some clumps of autumn dwarf aster – Aster dumosus ‘Augenweide’. To add a touch of lightness, you can plant some grasses, such as Stipa barbata – angel hair, which will undulate in the wind.

Aster dumosus ‘Augenweide’, Stipa barbata, Osteospermum ‘Cape Daisy White’, Viola hybrida ‘Blue Moon’

In a tropical-themed border

With its vibrant and deep purple colour, Osteospermum ‘Deep Purple’ can also be inserted into a lush tropical scene alongside purple-leaved plants, such as landscape dahlias ‘Bishop of Dover’ and exuberant flowers, like cannas ‘Red King Humbert’. To enhance the exotic feel, you can complement it with Ricinus communis Impala, which is very striking with its palmate purple leaves and astonishing red fruits. For a touch of green, add cannas ‘Perkeo’ with green leaves and a dwarf banana plant.

Osteospermum ‘Deep Purple’, Ricinus communis Impala, banana plant, cannas ‘Red King Humbert’, landscape dahlias ‘Bishop of Dover’

In rockeries with succulent plants

Drought-resistant, Osteospermum can be planted in a rockery, alongside succulents or other plants that, like it, prefer dry soils.

For a unique display of vibrant colours, plant Osteospermum ‘Flower Power Spider Purple’ with its cheerful purple hue and white Osteospermum ‘Flower Power Spider White’. Their tubular petals give them a striking graphic appearance that draws the eye. Pair them with small cacti or succulents, playing with their different shapes. You might choose, for example, the spiny rosette of mangave ‘Bloodspot’, the rounded cushion of Mammillaria perbella, the graphic Aeonium x occidentale, and the carpet of small rosettes of Sempervivum tectorum or houseleek. For a more elaborate effect and to add more sparkle, place some lovely white stones in your rockery.

To bring even more touches of bright colours, you can enhance this scene with a few Delosperma with small, star-shaped flowers in vibrant colours, echoing the Osteospermum. Choose, for example, Delosperma ‘Wheels of Wonder Hot Pink’ in yellow and purple, or Delosperma sutherlandii in similar tones, which makes a lovely colourful groundcover.

To create a more vertical exotic composition, you can also combine the bright purple of Osteospermum ‘Deep Purple’ with the dark green of Aloe ‘Safari Sunrise’. If you prefer a softer harmony with lighter tones, pair the mauve of Osteospermum ‘Summersmile Soft Violet’ with the variegated green and yellow foliage of Yucca gloriosa ‘Variegata’.

Osteospermum ‘Flower Power Spider Purple’, mangave ‘Bloodspot’, Yucca gloriosa ‘Variegata’, Sempervivum tectorum, Delosperma ‘Wheels of Wonder Hot Pink’