Hi, everybody--we have cleaned out our front garden bed to make room for a part shade/part sun garden...
Already in place are two Oakleaf Hydrangeas, a pink azalea, a large variegated hosta and a little tree...it's about 20' by 15'. Sooo...
Any ideas for perennial (and bulbs) companion plantings...? We would like it to have some bloom during July....
Thanks for your suggestions. t.
and a south facing view...
And the other side of the walk, facing south....we are going to remove the lilies and lavender due to lack of sun ...more space for plantings....
What a pretty spot! Sure wish our grass was that green. Is there a color that you're aiming for?
ss--was thinking of picking up the color in the oakleaf hydrangea--which starts out as white then turns to this unusual color of rose, and the tree on the right side of the walk which is blackish leaved in summer and the blue spruce; so, whatever other colors would complement that...I am thinking of softer colors.
Although in early spring we could use any other colors...I do have a few narcissus blooming with the azalea in late April, but they can be removed...
How about a soft pinks and white thing? I would think that would be pretty with the blackish leaves, and the light colors would help keep it from being too dark.
pulmonaria to bloom with the narcissus and azalea
columbines to follow - maybe winky rose to to compliment the pinks (these are the shorter ones) with bergenia, phlox divaricata (something blue to pick up on the pulmonaria purples.
huechera regina (burgundy with pink blooms all summer), to accent the rose color in the hydrangea. Pinks could be hemerocallis raspberry pixy or hals pink, digitalis, astilbes, bleeding hearts. Whites could be geranium biokovo, white astilbe, aruncus (if you can take a really tall plant - it might be pretty in the back), white columbines...
for fall some tricyrtis and late blooming anenomes.
the pulmonaria foliage, depending on which one(s) you go with would add interest all year and offset the hosta, and so would some japanese painted fern. The ferns would also be neat with the burgundy of the huechera and the dark tree leaves.
Dicentra alba, sweet woodruff, and lamium would offset the variegated hosta, too
Stacy
Stacy--excellent Ideas and suggestions. I love your idea of the pale pink/rose theme--and it certainly goes with the brick on the house, too.
Although I am not familiar with many of the plants you mentioned, I will print out the posting and take it to our Greenfield Plant Farm that carries a huge range of interesting plant material. I am sure they can point me in the right direction...
I am looking for a fountain, too, but it has to be just right (subtle) or my DH will have a fit...
Thanks again... t.
Just for the infomation and choosing part, check out Bluestone's web. I use it a lot for plant selection. If you go the online catalog, then put in zone, sun, etc, they can help you select plants. Almost all of what they sell are very small plants, but it's a great selection tool. I use it quite a bit to make my to-buy lists. I used it here to help me with the whites - I don't grow many of them, so I forget what the options are sometimes.
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/adv_search_mod.html?id=X3SWmpdB
Oooh! Yes, Bluestone's 'advanced' search engine is really neat. I hadn't noticed it before, and I have purchased many plants from them! Thanks for q-ing me in on that!
No problem - it's a pretty cool tool. I wish more of the other sites had something similar, and it would be even better if there was a wet/dry selection added. I have wet shade, dry shade, wet sun, dry sun.... I have to go to the plant book to make sure things will work where I plant them.
Of all the ones I mentioned, I love the pulmonarias and tricyrtis. This pic is pulmonaria trevi fountains
and tricyrtis .... this was taken in mid Septemeber last year (ignore the garlic mustard weeds in the background)
The pulmonaria bloom very early, usually with my daffodils
Hi Tabasco,
You where asking about ferns in another post with good 'garden presence'. Are you familiar with Dryopteris x australis (Dixie wood fern) this is one of my favorites and it is available now in TC. check out this link: http://www.casaflora.com/dryop_xaustralis.htm
So how much light does this area get and when?
S
Shady--this front of the house plot is southfacing with a brick wall to the east and deciduous trees providing mostly shade, dappled shade, and 'part shade'. There are a couple of small swathes that get maybe 5 hours of mid-day sun.
I am not sure if ferns require shade or sun or can endure part shade...In this area there are diverse shade/sunlight issues. It's a matter of getting the plant placement 'just so' I think.
I like your fern, but don't think I've seen that one at our local Plant Farms. Is it hard to find?
Thankyou for your ideas...
Another view, down the slope...
Hi Tabasco,
Keep an eye out for it. It should be showing up more now that it is in TC.
There are ferns for just about every situation. If you want a great book on ferns I would recommend John Mickel's book 'Ferns for the American Garden' I have the older version and have just about worn it out.
I love your new areas. The possibilities are endless. Are you looking for mostly perennials? or some shrubs/bushes too?
Here's a picture of the first area that we started planting 5-6 years ago and have added to it over the years. This is a low lying area that stays damp longer after a rain. The right side where the Astilbe is gets morning to mid day sun, then is dappled. The area to the left is shaded by a white pine.
shadyfolks- that's a beautiful shot!
OK. This is getting fun! Went to the Plant Farm yesterday (in the rain with my plant list--thankyou!) to research and buy and saw so many good selections and got overwhelmed...so many choices! Will go again tomorrow to purchase before the sale ends...
Must get some pulmonaria to bloom with my daffs. And the trycirtus and late blooming anemones for later. And I had forgotten about the columbines. I saw some digitalis that would complement the hydrangea, and a pardacanda (?) (a relative of the blackberry lily?) that was the exact rose tone with mottling of the Oakleaf Hydrangea that might work if I can find a sunny spot...The three together would be most interesting, and 'color echo' beautifully-- (Quite a 'high-brow' combination, I think, which I will have to add to the 'color echo thread!). ;-)
I went on a hunt for the Dixie Wood Fern which must be wildly popular because everyone was sold out. I am going to keep trying to find it locally--I have a couple more sources to try...did find the Eastern Wood Fern, but, still am committed to the DWF.
Shadyfolks, thanks for posting your beautiful photo...I am trying to ID the plants--do you have a siberian or Japanese iris planted by the rock? And your planted pot/kettle gives me a good idea, too...
I'm finding out planting a 'mottled/part shade' garden can be a fun challenge...a lot more 'sublime subtlety' involved than 'full sun' gardens...I think this will be beautiful...
Thanks for all the good ideas. Please keep posting if anything new comes to mind...I have several more shady spots to work on!
Happy gardening. t.
If you can hold off until the weather cools a bit, I could trade some pulmonaria.
Tabasco.
Sounds like you had a fun day!
Yes, there are some siberian iris and one iris that was there when we bought the house (blooms yellow) right behind Sum & Substance. There is a variegated grass in the upper middle of the photo. Is this what you are referring too?
The copper pot we bought at a garage sale about three years ago. It was orginally a cooking vessel of some sort, the copper has two layers There is an opening in the center that goes all the way through both layers and then there are 1 or 2 other openings on the bottom on the outside.
I thought of you today. We drove down to Inniswood gardens (East of Columbus) I will post some pictures later if they turned out. They had some nice open areas under trees that reminded me of your place.
You mention: pardacanda?that looks interesting (just looked it up)and blooms later.
S
shady--Hope you had a nice visit to Inniswood. I have been there several times looking at the plants, hence, my (keen) interest in my Inniswood hosta! Yes, I guess my yard is has similar topography...was it hot and muggy like we are here?
Your copper pot sounds like a still. LOL. I saw a copper still in an antique shop in san francisco. It was made in Ohio. When I went back to buy it it was gone. No doubt Martha Stewart bought it! I think it was $400. LOL What's planted in yours? Hope it's a nice specimen!
Your project sounds exciting. Lamium could be a nice ground cover that would echo the blue spruce nicely. There are white and pink flowering forms either of which could be pretty. Hyacinthoides hispanica is always nice for late spring color in semi-shady areas, as well as bleeding heart. Magic lilies (Lycoris sprengeri) would be a nice pink punch in late summer. I like to plant them amongst ferns and hostas. It serves double duty for me; the magic lily leaves show up early in the spring and remind me not to dig into my late emerging hostas and ferns and since the magic lilies look sort of stiff and naked blooming without leaves, the ferns and hostas soften them. By the time in late spring the magic lily leaves are looking ugly, I hide them under the hostas. Hardy begonias would be nice in that area for late summer and fall color to. Happy planning and planting!
Thankyou G. for the new suggestions...
Lamium would be a good addition along with the fern, hosta, and I will look up the magic lilies to see how the color will go with the Oakleaf hydrangea...the h. morph from a nice white into a rather odd shade of rose later in the season and it's difficult to get the pinks right with it).
I did purchase some pardacanda (I think that's what it is--got it home with no label-- that really goes well with the hydrangeas and the brick on the house. Also found a couple possible ferns (eastern wood) but am still looking for 'dixie wood' here locally (since I want big ones).
Funny thing, I am getting some Spanish Hyacinths in trade, arriving today! So now I know where to put them.
Here's a pic of the Pardacanda/fern/oakleaf hydrangea combo. So far so good I think!
Happy gardening. t.
Wow Tabasco that looks great! You really do have an eye for that. Like they were made for each other.
gemini_sage- Well, I learned something new- your magic lilies. very need I will have to keep my eyes open for that.
S
Tabasco,
The other day you asked what did I plant in the copper pot?
I took the dog out for a lap around the yard after dinner and grabbed the tags from the pot, here's what's in it this year-
non-stop white tuberous begonia, 'Wildcat Blue' Anagallis hybrid, 'Autumnale' fuchsia hybrid (that is the bright colored foliage sticking out on the right side), MiniFamous Dark Red Calibrachoa, Licorice plant 'Limelight', 'Koralle' Fuchsia hybrid, Fusion Radiance Exotic Impatiens, Fusion Heat Exotic Impatiens, Ivy 'Glacier something', an annual lobelia, and a geranium with a variegated leaf, and a wandering Jew- Tradescantia... I also had a veronica Spicata royal candles in there but I see it died the the fuchsia and impatiens over took it.
I am not the best with pots, and this year I was very pleased with how this turned out. It has not stopped blooming. I will save my tags and hope I can find the same plants again.
Shady
For the area with more sun Orienpet lily 'Visa versa' could be nice and it blooms in July. The color is a dusty rose I think would be really nice with the hydrangea. I'm really picky about my pinks working together to, so I understand what you mean. The Magic lily(Lycorice sprengeri) I suggested above is a blue-pink; upon close inspection you can even see tiny streaks of true blue in the petals. Sounds like you're looking for more rose-pink/dusty rose shades which don't look good with cotton candy pinks or lavender-pinks.
Since dark foliages are so nice with those shades, you may want to consider Periscaria 'Red Dragon' as well as huecheras.
Well, good news/bad news...we've been working on the bed and removed six bushes, and, of course, what happened but much more sun on the garden than I expected!
This is after I bought the Dixie Wood Ferns, trycirtis, and several other shade lovers---fortunately the heuchera, pardancanda, a daylily, a Cable azalea and a few others will be fine. Thankyou for the offer of the pulmonaria, ss, but I think for now I have more than enough plant material.
I will order a couple of the Vice Versa lilies if I can find them on the 'net. I have transplanted several hosta to this garden and I hope they will be fine. I understand they can take some sun, no?
In a few days I will have some more recent pics, but I fear my garden no longer can be classified as 'Shade'---more like part sun/shade.
I do have other shady spots for the ferns, lamium, etc., but I was really beginning to dream of a shady retreat with a mossy fountain, etc., etc...leading to our front door. Ah, well....
Now I have set my heart on an espalliered pear (whose ripened fruit will match the color of the oakleaf hydrangea) of course! LOL
Happy gardening. t.
Tabasco,
You are too funny '(whose ripened fruit will match the color of the oakleaf hydrangea) of course!'. Always thinking, no wonder you have such a good eye.
Glad to hear you found the Dixie Wood Fern, isn't it beautiful? I'll bet the fern should be still be ok in this area. The Tricyrtis should too if you can keep them moist during the hot/dry spells.
Looking forward to seeing pictures.
Shady
Ditto what Shadyfolks said on the tricyrtis - mine get more sun than they are technically supposed to (about half and half), but they get plenty of water. They should be fine. Tricyrtis are one of my favorites. I grew up in Singapore, and I loved the orchids and tropical flowers, but I don't have the patience to grow them. The toad lillies look so much like the natives that grew there, and every time they bloom I feel like I'm getting away with something.
