Oriental Poppies: 8 Garden Pairing Ideas

The Oriental Poppy is a perennial that’s exceptionally easy to pair, even inspiring for creating a garden with a naturalistic feel, featuring plants that require minimal care and maintenance.

It’s a staple in wild gardens and contemporary meadow gardens, where it works wonders when combined with fennel, ornamental grasses, or airy flowers like those of crambe or gypsophila. But with its tall, delicate stems, this perennial also brings elegance and originality to more sophisticated spaces.

To fill the bare space left after its flowering period, pair it with perennials that bloom in late summer or autumn (Asters, hollyhocks, Dahlias, Giant Snapdragons, Heleniums, Anemones, and sedums…) whose foliage develops during summer. It’s very traditionally paired with roses, as it conceals their somewhat unsightly lower stems.

With its striking presence, it will set the tone for a flowerbed, either by providing contrast or in a monochromatic scheme. The variety of its colours allows full rein to your creativity. Traditionally, its intense hues are paired with complementary colours for a cheerful, vibrant effect, in combinations like red/blue, orange/peach, or white/purple, for example, often mixed with upright perennials like irises, columbines, and delphiniums. Pair it with species that flower at different times: other plants will flourish as the poppy begins to fade. These combinations create scenes with a wild appearance and rich colours. Let its colour inspire your compositions!