Choosing the right companion plants for your hydrangea garden can help create a beautiful, low-maintenance landscape. Keep in mind that when deciding on new garden additions, it is essential to fully understand the soil, light, and water needs of your hydrangeas to select companion plants that will grow best alongside your shrubs. Whether you're looking for a vibrant underplanting in a sunny border or textural contrast in a shady pathway, there is a companion plant that will thrive when planted next to your hydrangeas. Here, we'll list some of our favorite hydrangea companion plantings for sun, shade, and everything in between.

Spike speedwell (Veronica) is so easy to grow and long-blooming that it belongs in your garden alongside hydrangeas. This sun-loving perennial features an array of blue, pink, purple, and even white flowers that attract a multitude of pollinators, particularly butterflies. Veronica adds interesting vertical interest and texture at the base of your hydrangea shrubs. The flower spikes not only look good, but they are also easy to care for, deer-resistant, and self-cleaning.

An old-fashioned classic, roses are amazing companion plants for your hydrangeas! The delicate petals of rose shrubs are a romantic addition to a sunny hydrangea garden, with most varieties reliably blooming from late spring through the first frost. While roses and hydrangeas are a classic combination, roses can stand on their own and look fabulous when planted in hedges, sunny patio containers, or mixed beds.

Are you looking to create a haven for bumble bees and hummingbirds in your hydrangea garden? Consider adding sun-loving foxglove! The rosy, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in early summer, complementing the delicate, lacy flowers of hydrangeas. Foxglove is a long-blooming cottage garden favorite that adds whimsy and pollinator power to your hydrangea garden, but deer make sure to stay away.

Black-eyed Susan (otherwise known as Rudbeckia) is a sun-loving perennial native to North America that pairs beautifully with hydrangea shrubs! Its golden-yellow flowers and dark seed heads start blooming at the beginning of summer and continue until the first frost, easily brightening any hydrangea hedge and adding fall interest next to dried hydrangea flowers. Oh, did we mention it's also deer-resistant? We can't get enough of these cheery blooms.

Hostas love the shade; try planting this tidy plant underneath trees with other hostas, hardy ferns, or other shade-loving plants. Its heart-shaped leaves are variegated with blue-green margins and yellow-green centers, contrasting beautifully with lavender bell-shaped flowers that hover high above the plant. The mound-like habit creates a sea of blue-green hues that are easy to manage and suitable for any space in the garden, even next to hydrangea shrubs.

Boxwood (Buxus) is a tidy, evergreen shrub that is ideal for low-growing border containers or as a standout addition to part-sun or shade-hydrangea hedges. While no pruning is required to enjoy this lustrous beauty, its dense small leaves recover swiftly from pruning, making them ideal candidates for topiary. Its hardy nature and added disease and deer resistance make it perfect for those looking to add some low-maintenance interest to their landscape.

Astilbe is a shade-loving perennial that makes a fantastic companion plant for hydrangeas, as it thrives in the same moist, well-drained soil conditions as hydrangeas. The feathery, plume-like flowers of astilbe, which come in shades of pink, red, white, and purple, offer an excellent textural contrast to the large, rounded blooms of hydrangeas, adding visual interest to your garden bed. Beyond their beauty in the garden, astilbes also attract hummingbirds and other pollinators.