Pairing plants with succulents can transform your Pennsylvania yard into a stunning landscape. The right combinations create texture, color, and visual interest while maintaining harmony in your garden.
Finding good plant partners for succulents means choosing varieties that thrive in similar conditions but add contrast to your outdoor space.
1. Lavender
Fragrant lavender creates a stunning purple backdrop for low-growing succulents. The silvery foliage complements the geometric shapes of succulents while adding a wonderful aroma to your garden.
Both plants prefer well-draining soil and don’t need frequent watering, making them perfect partners in Pennsylvania’s varied climate. During summer, the lavender’s purple blooms create a beautiful color contrast with green or red succulents.
2. Ornamental Grasses
Swaying ornamental grasses like Blue Fescue or Little Bluestem create wonderful movement around stationary succulents. Their fine-textured blades contrast beautifully with the thick, fleshy leaves of succulents.
Many ornamental grasses tolerate the same dry conditions that succulents love. Plant taller varieties behind succulents to create a living backdrop, or use shorter grasses to create a softening border around your succulent collection.
3. Russian Sage
Russian sage stands tall with silvery-gray foliage and produces lavender-blue flower spikes that attract butterflies all summer. The airy texture creates a dreamy backdrop for chunky succulents in the foreground.
Once established, this perennial handles Pennsylvania’s hot summers and cold winters like a champ. Plant Russian sage behind a collection of colorful succulents for a drought-tolerant display that needs almost no maintenance throughout the growing season.
4. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Technically a succulent itself, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ grows taller than most succulents, creating a beautiful layered effect. The flat flower heads start green, then turn pink and eventually copper as fall approaches.
This hardy perennial thrives in Pennsylvania’s climate and shares the same low-water requirements as other succulents. Group several ‘Autumn Joy’ plants behind smaller succulents to create depth in your garden bed while maintaining a cohesive succulent theme.
5. Yarrow
Yarrow’s feathery foliage and flat-topped flower clusters add a completely different texture to succulent gardens. Available in yellow, white, pink, and red, yarrow blooms provide months of color above your succulent collection.
Native to Pennsylvania, yarrow handles poor soil and drought conditions just like succulents do. The ferny leaves create a beautiful contrast to the thick, waxy leaves of succulents, while both plants enjoy the same sunny spots in your yard.
6. Creeping Thyme
Purple-flowering creeping thyme forms a living carpet that beautifully complements taller succulents. Step on this aromatic herb and enjoy the refreshing scent it releases. In Pennsylvania gardens, creeping thyme acts as a gorgeous groundcover between succulent specimens.
Both plants love sunshine and well-draining soil. As an added bonus, the tiny purple flowers attract pollinators during summer months, bringing more life to your garden.
7. Black-Eyed Susan
Golden Black-Eyed Susans bring cheerful color to succulent gardens from July through September. These native Pennsylvania wildflowers are incredibly tough, handling poor soil and drought once established. The bright yellow petals surrounding dark centers create a striking contrast with blue-green succulents.
Plant these daisy-like perennials behind or among your succulent collection for a pop of sunny color that requires minimal care throughout the growing season.
8. Coneflower
Purple coneflowers stand tall above succulents, creating a beautiful layered look in Pennsylvania gardens. Their daisy-like blooms with raised centers add vertical interest from June through August. Native to North America, coneflowers share succulents’ love for well-draining soil.
Leave the seedheads standing through fall and winter to feed birds while providing visual interest. The strong stems and distinctive flowers create a perfect backdrop for low-growing succulent arrangements.
9. Dianthus
Sweet-scented dianthus offers pretty ruffled blooms in shades of pink, red, and white that complement succulent collections. Also called ‘pinks,’ these low-growing perennials form neat mounds that look tidy alongside geometric succulents.
Both plants appreciate sharp drainage and moderate watering. In Pennsylvania gardens, dianthus provides weeks of spring color while maintaining attractive blue-green foliage year-round. Plant them in front of or among your succulents for a cottage garden feel.
10. Lamb’s Ear
Velvety-soft lamb’s ear creates a tactile experience in your succulent garden with its fuzzy, silvery leaves. The soft texture contrasts beautifully with the smooth, firm surfaces of succulent plants. This drought-tolerant perennial forms a beautiful groundcover in Pennsylvania gardens.
Tall purple flower spikes appear in summer, adding another dimension to your garden. Lamb’s ear’s silver color makes green succulents look more vibrant while complementing blue and purple varieties.
11. Butterfly Weed
Brilliant orange butterfly weed creates a stunning focal point among succulent plantings. As the name suggests, this native perennial attracts countless butterflies to your Pennsylvania garden. Growing 1-2 feet tall, butterfly weed prefers the same dry, well-draining conditions that succulents love.
The vibrant orange blooms appear in midsummer, creating a beautiful contrast with cool-toned succulents. Once established, this plant requires almost no care, just like its succulent companions.
12. Hens And Chicks
While technically succulents themselves, different varieties of hens and chicks create beautiful tapestries when planted together. The rosette-forming plants spread by producing tiny offsets (the “chicks”) around the mother plant (the “hen”).
Available in greens, reds, purples, and blues, these hardy succulents survive Pennsylvania winters with ease. Mix different varieties together or pair them with other succulents for a textural carpet effect. Their geometric patterns look especially striking against loose, flowing companion plants.
13. Catmint
Aromatic catmint produces waves of lavender-blue flowers above silvery foliage from late spring through summer. The soft, billowing habit softens the sometimes stark appearance of succulent plantings. In Pennsylvania gardens, catmint thrives in the same sunny, well-draining locations that succulents prefer.
Bees and butterflies flock to the flowers, bringing your garden to life. After the first flush of blooms, trim it back halfway for a second show later in the season.
14. Creeping Phlox
Spring-blooming creeping phlox creates a waterfall of pink, purple, or white flowers that spill beautifully around succulent arrangements. The needle-like evergreen foliage maintains interest even when not in bloom.
This Pennsylvania-friendly groundcover handles rocky soil with ease, just like succulents do. Plant creeping phlox along the edges of raised beds or rock gardens where it can cascade down, creating a softening effect around more structured succulent plantings.