Balance out your pretty flower garden with some Silver Dust! Here are the top Dusty Miller garden ideas for landscaping.
Known by various names like the Silver Dust and the Silver Ragwort, the Dusty Miller (Jacobaea maritima) is a go-to plant for gardeners as it fits into any flower garden, regardless of the color scheme.
The silvery leaves of the Dusty Miller (that also gives the plant its name) look especially stunning when paired with flowers of cool shades like purple or blue. But that’s not to say it won’t look gorgeous with warm-toned plants, too! So, here are the top Dusty Miller garden ideas you can look into for landscaping.
Introducing Dusty Miller
Now that you believe Dusty Miller to be a great addition to your garden, you also need to know about the best-growing conditions for it. Dusty Miller thrives in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 11. Though it can grow as a tender perennial in slightly colder climates, most people prefer to grow it as an annual. A sun-lover, ensure planting the Dusty Miller in locations with full sun exposure. A little shade and your Dusty Miller would start looking leggy.
Did you know that Dusty Miller blooms with bright yellow flowers contrasting with its silver leaves? The sad news is that you might need to start removing the flowering stalks before the buds open to keep the plant compact. But don’t worry—we have listed some amazing landscaping ideas to make your garden (and Dusty Miller) look pretty!
Dusty Miller Garden Ideas for Landscaping
1. Border Your Deck or Patio
Border your porch or patio with a row of flowering plants paired with Dusty Miller. Choose flowering plants that showcase cooler shades of pink, purple, or even white for a mesmerizing display alongside Dusty Miller.
2. Show Off Some Topiary Skills
Got a cool spot in your backyard? This is the time to show off your topiary skills (even if they are non-existent)! All you need to do is plant the Dusty Miller all around the spot with some cool-toned plants for an eye-catching landscape.
3. Right By Your Window
One of the prettiest sights is when you look out your window and see the landscape covered in snow in winter. The Dusty Miller can give you the same experience (minus the snow on the ground) if you plant it right outside your living room or kitchen window, thanks to its beautiful silvery leaves!
4. A Mix of White and Silver
Warm and cool-toned shades are not the only ones that go with the neutral silver leaves of Dusty Miller. Combine the beautiful Silver dust with the white flowers of Caladiums, Spiderflowers, and hydrangeas. You could also display ornamental grasses alongside the Dusty Miller.
5. Fill Up Your Annual Flower Garden
Renew your garden every year by planting annual flowering plants alongside Dusty Miller. This will allow you to try different color combinations each year in your garden, creating a marvelous display with Silver Dust!
6. Purple and Silver is a Match Made in Heaven
Create a focal point in your garden by getting a huge intricate pot and planting some purple beauties in it. Add in Silver Falls Dichondra and Dusty Miller as companion plants for a conversation-starting display!
7. Tin Can Display
If you want the option to move your Dusty miller around, grow it in a repurposed tin can or a galvanized bucket like this. Not only can you give the tin can a makeover to make the Silver Dust foliage pop, but it also gives you the freedom to move your plant to a location with more sun exposure.
8. Buddies in Cool Season
Need fall bedding plants for your garden? Look no further than Dusty Miller! The best part is it makes for an excellent companion plant with white, lilac, or purple shades of the sweet alyssum. Though it may only have a height of 4 inches, paired with Dusty Miller, it looks stunning in any landscape.
9. Fall Planter With Dusty Miller
Fall gardens deserve some special attention because most flowering plants do not bloom during this season. However, you can still make a beautiful landscape by growing your Dusty Miller in a rustic planter like this, perfect for the season!
10. One too Many In a Pot
This is yet another versatile option for you to add Dusty Miller to your garden landscape. You must get a big pot to house your Dusty Miller. You will then have the chance to pair it with other bright-colored flowering or even cool foliage plants.
11. Dusty Miller as Shrub Divider
Divide a sprawling estate with Dusty Miller as shrub dividers. Combine rows of Dusty Miller and a variety of colorful flowering plants to add a pop of color throughout your garden.
12. Hedge To a Sundial or Your Antique Garden Clock
Border interesting structures in your garden like a sundial or antique garden clock with a hedge of Dusty Miller. You could also combine the hedges with other bedding plants for a more lush look.
13. A Half-Moon Display
Similar to creating hedges around your garden with rows of flowering plants and Dusty Miller, you can also get a little more creative with interesting shapes like a half-moon when creating your hedges. Border your Dusty Miller on either side with low-growing foliage or flowering plants.
14. Cascading Artfully
Sure, Dusty Miller may be a bedding plant, but that does not mean you cannot plant it high up in a hanging planter! Create a stunning display of Dusty Miller with a companion flowering plant on the sunny side of the pergola of your garden.
15. Red and White for The Holidays!
Prepare for the holidays right in fall itself with gorgeous rows of red and white flowering plants like begonia combined with the silvery leaves of Dusty Miller.
16. Spruce Up The Sitting Space
Trying to spend more time in nature? Well, you can border the garden bench with a row of Dusty Miller alongside your other favorite plants. Now, you are sure to cozy up amid nature with your favorite book every time!
17. Edge Up Your Pathways
You plant some beautiful blooms along the length of your driveway or pathway to your house, but something looks off. Remedy this situation by planting some Dusty Miller plants along the length of your pathway for a dreamy aesthetic.
18. Circles of Paradise
This is an incredibly simple display that you can make with your favorite flowering plants and Dusty Miller. Group your flowering plants together and grow them in a circle while bordering them with Silver Dust! Know what this is called? Paradise!
19. Dusty Miller as Garden Filler
You know you have pretty shrubs all over your garden, pruned to perfection, but the garden looks empty. So how do you fill it? With rows and rows of Dusty Miller, of course!
20. Trees Need Company Too!
Instead of checking out that huge lonesome tree every day in your garden and feeling bad about it, plant some vibrant flowering plants that would pair exceedingly well with the Dusty Miller. Now your tree has company and you have a wonderful display!
A hanging display or a pathway edged with Silver dust- which idea struck your fancy? Let us know in the comments below!
