<em>Nandina</em>, sacred bamboo: 5 planting combinations
Create beautiful garden ambience!
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Nandina, or Sacred Bamboo, is a remarkable small bush with many qualities. It is valued for its fine evergreen foliage, which changes tones from a spring red to a summer green before taking on purplish to deep purple hues from autumn onwards, colours intensifying further in winter. It also offers handsome summer flowering, in long panicles of white flowers, often followed by a multitude of berries, mostly bright red, which remain decorative throughout winter. With slow growth and relatively hardy (to -12°C), it adapts to many soil types and tolerates pollution and sea spray. Sun- or partial shade bush, its compact habit (60 cm to 2 m) makes it suitable for all gardens, and it can even be grown in a pot to decorate a terrace or balcony. All these qualities allow its use in many planting schemes, from the most Japanese-inspired to the most contemporary, and its ornamental attributes make it a choice subject for compositions attractive in all seasons. In this article, I invite you to discover 5 ways to combine Nandina with companion plants, to create 5 atmospheres with different moods, all equally appealing.
→ Also discover our factsheet on planting, pruning and maintenance of Sacred Bamboo, Olivier’s video on Nandina, and our range of Nandinas domestica
Zen ambience for a Japanese-style garden
The Japanese bamboo is ideal if you want to create an Asian-inspired bed or impart a zen atmosphere to garden. Nandina ‘Obsessed Seika’ is as compact (1.2 m) as it is decorative. Its fine foliage, which unfurls in reddish tones, gradually turns green before adopting a bright purple in autumn, a colour winter cold further intensifies for many months. Create a fitting setting by pairing it with a true bamboo, such as Fargesia nitida ‘Jiu’, with culms tinged orange and plum, and which has advantage of remaining well-behaved, like all non-running species. Choose a Japanese maple with purple foliage, such as Acer ‘Atropurpureum’, which also bursts into colour in autumn, and a Viburnum plicatum ‘Shasta’, valued as much for its pure white spring inflorescences, borne on branches with a tabular habit, as for its late-season colours. Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chirimen’ is a small conifer (1 m) with slow growth whose form, reminiscent of a bonsai, adds a distinctive touch to composition. Complete scene with groundcover young plants with decorative foliage. Stay within spirit of yin and yang by juxtaposing clear, variegated foliage of some Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ and that of Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, in intense black. Finish by punctuating whole with clumps of Hosta ‘Fragrant Blue’, whose lush foliage, a lovely bluish green, is adorned in summer with lavender flowers.
All that’s left is to organise a tea ceremony worthy of those practised in Japanese temples…
Nandina domestica ‘Obsessed Seika’, Viburnum plicatum ‘Shasta’, Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’, Ophiophogon, Hakonechloa macra (Photo : L. Enking), Chamaecyparis obtusa, Hosta ‘Fragrant’
→ Discover also our advice sheet on creating a Japanese garden, as well as 7 further planting combinations for a zen garden.
Anti-gloom arrangement to ward off winter
A garden should be beautiful in every season, including winter! To achieve this, a few well-chosen plants can suffice. Adopt Nandina ‘Richmond’, a hermaphrodite, highly fruit-bearing variety. This small Sacred Bamboo (1.2 m), with an upright, rounded habit, produces many small bright red berries that last for much of the winter on foliage that turns orange and purple in the cold. Enrich winter colour palette with decorative wood dogwoods: bright red on Cornus alba ‘Ba‘ton Rouge’, fluorescent orange with Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’, and finally brilliant yellow for Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’. Echo these with the red-orange berries of a Pyracantha ‘Sparkler’, which stand out superbly against foliage variegated with pink in winter. Push your daring further by using Bergenia ‘Eden’s Dark Margin’, an excellent groundcover whose large foliage takes shades of purple to frosted brown. Don’t forget flowering, with Hellebores, some of which flower very early, as well as heathers with winter flowering, such as Erica ‘Kramer’s Rote’, with numerous bright pink bells. The presence of a small conifer, for example Pinus mugo ‘Ophir’, anchors the scene with its regular spherical habit and foliage ranging from pale green to golden depending on conditions. Finally, a few clumps of Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’, with cream-and-green variegated foliage, create pits or drifts, and help tie plants together.
With such a composition, you’ll never see winter the same way again!
Nandina domestica ‘Richmond’, Cornus stolonifera ‘Flavimarea’, Pyracantha ‘Sparkler’ Helleborus ‘Double Green Spotted’, Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramer’s Rote’, Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’, Cornus ‘Baton Rouge’
→ We offer a whole series of guides to beautify your garden in winter.
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Ornamental foliage combinations
Foliage allows combinations whose decorative effect is often far more long-lasting than that provided by flowers, which are more ephemeral. To succeed with your pairing, play on leaf shapes, their colours and their textures. Nandina domestica, beyond its flowering and fruiting, also offers beautiful foliage with changing hues. It pairs perfectly with glossy foliage and superb green-and-yellow variegation of a Daphne ‘Rogbret’ (which moreover emits an unforgettable fragrance in late winter). Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’ displays palmate foliage with an exotic look, its dark green appearing as if splashed with cream, thereby echoing Daphne’s hues. Also bearing large palmate leaves reminiscent of a horse-chestnut, Rodgersia ‘Bronze Peacock’ contrasts with deep bronze tones that develop towards purplish-red in summer. To create a surprise, and declinate even more leaf shapes, insert a fern such as Dryopteris erythrosora, whose fronds, cut like lace, take on decidedly orange hues at the bud burst period. The whole will stand out even more next to the lush foliage of a Colocasia ‘Black Magic’, a spectacular variety with almost black colours. To finish this vegetal tapestry, punctuate the scene with the pink, deeply veined foliage of a Heuchera ‘Wild Rose’, and the grey-blue foliage of a generous Hosta, such as variety ‘Krossa Regal’. All that’s left is to add clumps of Carex oshimensis ‘Evercream’, whose green-and-cream foliage brings grace and elegance to the whole.
This composition will surely make you want to…leaf through your garden every day.
Nandina domestica ‘Gulf Stream’Â Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’, Colocasia ‘Black Magic’, Carex oshimensis ‘Evercream’, Rodgersia ‘Bronze Peacock’, Daphne ‘Rogbret’, Dryopteris erythrosora
→ For further reading, we offer a selection of bushes with golden-yellow foliage, silver-grey foliage or variegated bushes to use in the garden and our article Nandina domestica: a reliable choice among decorative foliage plants.
Colourful autumn scene
Soft late-season light favours warm hues before garden takes a well-deserved pause. Many plants are available to create autumn scenes that are both gentle and vibrant. This is the case with Sacred Bamboo, one of whose dwarf varieties, ‘Flirt’, produces narrow foliage that naturally deepens to purplish tones in late season. With a compact, spreading habit, it naturally fits alongside other ornamental plants at this time of year. Pair it with a Japanese maple such as Acer ‘Sango Kaku’, whose pink‑orange foliage stands out against coral‑coloured twigs. Then move towards burgundy tones with a Euonymus planipes, which also provides a setting for superb decorative orange and pink fruits, echoing those of your Nandina. Enhance this effect by adding a Heptacodium miconioides, whose beautiful late‑summer flowering turns into calyces as colourful as neighbours’ berries, and remain decorative for many months. Emphasise colourful foliage with, for example, a Hydrangea ‘Snowflake’, whose oak‑like leaves take on superb purplish hues that accompany panicles of white to pinkish flowers late in season. To add verticality and lots of lightness, insert an ornamental grass with an elegant habit and warm colours, as Miscanthus ‘Ghana’ can provide. Hard to imagine an autumn scene without perennials with late flowering. Turn, of course, to the asters, which fling their small starry flowers into the mix. A cultivar such as Aster ‘Blue Heaven’ provides cool tones that contrast beautifully with warm colours of its neighbours. A persicaria, such as Persicaria ‘Kabouter’, forms a tapetum wider than tall (30 cm x 60 cm), combining generous long‑lasting flowering and decorative foliage. Finally, a conifer with bluish foliage, such as Picea pungens ‘Waldbrunn’, can echo asters’ flowers, and its presence in a regular dome ensures the spectacle all year round.
Be warned, such a scene can be the start of an autumn‑colour addiction you never knew you had!
Sacred Bamboo, Heptacodion, Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’, Asters cordifolius ‘Blue Heaven’, Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow White’, Persicaria affinis ‘Kabouter’, Picea pungens ‘Waldrunn’
→ Find all our tips to create a superb autumn garden and get inspired by 7 superb flower beds for autumn.
Modern and graphic garden
While romantic gardens have undeniable charm, some prefer however a space with more graphic, contemporary lines. Sacred bamboo ‘Filamentosa’ is then an excellent candidate to lay first foundations. This compact variety, about 1 m in every direction, displays particularly fine foliage and a resolutely modern look. As with its relatives, its colours evolve through the seasons and are accompanied by attractive flowering and decorative fruit. Showcase all these assets by choosing companions that are equally graphic. Himalayan white birch provides a very elegant vertical accent, light shade and a trunk of legendary whiteness. It then sets off plants with a spherical habit and almost black foliage, such as Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’. Repeat these dark tones through the canes of a Fargesia ‘Black Dragon’, a non-spreading bamboo with a graceful habit. Emphasise this chiaroscuro effect with an architectural plant such as Acanthus ‘Whitewater’, whose large, deeply cut foliage bears very bright cream variegation. Its summer flowering, on long flower spikes that blend white and pink, is equally surprising. Bring out the large, round heads of ornamental alliums, choosing the neutral white of Allium ‘Mont Blanc’, the delicate lilac of Allium decipiens or the confident mauve of Allium ‘Ambassador’. To finish, lay it all on a tapetum of Carex oshimensis ‘Everest’, a perennial with a fountain habit related to grasses, whose foliage variegated green and cream lends great elegance and refinement to your composition.
Sit back in a deckchair whose lines are as pared-back as your composition, and enjoy it, while reminding yourself that you are decidedly on-trend.
Nandina domesica ‘Filamentosa’, Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’, Acanthus ‘White Water’, Alliums ‘Ambassador’ (Photo: Babij), Birches, Alliums ‘Mont Blanc’, black Fargesias
→ Follow our advice to design a graphic, modern garden, and discover other plants for this style.
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