PLANTING PARTNERS
With their massive flowers and vibrant colours, oriental poppies tend to dominate any companion plants. A mass of colourful aquilegias, with a froth of small blooms, will provide contrast and also highlight the sumptuous poppy flowers. Lupins too, because of their upright form, provide a good contrast. But perhaps the best partners for these poppies are plants with colourful foliage which will set off the flowers and grow and expand to cover the poppies when they are past their best. Feathery bronze fennel will highlight white poppies, become fiery with red poppies and smoulder with the pink and purple shades, even helping to support the blooms. Big silver plants, such as globe artichokes, make striking companions. Yellow-leaved shrubs, including Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ and yellow euonymus and lonicera, enhance the red shades, while purple-leaved berberis and physocarpus suit red and pink hues. Annuals can also play their part, and having some pots of annual cosmos or tall marigolds to fill the gaps left by the poppies in July is a good way to keep the border looking good.