I have a stand of a dozen or so Star Gazers in mostly sun and another stand of yellow lillies in light shade. Any suggestions for a low-growing annual that will provide an attractive combination and some ground cover under these two conditions and colors?
Need suggestions for underplanting lillies
Glen, in the days when I had rows and rows of lilies and iris, I used to have jolly jump ups (violas) everywhere. For 2 reasons, they self seed well and are easy to pull up if they get out of hand.
Inanda
Thanks inanda. That's a good idea and I have bunches of them through our winter and spring. Our only problem is they tend to melt and self-destruct along about early June from the heat. Maybe I'll try them first and then something else after the Johnny Jump-Ups are shot.
I just basically put my lilies in behind all my other flower beds so I have a mixture of things that I have at their feet. Everything from daylilies and iris (which I think are great because iris lead up to the lily bloom period) to asters, larkspur, penstemon, poppies, black eyed susans, blanket flower, daisies and campanula around my lilies.
glen,
i too interplant my lilies around everything. behind shrubs too, for the larger ones. coneflowers-echineacea's are nice, and bloom around the same time. as far as annuals go, i find i need to have a head start on mine to get them to correspond with the lilies. my last frost date is may 31st so that doesn't give them a lot of time to catch up to the lilies. cosmos in pinks and whites might be nice with the stargazers. i'm going to try echinops, a perennial and delphiniums this year or next, because they both bloom around the time of the orientals and i think the blue/purples will go nicely with the fuschia, reds, whites and pinks.
i planted some viola's in with my containered lilies last year. i deadheded/sheered them back and they did quite well, as long as they were kept in a part shade area. the heat would have killed them off. i do love my viola's.
hope this helps.
i'm looking forward to others ideas here too.
debi z and franklin
I like dwarf marigolds and petunias in my lilies.
I saw a pic in the White Flower Farm catalog using lady ferns as an underplanting for orientals-very nice for a partially shaded area. I plan on trying that combo this year; I'm hoping the ferns will give me a year round visual reminder where the lilies are so in the early spring when I go dig-crazy I don't go slicing up my bulbs(a problem I've had in the past).
I put lilies all over the back rows of my flowersbeds for height. Like Brenda, I have iris, daylilies, coreopsis, speedwell, balloon flowers, phlox & whatever in front and around them. The tall stems of the lilies are particularly nice betweenthe resting iris clumps.
Thank you everyone for the input! I've just started to get hooked on lilies so the coaching is helpful.
Hooked on lilies. Hee hee. Another one.... trapped!!!
Glen, go to http://www.NALS.org to see if there is a lily society within driving distance. Good people and.... bulb sales and..... lots of knowledge for your area.
Inanda
An addiction...perhaps...better than many others! At least my wife approves over other activities. I travel a great deal and have a lot of day lilies so when I come home, its fun to see the Asiatic and Orientals still in bloom instead of dead-heading the hemoracallis for hours. BTW - I still love the day lilies!
You can always come to OUR meetings! I drive 100+ miles each way....
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/491052/
But beware--this group drug me thru their yards last June and pulled me deeper into my addiction.... Definitely a group of enablers.
Pink wave petunias for the stargazers. if you want something which goes with the yellow lilies, too, try blue wave for example, or tidel wave silver. they spread incredibly, and provide a very nice skirt for lilies.
Thanks KD! I have been successful before with wave petunias. The blue or tidal wave silver...will they be OK with only a few hours of direct sun? They'll get light shade the rest of the day.
Some of the Hardy Geraniums make wonderful partners with lilies. I have used Geranium 'Johnson Blue" under taller, white Lily 'Casa Blanca' and it was so pretty. The Geranium is a wonderful 20"X20" mound of really nice foliage that is FULL of blue blooms -almost 2" across- from late spring thru late summer. With the lilies growing up through them and blooming together...oh my, what a sight. I had several walkers in my neighborhood stop to get the names of the plants, and saw a similiar planting 4 doors down last year...LOL :)
Many other Hardy Geraniums would provide the same effect...
that sounds really nice jamie. thanks for the idea.
debi_z,
Thanks - I actually am trying your idea of Delphinium & Echinops, I thought it sounded lovely! The Lilies are 'White Stargazer' and should look great with the blues of both these plants...I will post a pic when they are in bloom (hopefully all at the same time..lol)
Happy Gardening!
Jamie
jamie,
i have some white stargazer's and they are beautiful lilies. i look forward to that picture this summer. i have some echinops on order and i hope to start the delphiniums from seed.
happy gardening to you too!!!!!!!!!!!11
debi z and franklin
Petunia. Have never been a fan of them but think I'll try this. Guess it is too late to start from seed. Oh well.
Good idea
Thanks
Inanda