I am in the desert southwest. I am really in love with lamb's ears (S. Bysantum Helen Von Stien). I was going to put some salvia nemorosa behind, I may still do that, but think it is done a lot. I then looked around the garden and realized I have the perfect plant. It spreads in a large drift and would look cute peeping from behind the lamb's ears, and that is a huge clump of Millenium Allium which I planted in a too shady spot. I never got the height or fullness of the flowers because it was in the wrong spot. So adding to that. I put some goldenrod as a background, (not the wild weedy type), and some pow-wow white coneflower. I am getting some drumstick allium in the mail this fall and will plant them a bit behind the millennium allium. They bloom in spring and the millennium bloom in summer. The goldenrod is summer, and the lambs ear never if I can help it. I am still interested in getting some salvia, and next year I want to get some tall sedum-- either the green, light pink or one with brown leaves. Not sure yet. I will see if my instincts are right with this combination.