Northeast Gardening: Plant collector or garden designer? , 1 by Noreaster

Noreaster wrote:
Thank you Victor, Pirl, and Venu. Our yard comes with a lot of built in natural features like rock ledge, so I think it would be really hard for me to achieve a formal look, even if I wanted to. Shade suits me too, because I really struggle to keep the few plants I have in the sun alive and perky looking...I can't keep up with the water needs sometimes. I think that's why I like daylilies and their seemingly total lack of need for TLC. I will still probably always have some degree of flower envy, though, when I look at this forum ;).

Eleanor, I think container planting with annuals is probably one of the things I enjoy most in the summer. It's just fun to experiment, I think. Plus, I like how fast they grow, lol.

Speaking of annuals, I thought of another one for color shade for anyone that is looking for options in that department. I found this Torenia "magenta moon" at a local nursery last summer and I really love the color...plus it bloomed all season. My two goals next season are to use a lot more of that in my containers that I have around the garden, and to find a spot to plant a good sized group of the chartreuse Hakonechloa grass.