13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Well I was wrong. The 'Cosmic Eye' out front did survive. It has doubled in size, so is about 4in wide now?? LOL. The bugger was hiding behind a salvia ;-)
The 'Moonbeam' a GW trader sent me last year has come up without a hitch btw.
CMK
Molly, your mom won't be disappointed with tree peonies in Z5b NH. I have a small area of my garden pretty much devoted to a bunch of tree peonies and shade perennials. The tree peony I have planted in full sun is much larger than the others in shade. In the shade the flowers hold on longer and don't tend to fade as much as the one I have in full sun. Just a couple of things for her to think about as she chooses the planting site.
Here is a pic of one of the peonies in a shadier spot:
One of my all-time favorite plants in the spring even if the flowers are at times fleeting. The foliage is great all season long, no pests, no fuss......
They are reliable bloomers but may be slow to reach maturity and bloom the first time. I think the foliage is attractive even without a bloom. For me the bloom is spread out over the season and not a lot at one time. I find the seed pods attractive and would probably get more bloom if I removed them. Al
A seek after posting this question, my Glaucium / Horned Poppy is forming flower buds. Most poppies bloom here in March and april, so I assumed these would too if they were going to bloom. Now. is there anyway to divide this multi-stem plant? It appears that the stems meet well above the soil line and do not have any roots. My book only mentions propagation by seed.
I was going to suggest succulents also, Sedums especially. With just the foliage, you can have an amazingly colorful display. Moss roses would appreciate that it's going to be dry. Especially if you like your stump, as mentioned above. If you put something you have to water every day or two, you'll be shocked how fast it degrades.
I agree the coneflower will be washed by the dogwood- plus I think those dogwoods get really big. Perhaps you have a different dwarf culitvar of some type...but mine are about 7 feet round. It will eat whatever you put near it.
How bout putting one (or two) in the middle of the bed in the first picture. Looks like everything will be done blooming in that bed otherwise so you will have late summer color with it there.
Limelight makes a pretty good sized bush too- roughly the same size. It will also lay it's blooms on anything nearby.
This post was edited by lola-lemon on Wed, May 8, 13 at 19:53
Lola, I have the ivory halo which has a dwarf habit growing to five feet tall. I have also seen them pruned to be kept at a smaller size. I'm hoping that I gave the limelight enough space especially since it would be hard to move later (fingers crossed). Can you believe that I bought it that big? I felt like I scored big time when I found it :)
Gardenweed, my concern with the coconut lime is that the color of the bloom would be washed out with the light green and white foilage of the v. Dogwood. I did research on the Double Delights and the reviews (some from gardenweb members) were very good. Have you tried this variety? Did they not do well for you? Is there anything special I should do? I really love the flowers on them. I also heard that they are easy to propagate by burying the whole sead head. Any luck with that?
Trovesoft, the problem with planting the pinks next the dogwood and the coconut lime next to the pinks is that the coconut limes are taller than the double delights. I'm afraid that they would not be seen from the street. Maybe I should just take the coconut limes out of the equation. I am thinking though of planting just three double delights in an upside down V then planting two razzmatzz at the back to make an X with a total grouping of five echinaceas. Then maybe planting three agapanthus close by? What do you think?
Linlily, I'm sorry that your double delights died. Did you only have one planted? Maybe you should give it another try? The blooms sure are lovely!
I took a large, established rectangular perennial garden much like yours, cut it in half diagonally, set a rough-cut granite bench in the middle of the long side and curved the edges of it off to either side of the now triangular bed. The linear edges of the rectangle offended the vision I had for my garden--I was going for a more soothing, relaxed look. It's now got curb appeal and when sitting on the bench, one faces my French curve butterfly bed. Cutting it in half also substantially reduced maintenance, mulching, weeding, etc.
FYI - I drove my truck to a nearby quarry, loaded the patio granite in the truck myself & hauled it home. Migrant workers laid the patio in concrete so the cost was well within my meager budget.
I think I can definitely say that my 2 "Spigelia marilandica" will not return for their second season. Even last summer...their first, they flowered well....just beautiful unique flowers. I know they can be iffy for a Canadian zone 5 but I made a conscious effort to plant then early in the season (2012) and put them in a two different sheltered locations. And yet neither show any signs of life as of May 8.
In addition to my hibiscus, I should have also mentioned my leptodermis oblonga. I actually decided to give it away at a swap this year, so I dug it up and potted it up last week, but it still looks dead! That thing better spring to life soon or folks will be wondering why I brought a dead shrub to a swap, lol!
Dee
Thanks for sharing the pictures--what an interesting set up they have. I sometimes imagine I would love to have a small nursery at my home. I enjoy growing large batches if plants although I realize, of course, doing it for profit alters the situation. Still though, I have thought of doing small scale shade natives or some such thing.
Good luck with your peonies. I am looking forward to my herbaceous ones flowering soon.
I grow some Purple Dome, in their second year. They do spread, but at a nice pace, by rhizomes. My dad swears by chopping a piece of perennial out of the established plant, (an wedge-shaped part, cut by spade and then lifted somehow), so the older plant just keeps on. you can fill the gap left by the lifted part with fresh compost, and divide and replant the rest.
Well, good luck with your nice Aster,
bye, Lin
Foxglove can be spectacular. Last year I had a couple nice patches, started from seed the year before. This year, only a handful of plants made it through the winter, lost most of last year's seedlings to crown rot.
Digitalis 'Excelsior hybrids' & 'Camelot Cream' -
Lovely! So yes, it is foxglove. It seems like I have two types of flower buds. One developed normally. The other is open that whole time and the petal just grows outward while open. Attached is a more developed photo of the process. The ones which have turned colors were the ones originally photographed. Then you can see one which is developing normally which hasn't developed color yet. Thanks you guys for all your help!