7 ideas for pairing Knautia

In a contemporary and graphic garden

The contemporary garden is characterised by the purity of lines and the quality of spatial organisation. With simple, geometric shapes, plants are massed together, repeating the plant palette without multiplying species and colours, for greater simplicity. Here, we play with textures through foliage and combine the beautiful Purple Scabious with hostas featuring large leaves, architectural-looking acanthus, and the fine, airy spikes of grasses for striking contrasts:

• To quickly achieve beautiful plant masses, plant in the shadiest spots Hosta ‘August Moon’, with its light green-golden foliage, Hosta ‘Big Mama’ with its large, thick, crinkled blue-green leaves, and Hosta ‘Alligator Alley’, which features an irregularly flamed cream centre bordered with blue-green. From July to August, these shade or part-shade perennials in cool soil will produce upright spikes of white or mauve flowers, all in simplicity.
• Then, sprinkle clumps of Stipa pulcherrima, also known as “Admirable Stipe”. Its very fine foliage, finished with long white-silver curls, will work wonders.
• Install further back Acanthus mollis, with its sculptural appearance and large violet-mauve floral spikes in summer.
• Finally, Hakonechloa macra, also known as “Japanese grass”, forming dense, trailing clumps of a beautiful vibrant green.

Repeated rhythmically throughout the bed, Knautia macedonica will form compact clumps among these foliage, with its deep red flowers enhancing and energising the display.

Hosta ‘August Moon’, ‘Big Mama’ and ‘Alligator Alley’, Stipa pulcherrima, Acanthus mollis, Hakonechloa macra, and Knautia macedonica

In a country-style mixed border with warm tones

With their lightness and simple appearance, knautias easily enliven mixed borders with their vibrant colours, inspired by wildflower meadows. One can draw inspiration from their colour to create a bold display in warm shades of deep red to pink. Generally, these are strong colours, but red can also lean towards cooler tones. Thus, scarlet reds, brightened with yellow, are the most striking for flamboyant flower beds. However, there are also cooler purples or crimson shades, like Knautia macedonica ‘Red Knight’, which pair well with pink and contrast sharply against the fresh green of foliage. Mastering these subtleties allows for a well-constructed display. Here, Knautia macedonica ‘Red Knight’ will happily punctuate a mass of Astrantia ‘Claret’, which showcases its splendid bright pink flowers from June to September. The less vibrant pink-purple flowers of Trifolium rubens, help to calm the composition, while the bright pink of Geranium psilostemon adds luminosity to the overall effect. This display should be planted in front of a beautiful, undulating, and fresh hornbeam hedge.

Knautia macedonica ‘Red Knight’, hornbeam hedge, Astrantia ‘Claret’, Trifolium rubens and Geranium psilostemon

In a melliferous garden

Knautia arvensis is an ideal plant for wild gardens, where its appearance adds a lovely touch of nature. Its heads irresistibly attract bees and butterflies: a perfect opportunity to include it in a garden of melliferous plants, harmonising beauty and biodiversity! In this garden, you could combine:

• Field Scabious Knautia arvensis with mauve flowering from June to September
• Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Fat Domino’ with red flowers from July to October
• Phlomis fruticosa, flowering from May to July, a melliferous plant that attracts many foraging insects. In winter, its decorative capsules also attract many insects seeking refuge.
• Common Sage ‘Berggarten’, with greyish foliage, flowering from June to July in blue-violet floral spikes perched on tall stems.
• the flamboyant butterfly tree Buddleia ‘Royal Red’, featuring a very intense red-violet summer flowering

Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Fat Domino’, Knautia arvensis, Common Sage ‘Berggarten’, Phlomis fruticosa and Buddleia ‘Royal Red’

In a dry garden

Knautia arvensis, with its very pleasant light mauve colour, will make a statement in a small drought-resistant garden inspired by a rocky hillside. A stone path can meander through the garden, framed by violet and blue plantings:

• Knautia arvensis, in light violet shades, flowering from June to September
• The ornamental garlic Allium ‘Miami’, with round mauve-purple inflorescences, flowering in June-July
• Nepeta faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’, which spreads its aromatic foliage as groundcover, topped with countless lavender-blue inflorescences
• The airy stems of “angel hair” Stipa tenuifolia,
• The essential true lavender Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’

To enhance the Mediterranean feel and add verticality, one can plant cypress Cupressus sempervirens, which are also drought-resistant.

Allium ‘Miami’, Nepeta faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’, Stipa tenuifolia, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and Knautia arvensis

In a vicar's garden

Here we envision a small enclosed garden, with a look that is both natural and romantic, where the scabious adds a vibrant and colourful touch. This garden can be surrounded by White Service Trees Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens‘, either trained or not, above borders of perennials where Knautia macedonica ‘Mars Midget’ with its tousled appearance and pink-purple flowers mingle with Nepeta faassenii ‘Six Hill Giant Gold’ whose lavender-blue flowering contrasts with the grey-green foliage edged in cream. Additionally, the fluffy cushions of Alchemilla mollis with its glaucous flowers will energise the whole scene. The essential boxwoods in topiary forms Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’, conical and spherical, will structure the entire layout. And to dress the walls: the cascading flowers of the climbing rose ‘Bantry Bay’, delicately scented, and the scene is set!

Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’, Nepeta faassenii ‘Six Hill Giant Gold’, Knautia macedonica ‘Mars Midget’, Alchemilla mollis, Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’ and climbing rose ‘Bantry Bay’

In a meadow.

Imagine the scene of a meadow in July, through which a cream gravel path winds. The golden grasses of the Stipa gigantea in the background form majestic, tall clumps with an incomparable presence. In the foreground, Stipa tenuifolia and Deschampsia cespitosa, more compact, highlight the purple flowers of Knautia macedonica ‘Thunder and lightning’. This scabious is interesting for both its summer flowering and its bright green foliage variegated with cream. It is the smallest in the family, remaining at a modest height of about 45 cm, but this makes it an appealing plant for rhythmically and punctually vegetating or, conversely, massing the edges of borders. In this meadow of flowers and grasses, it contrasts beautifully with the golden star-shaped flowers of the Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus, which illuminate the scene from May to July and again in September.

Stipa gigantea, Stipa tenuifolia, Knautia macedonica ‘Thunder and lightning’, Deschampsia cespitosa and Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus

In a wood and mineral association

Geometric lines and meticulous shapes characterise this space where Knautia macedonica ‘Red Knight’ will bring a touch of lightness and colour. One can thus create a beautiful, understated, and elegant space that is easy to maintain by combining plants and materials:

• Some bamboos Pseudosasa japonica, always lush, airy, and graphic
• a wooden terrace floor and some raw stones to add a natural and elegant touch
• And to highlight the vibrant colours of autumn, the Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ will complete this stripped-back plant and mineral decor.

If one wishes to enhance the ensemble with variegated and bright foliage, why not opt for the elegant Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Variegatum’ in light masses that are easy to prune?

Pseudosasa japonica, Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ and Knautia macedonica ‘Red Knight’