Hi all, To me the logical companion plant to Lycoris squamigera is Hosta plantaginea. They both bloom at about the same time, and the Hosta foliage covers the bare stalks of the sqaumi scapes. The Lycoris foliage is up before the Hostas'. Besides, both do well in partial shade; and the white flowers of the Hosta look good with the pink of the Lycoris. I think you could interplant Narcissus among a mixed bed of Lycoris and Hosta for early spring color. Others that come to mind: Ferns are starting to look ratty now, as are many daylilies. The Lilium are mostly gone by now, at least the few common varieties I have here are gone. The hardy Hymenocallis occidentalis always seemed to me to be a candidate for the August garden, but mine bloom erratically and not every year. Besides, they are very hard to find. Tony Avent has them most years, but I did not notice them in Tony's latest catalog. This Hymenocallis wants partial shade, but in dry areas it will lose all its foliage by this time in summer. Mine get watered, so they mostly keep their leaves through the summer. Crinum variabile is pretty hardy here, but it needs full sun and blooms a couple weeks earlier than the Lycoris. My plants of Crinum variabile usually rebloom once or twice, perhaps because they get plenty of water. Crinum foliage can got to looking a bit ratty by late summer, too. Around here, the most common companion plants in my garden in August are actually the weeds! The heat and bugs have been making the Great Outdoors less attractive lately. Regards, Jim Shields in central Indiana (USA) ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA