What gardeners actually plant together

From data, not opinion. We looked at every Sow design containing a given plant and measured which other plants appear alongside it far more often than their overall popularity would predict — a lift score — requiring at least 40 shared designs so nothing is a small-sample fluke. Ranking by affinity rather than raw popularity is why the lists read like coherent planting palettes instead of lists of bestsellers.

First, it has to survive the same conditions: the same hardiness range and the same light. After that, the good pairings are usually the ones that differ — a plant that blooms when the other has finished, or that sits low in front of something tall. Each guide states the zones a partner shares with the plant, whether it wants the same light, and where the bloom or height contrast falls.

No. In vegetable growing, companion planting usually means pest deterrence or nitrogen fixing. In ornamental and landscape planting — what these guides cover — it means plants that share conditions and look right together across a season.