Heliopsis: 5 Companion Planting Ideas

A vibrant summer border

Heliopsis ‘Tuscan Sun’ is a compact and small variety with excellent durability, making it ideal for border use. In bloom all summer, it brightens the front of borders with its golden yellow daisy-like flowers, enhanced by a more orange centre. Pair it with clumps of Achillea ‘Terracotta’, whose flat corymbs provide a lovely contrast of shapes. Initially a deep orange that echoes the hues of its neighbour, its flowers then turn cream, evolving the overall picture. To maintain this warm colour palette, plant some clumps of Lady’s Mantle at the front, interesting for both its round, lime-green foliage and its light, airy, yellow-green flowers. Elevate the arrangement with an Aster such as Aster ‘Silberblaukissen’. Its pale blue, dense and compact cushion-like flowers also help to bridge the gap from late summer through to October.

Another excellent companion, the hardy geranium ‘Album’ tempers and ties everything together with its immaculate white flowers. Finally, punctuate your border with low grasses, which add movement and flexibility, accentuated by the slightest breeze. You can choose a Carex comans ‘Bronze Form’, with its fine, coppery foliage, or Angel Hair, known for its unparalleled flexibility.

• Discover more beautiful perennials for flowering borders!

Heliopsis ‘Tuscan Sun’, Alchemilla mollis, Achillea ‘Terracotta’ and Carex comans ‘Bronze Form’

A predominantly purple flowerbed

Heliopsis ‘Summer Nights’ is a medium variety that combines a beautiful flowering of bright yellow with decorative foliage, purple-green, all supported by dark red stems. Enhance the effect with Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’, whose lanceolate and graphic foliage is topped by a light white flowering. Offering similar shades and also a white flowering, the Eupatorium ‘Chocolate’ thrives in cool soil and bright exposure.

Support your perennials against decorative, purple-leaved bushes such as a Purple Hazel, a Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ or a Physocarpus ‘Diable d’Or’. To avoid monotony, create surprises by bringing out the grey of a Verbascum olympicum and that of a Silver Sage , and by edging your bed with Lavenders ‘Hidcote White’, Silver Wormwoods, Stachys officinalis ‘Alba’, or Carex ‘Frosted Curls’.

• Discover 7 purple-leaved bushes to accompany your Heliopsis.

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  Heliopsis ‘Summer Nights’, Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’, Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ and Carex ‘Frosted Curls’

A natural meadow

Heliopsis are often used to create meadow-like atmospheres. For an appealing display, focus equally on the habits of the plants and the shapes of the inflorescences as well as the colours. Heliopsis ‘Summer Sun’ pairs well with the small pompon flowers in purple from Buenos Aires Vervains, or with the upright spikes of their cousins, Verbena hastata. The Vernonia, less well-known, can reach a height of 2 m with their white or purple flowering. Helenium and Rudbeckia offer a rich range of colours from pure yellow to dark red, including various shades of white, pink, and orange.

Grasses, with their habits and lightness, play an essential role in this type of composition, and they are also very easy to grow. Among the beautiful candidates, you can select Calamagrostis brachytricha (aptly named Diamond Grass), a Calamagrostis with variegated white foliage like that of Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’, with an upright habit that is not rigid, Pennisetum macrourum and its very long spikes, or various varieties of Panicum or Miscanthus.

• We have pre-selected some perennials and grasses to create a naturalistic meadow.

Heliopsis ‘Summer Sun’, Verbena bonariensis, Pennisetum macrourum and Calamagrostis brachytricha

A complementary duo in yellow and purple

The main colour of Heliopsis is yellow, a hue that is not always easy to combine but pairs wonderfully with its complementary colour, which is purple, or should I say purples, violets, and blues, as there are so many different shades. Start with a variety like Heliopsis ‘Mars’ or ‘Venus’ (the latter is shorter but has larger, fully double flowers) and combine it with blooms in softer shades, from pale yellow to cream, such as those offered by Achillea ‘Hymne’, Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, Foxglove, Echinacea ‘Sunrise’, Hemerocallis ‘Shooting Star’, Leucanthemum ‘Sonnenschein’, Kniphofia ‘Vanilla’, or the large and lesser-known Peucedanum verticillare.

Next, offer these beauties some companions with purple, blue, or violet blooms, such as those provided by Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, Aster ‘Blue Wonder’, Campanula ‘Hidcote Amethyst’, Verbena bonariensis, Geranium ‘Magical All Summer Joy’, Nepeta ‘Purrsian Blue’, Veronicastrum ‘Fascination’, or the Kansas Blazing Star ‘Floristan Violet’. In keeping with the theme, a bush like Caryopteris ‘Hint of Gold’ displays lavender blooms on bright golden foliage in summer. Rhythm the bed with grasses featuring glaucous foliage, such as Panicum ‘Dallas Blue’ and ‘Prairie Sky’, or Schizachyrium ‘Prairie Blues’ with changing hues throughout the seasons. Their silhouettes emerge like opulent tufts that highlight their neighbours while enriching the range of textures.

In the foreground, clumps of Festuca ‘Intense Blue’ or Blue Oat Grass create interesting echoes. Finally, kick off your colour palette in spring by mixing blue-flowering bulbs with yellow-flowering ones, which you can find among Chionodoxa, Hyacinths, Crocus, Reticulated Irises, Daffodils, and Tulips.

• In this video, Olivier takes you to a garden to discover how to combine yellow in the garden.

Heliopsis ‘Mars’, Caryopteris ‘Hint of Gold’, Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, and Nepeta ‘Purrsian Blue’

An English mixed border

The English ‘mixed-borders‘ are often rich in colours, shapes, and textures. Bushes, perennials, and grasses blend together to create a result that is both structured, abundant, and romantic. For optimal effect, choose good dimensions, a rather straight layout, and then select plants to be planted in repetitions, but without maintaining the same rhythm throughout, to favour a natural appearance. All Heliopsis varieties work well in this context, but you can choose a variety with foliage that mixes pink, green, and cream (Heliopsis ‘Summer Pink’) or another with purple foliage and flowers that stand out with a distinctly orange centre (Heliopsis ‘Burning Hearts’).

At the back, install taller bushes (such as Cotinus ‘Old Fashioned’, Physocarpus ‘Angel Gold’, Deutzia ‘Perle Rose’, Ceanothus ‘Autumnal Blue’…). Against this strong structure, plant medium to tall perennials (Verbascum ‘Spica’, Campanula ‘Prichard’s Variety’, Echinops ‘Taplow Blue’, Monarda ‘Scorpion’, Scabiosa ‘Fama’, Penstemon ‘Dark Tower’, tall Asters, Liatris spicata, Veronicastrum ‘Lavendelturm’, Agapanthus ‘Blue Giant’, Helenium ‘Dunkle Pracht’, Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’…) as well as architectural grasses (Miscanthus, Stipa gigantea, Panicum, Calamagrostis, Molinia…). Some opulent and repeat flowering roses accompany them, adding a delightful fragrance, such as the English varieties ‘The Pilgrim’ or ‘Crown Princess Margareta’. Dress the foreground with low perennials and groundcovers (Sedum ‘Matrona’ and ‘Purple Emperor’, Heucheras, Alchemilla, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Erigeron karvinskianus, Gaura ‘Lollipop Pink’…) and small grasses (Festuca glauca, Stipa pennata, Carex ‘Everillo’…).

• Discover all the secrets of English mixed-borders!

Heliopsis ‘Summer Pink’, Verbascum ‘Spica’,  Physocarpus ‘Angel Gold’ and rose ‘Crown Princess Margareta’

For further reading...

• Our range of Heliopsis is available at our online nursery.
• Planting, growing, and caring for Heliopsis: all our tips in our guide.