13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Oh gosh, so many choices, it's really up to you.
I have Siberian iris growing next to Annabelle in one spot - I like the contrast of the foliages. Another good one is Geranium magnificum, which stays in a neat mound, not rangy like the ones you mentioned. I also have hostas and coralbells and Autumn ferns (dryopteris) next to Annabelles in other locations, and also variegated Euonymous (? sp) bush.
I've come to the conclusion that Annabelle is a thug. A good thug, but a thug nonetheless. If she's happy, she will encroach upon anything and everything in the path of her spread. I'm constantly cutting mine back and chopping out runners. Wouldn't be without her, though :0)
I love the orange of daylilies with the creamy and lime shades of Annabelle. Either Siberian or Japanese Iris would do fine there. I also have a couple of broadleaf evergreen shrubs next to my Annabelle to provide a distraction from her homely winter appearance, a variegated boxwood and a rhododendron.
I have found that smaller, stationary plants like bulbs, Heuchera or Pulmonaria get swallowed up by Annabelle, but spreading groundcovers like Veronica 'Georgia Blue' or Ajuga do fine.
Nice pic - very cheerful! I love daisies and can't grow one at this house to save my life. I've resigned myself to buying a pot in full bloom and slipping that inside a nice piece of pottery, enjoying the show while it lasts, and tossing when bloomed out. :0)
Well, a Rose of Sharon is a Hibiscus, but all Hibiscus are not necessarily Rose of Sharons, if you know what I mean. Rose of Sharon is just one of the common names for Hibiscus syriacus. There are lots of other Hibiscus varieties that wouldn't be called Rose of Sharon, like the more tropical ones that most of us are used to calling Hibiscus as a general name. I agree with the assessment of it being a Rose of Sharon, definitely! This is the typical scenario of blue that is really lavender/purple. Gotta love that!
marquest, those are wonderful pictures and as you have written they for sure complement your garden decor.
I think the reason that ferns may be underused or under appreciated it that too often they are planted at the very back of a garden. I am guilty of this practice. Here are some just fine Japanese Painted ferns of some type that soon will be 'unseeable' from the front of the garden as other plants in front of them will be too large and so block one's view.
Actually, I was focused on taking the photo of the lilies not on the hummingbird feeder so I was surprised to see the hummie when I viewed the photo. I can't remember the timeline but I started with two plants in front of the window and divided them about four years ago. They get sun for approx. 8 hours per day. Cameran Quantz is a prolific bloomer and gorgeous in person. Some more daylilies - These are Benchmark - another tetraploid.
Back to the 'plain old green hostas' & their blah lavender flowers--I divided two POGHs several years ago and planted the divisions around the base of a huge old oak tree in front of my house. Last year was the first time I actually looked at them when they bloomed and it was a surprisingly pretty sight!
Second only to attracting/nourishing bees, butterflies & hummingbirds, my garden is designed for curb appeal so I'm quite satisfied that I've achieved a look which pleases me. I now let my hostas, heucheras & several others go ahead and bloom where in years past I did cut the bloom stalks off. After I observed so many bees on them in the past couple of years, these days they stay as they are and I'm content to let them do their thing.
Yarrow seems to be my problem plant.
It comes up in the Spring all pretty and fern like, send up nice blooms in red and yellow, then bleak, lays over and looks brown and scraggly the rest of the summer.
This year I've decided to whack them off when they start that stuff, giving other more behaving perennials room to shine on.
You can see it here behind the Veronica.
Deb
Same here, saw my first one on Tuesday. Used to see posts on rose forum by Harryshoe of his beetle pop roses. Use to think if they ever got that bad here I'd throw in the gardening towel. Well, they are that bad now. June beetles populations were way down this year so here's hoping the JB will be also. I have to admit to giving just my roses Bayer tree and shrub protect in spring so they would have time to absorb it. Probably won't do any good but couldn't help myself. I'll see what happens. Yes they do come by the thousands.
Gorgeous! I am very jealous of your Gardenias!
Since they are not hardy in this zone, I must settle for the fragrance of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Linden Tree (Tilia americana) both of which are in full bloom right now. They are quite fragrant and are perfuming the front and back yards, respectively. :)
Very nice. On a hot day I can see the area under the Astilboides being a nice canine refuge.
I have a Rodgersia in a border with hostas and Tricyrtis (mostly bright light, a couple hours of morning sun in late spring and early summer) and it's gotten massive in the last few years. Excellent foliage action.
contact the seller.. and ask if they have had the same problem with other stock...
if so.. they might replace it ... or even better.. give you something else ...
a lot of us hate this plant due to it seeding capabilities and invasiveness..
you might want to try the GW search engine for such info .. including under its latin name ...
ken
Hi pm2! It certainly looks like that Ghost is calling for rescue from the hosta :-) I do like the silver lamiums - I had quite a bit of Beacon Silver in various spots and a bit of White Nancy (which goes very well with Jack Frost..) A lot of the Beacon Silver has reverted to a more greener form (presumably its wild form...?) that I rip out when I see it. Most of it now is in the front garden under the cedar clump where not much else will grow.
gardenweed - try the 'Ghost' fern - I'd bet it'd satisfy the desire for a more upright JPF with more presence :-) Apparently 'Ghost' is a cross between a JPF and a Lady Fern. 'Ghost' has a very elegant, upright habit and it just gets better and better as it gets bigger. A 'must have' fern in my opinion!
Metallicum and Burgundy Lace both look nice (I'm pretty sure I bought a Burgandy Lace once... not sure where it is now :-) Maybe a plant breeder needs to cross one of those with Lady Fern to get a different form of Ghost. Actually maybe they already have - Branford Beauty is also a cross between Lady Fern and JPF...! That's one of the reasons I have hopes for Branford Beauty to grow into something particularly nice.
Thank you for posting these photos of 'Branford Beauty'! It looks beautiful but appears to lack the vigor and reliability of 'Ghost'. 'Ghost' is my absolute favorite garden fern so far.
Last fall, I put in three different cultivars of JPF. They survived the winter without a problem and look surprisingly lush and full for young ferns. But they absolutely disappear in my mixed shade garden. You almost have to consciously look for them to notice them, mainly because they grow so low to the ground. 'Ghost', on the other hand, illuminates the shade and draws your eye in a subtle way.
I just added a few Adiantum pedatum so hopefully they will settle in and do as well as 'Ghost'.
