13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Keep this in mind one day you will get older. I am now 81 and all sudden it hit me in the back and it kills me to bend or work only about 10 -15 minutes at a time. It got so bad I couldn't do any weeding for 2 weeks and guess what weeds,weeds and more weeds. So really think it over how big you want that flower bed
It was my dream to have lots of land. I found it and in the process of landscaping. It has a lot of mature trees. It is 4 acres of the 4...2 acres are woods. I am having fun. I will retire for good soon and it will be gardening fun for me.
I am living my dream. As one of the poster said my dream was different garden themes. I have finished my Shade Garden and a "Meditation Asian Theme". Next will be the "Pond". I am slow but sure getting rid of all the grass for the perennials. I have an orchard with 3 apple trees, Cherry Tree, Pear Tree, and Berries, and Grape Arbor. These were on the property. Later I will put the trail back in that leads to a 10' tall outdoor fireplace in the woods.
As you can see some of the work was done already but it was overgrown and in poor shape. But it only took 2 years to get everything looking healthy again.
I think as long as you have good health and it is something you enjoy I cannot think of anything that can keep you in that good health than to have something as active as gardening to keep you in good health. I know people in their 70s and 80s gardening on large properties.
I cannot imagine getting up after I retire and sitting all day in front of the TV. or.... No hours, hours and hours of me time in the garden. Working in the garden is fun for me it is not a chore.
I have lots of friends and entertain a lot but that is in the evening. I want to garden in the day.
I do need someone to do the blasted housework. Now that is slave work. LOL
given enough time.. many plants will fairy ring.. the best growth being on the exterior where it is growing into fresh soil .. and the middle dying out ...
at that point the old and dead needs to be removed...
and by doing so.. you add fresh new soil ... air and water circulation .. there is just no downside ...
though we think of them as perennials.. any given part of the plant does not live forever... but the plant does ...
as pieces mature.. and head toward the geriatric years.. they simply lose vigor ... just like grandpa.. lol ...
i really think its just the fresh un-compacted soil ... plus teenage plants ... that simply explode with vigor ...
not much science there.. just observation and opinion ...
ken
Last spring I got impatient about my salvia argentea coming up thru the bark and I got to poking around in the dirt below and came up with a teeny toothpick thing with a bit of green on it. In a panic I thought oh no what have I done, pulled up my salvia???? I plopped it back in the dirt 15 inches away and patted soil over it...along with bark and... then just hoped. By August I had two beautiful salvias with big gray fuzzy leaves! Now if I did that on purpose (like I'm tempted to) I would probably come up with nothing. I just don't know what I'm doing.
Persicaria affinis - dwarf fleeceflower
It starts blooming in early June (light pink) and is still blooming now (dark rust pink). That's right, the entire gardening season. It makes a nice tight edger that clumps out tightly, not invasively. After our first frost the leaves will go a nice autumn rust red. Never bothered by any pests or diseases, always looks good. Except in May when its knobby knees show, it's slow to get started.
I have had this at plant sales and can't give it away. It is a supporting player, not a diva. People always want to buy glamour queens. It doesn't fit well in a pot, but I wouldn't be without it in my garden. Here it is in July on the bottom, making a nice frame for the coneflowers.
I have several other persicaria, but this is such a workhorse and so reliable. 
From Side Garden in July
I enjoyed your photos Woodyoak. I hardly ever have more than one Monarch at a time in my yard. I saw four yesterday nectaring on my zinnias though, on their way to Mexico I suppose.
I've seen a couple other people post photos of Heptacodium covered in Monarchs and it makes me want one. I tried to root cuttings last summer and I've never had anything hold its leaves for so long and not grow roots. I'm still mad at them. lol
I have a very large patch of Algerian Ivy planted as a ground cover on a slope to prevent erosion. I have three shrubs that do well in it two dogwoods and one Callistemon. I have to keep the ivy clear for about four feet from the shrubs. A yearly job. Al
I do not know what kind of Ivy I have either it was in the bed when I brought the house. What I have in this semi-sun bed is......
Phlox paniculata Becky Towe (Tall Varigaited leaf)
Candy Lilies
Daylily
Sedum Autumn Joy
Knockout Rose Bush
Hydrangea with a Clematis growing through it.
The area is damp area because it is near a down spout. I think we need to remember a zone 5 sun is different than a zone 6 or higher sun. The Hydrangea works since it is in the shady part of the garden.
I haven't tried 'Lemon Frost', but have grown 'Aurea' which has the same chartreuse leaves. I've had good results with dividing it before planting in compost amended soil, then taking cuttings & planting those as well to fill in a bit more. Works best in our rainy season or I have to water every few days until they root.
Not as vigorous as the other lamiums, but still appreciates a haircut & then you can plant those, too!
Yes, tolerates dry soil just not when it's a cutting.
I would think it would do well in that location. I would prefer the Lamium to Pachy any day. :-)
Here is a link that might be useful: Lamium maculatum �Pink Pewter�
I've concluded that translating a few hours of sun into part shade or not depends entirely on what time of day the sun is hitting. The area you describe gets slammed with sun in the hottest hours of the day, which probably means you'd want plants that like more sun than shade plants. I can't tell where you are, so I don't know how hot it gets nor is it clear how much regular water you'd be getting during the hot months. Those factors matter, of course, as plants that prefer some shade generally fare worse if it's hotter and dryer. If your summers are mild and not especially dry, then even baptisia might be okay in that spot. Soil content and moisture retention matter too.
It does seem like there would be a large number of plants that would be potentially happy there. I'd click the "mostly sunny" box of an online search, then look at other factors.
Just my 2 cents. =)
I am thinking that with that limited hours, something like coreopsis is out, but something that go from sun to part shade would work. So stick with something like Rudbeckia hirta, but not goats beard. The problem is that in this area, it can get droughty or rainy.
Paul
geum - bright red one (name escapes me, Lady Bradshaw or the other one?)Love geums but many have fleeting blooms but this common chiloense flowered all summer with a luminous red.
Salvia greggii - another red and a lilac, both from cuttings so NOID. Fabulous with grasses such as Stipa tenuissima and various sedges.Propagated zillions for friends too.
Tulipa sprengeri(a long, long wait from seed and much delving in pots for the minuscule deep bulbs - but so fabulous)
Dahlia -Bishop of Aukland (I think, a clear orange single which has gleamed with mimulus auriantica and red hemerocallis)
Callirhoe involucrata - never stops.
I had seen Red Jewel Helenium in a catalog yesterday and thought they were a great shade of red, but it was a seller that touches up photos, so wasn't sure how real it was. Good to hear it's a neat one.
Eric, I had been looking at dwarf crape myrtles for containers, but am waiting as I don't think they love a cold winter, especially just planted in fall.
woodyoak, I especially like the Veronicastrum and hibiscus as well
as forget-me-not and Daphne - really nice!!
Thank for the other additions garcan and connietn, I'll have to look up some of those :)
I ordered, paid for & took delivery of 'Osprey' 4+ years ago. It grew, bloomed, thrived...and every year around the middle of August the foliage keeled over, turned orange and looked dead. The first time, I thought it was dead but it came up again the following year. Fast forward to mid-August of this year: I dug the nasty, ugly pile of decayed foliage + roots up and trashed it all. I couldn't think of a place anywhere in my garden where I could transplant it, enjoy it and not have to look at the mess every year. Number of reseeds? Zero. It was pretty when it was pretty but the ugly after-bloom sealed its fate. The regular purple one grows in a different bed and appears to die back without the ugly mess so I've left it alone. Although I've found a volunteer here and there, they always come up in the same spot so I wouldn't say it's invasive or even too enthusiastic.
My nepeta 'Little Titch' grew slowly for a couple of years. Last year it started to self seed but not invasively. I love it because it is so short and compact and reblooms after being cut back making it a very nice edger in my gardens.
Even tho a plant has low water needs ONCE ESTABLISHED, most plants do need extra TLC the first season. If you don't get reasonable rain each week for the first couple of months after planting, you may have a lot of early mortality unless you can get them to water (slow and deep) occasionally. Also it would be really helpful to plant in the early spring before things heat up, and while there is still a good chance for rain. (or yet this fall, if it isn't too late where they live).
Re: plants -
* nepeta (like Walker Low) should be carefree and grow well; doesn't self seed
* coreopsis Moonbeam - many of us in the north (z5) find that it is a weak grower. It may hang on for several years, but doesn't seem to thrive. Corepsis zagreb is much more robust - to the degree that it should be divided fairly regularly. Coreopsis creme brulee - put in small plants this spring it it took off like gangbusters... but have no experience with how strongly it will come back next year
* gaillardia - is often shortlived - seems to need amazing winter drainage, or else let it self-seed.
* salvia (like May Night), or russian sage should do well
Consider adding some daffodils for spring - critters don't bother them, they multiply, and don't ask for much.
Beth
Z5 northern MI