But don't be afraid to experiment. Hold nursery plants close together to see if the combination is visually pleasing, or move your existing garden plants around to create new, more interesting color combinations. Remember, everyone has different color preferences, so there is no right or wrong. Combine colorful foliage with colorful flowers. The silver foliage of artemisias, santolina, sage, lavender, and other herbs looks good with the cool-colored blue or purple flowers of chives and sage and also with pastel pink flowers.
Some gardeners prefer to use purple foliage with discretion.
Match the color of flowers to highlight color on a variegated leaf. Try 'Pink Ripple' thyme with matching 'Tricolor' sage leaves, or a yellow-flowered nasturtium with golden variegated sage or golden lemon balm. Jim Wilson recommends that to get the best display with the most colorful herbs, such as 'Tricolor' sage, grow them next to a plain-looking herb. One good combination is 'Tricolor' sage with ' Spicy Globe' basil, which forms a neat green mound and grows to about the same height. For example, place a mass of five or seven plants of silvery sage as a backdrop behind five dark purple basil and a couple of yellow nasturtium.