Don Burke has a few suggestions for brightening up a spring garden, adding colour, interest and a bit of whimsy.
Three of the best azaleas which will give strong structure and colour to the garden are ‘White Prince’ (white), ‘Rose Queen’ (pink) and ‘Red Wing’ (cherry red).
To add a bit of whimsy to the garden, collect garden ornaments along a common theme like Alice in Wonderland. The terracotta ornaments shown are no longer available in those designs but develop a theme in your own garden to create interest.
Other colour combinations that work well in the garden are pinks and bluish purples. For example you could plant soft pink azaleas behind clumps of blue-purple Ajugas (Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’). The other advantage of planting Ajugas in the garden is that they attract masses of butterflies in spring which is a lovely addition to the garden.