13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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
the link ... first one.. says hardy to st louis..
are you north or south of such ..
that may be the defining issue ...
z5 is simply too broad a stroke to guess .. or be definitive ..
zone info is basically JUST minimum winter temp ...
but in my z5 MI .. the ground can freeze over a foot deep .. wherein i will bet.. magical st louis does not have that kind of cold penetration.. though they have the same min temp ... see the difference???
good luck
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
We are in SE Iowa. We have had a couple of milder winters with snapdragons and gladiolus overwintering, but we are prone to ridiculously lows any given winter as well.
I hadn't thought of lifting them though. I lift a couple of dahlias and a ton of glads, surely I can make room for some hardy begonias too. :)
Thanks for the replies.
This post was edited by trovesoftrilliums on Tue, May 7, 13 at 15:24
The only reason I keep trying is that a family near here has huge mounds of mums around the house foundation that come back every year and just keep getting bigger. They have had these same mums for many years.
They pinch them back until the end of June and do absolutely nothing else.
Those sound worth taking cuttings, if you are permitted to do so. Sounds like those old plants aren't the prima donnas they sell now, haven't had the toughness bred out of them.
Around the foundation would indicate a possible micro-climate. If they're under an eave, the added dryness may be helpful also.
Well I usually see A syriaca growing in good soil in the wild. And I've got 3 small patches that planted themselves in this yard, and they are all in medium soil. They are drought tolerant once established although I'm not 100% sure of their nutrient requirement.
The potting soil or mix in containers will get depleted of nutrients quickly, so you generally need to fertilize. So I usually use a weak liquid fertilizer in containers (in the ground I use mostly compost, occasionally an organic granule type fert.).
Thanks for the info. They are in a pretty deep pot, well it's a 5 gallon bucket actually... The stems seem much thicker this year. Last year I had 4 stalks and it looks like there are about a dozen this year. I think I'll keep giving it the attention you all recommend and not cut any of the stalks as they seem thicker. It may be that they are in a sunnier spot than last year too.
Fingers crossed, waiting for Monarchs (we have gotten them to stop by before)
Happy Gardening everyone!
I planted an Eryngium 'Big Blue' Sea Holly last year and it did bloom the first year. It was a beauty in the garden all summer. Sadly, Hurricane Sandy did it in. We live along a tidal river and had quite a bit of flooding in the bottom half of the garden. (Glub! Glub!)
We just replaced it today with a new plant from the same local source. This time we'll put it higher up in the yard.
Molie
Thanks Dee.
It gets even better. When I unpacked them, there was a bonus plant - Belamcanda Mello Yellow. The odd thing is I've been thinking about ordering this plant for years and just never got around to it. Now I don't have to.
Kevin
Mine came yesterday. Packaging was great and everyone was healthy. I will definitely order from them again.