Plant Combinations for the corner area

Struggling to make a choose.
What plant combination would you plant in the area on the picture? Area gets sun in afternoon. On the left (hidden by the post of perdola is old grape that grows on perdola so i can't fill whole left area, but I want to remove grass in front because i need to do a path to my new greenhouse across this piece of lawn. I was thinking about some small bush like daphne (don't want to close window) on back and then something in front, i have one one-man rock that i can add to this area possible.

What direction does this face? Can you get another pic from a different angle 'cause I'm trying to figure out how you get in the greenhouse and how the pergola post fits in. Are you looking for formal, semi-formal or relaxed? You mentioned you do veggies - are there ornamentals you see locally that you like?

Thank you, growin.
A little bit more information. The place is in backyard, to the left of the window behind plastic wall there is an door to the house with a porch in front of it. From porch you can take a path under perdola to the veggie garden. I have another picture but it was taken before we put greenhouse. Strip where grass is removed outlines location of greenhouse. This strip is actually were door of greenhouse is. Future path(s) will go from under perdola to the path between house and greenhouse (greenhouse is parallel to the house and i already removed grass between house and greenhouse to create a path to the gate from backyard) and to the greenhouse door. Width of greenhouse (length from the stick to the end of strip) is almost 9'. Distance between greenhouse and house is 11'.
I am still not sure should i remove all grass, build path(s) and then plant something in spare space between existing path and path to the greenhouse door.
This is west side of house, opened to the south and west sun. My whole backyard (result of several years of my learning exercises in design and gardenning ) is done in relaxed style. I want to create something nice in this corner because it will be first that people will see when they enter my backyard gate and take path between greenhouse and house.
I like ornamentals that provide interest whole year and will not disappear for winter, something with foliage like sweet box "Humillis" that i have planted in frontyard but i don't know names of a lot of ornamentals that i see in some gardens (i grew in another country and English is not my native language, so i know names of veggies but mostly nothing from another side of gardenning).

Here is a piece from my frontyard, as you can see I can't do any combinations. Lonely sweet box and my favorite hens-and-chicks.

Hi brierGardener !!

Nice area for your imagination to go....lol

I would plant japanese maple like "orangeola" (they are small, not tall) as your highest point and then some grass like , let`s say miscanthus sinensis "gracillimus".

You can google , to see the colors, how they would play together and actually i would stick probably with those 2 only instead 3 (due to the size of the area)
You can decide , which one should be closer to the window, I would probably cascade them , means closer to window tree, then the grass.

Good luck , let me know, what you did decide anyhow, once you do, and make pics.

briergardener - walking up from the lower garden tonight and the first evening that the Daphne is in flower - just sneaks up on me every year! That scent is just magic - do stick to planting a Daphne in the area - I grow a couple of different ones, but Daphne Odora Aureomarginata I just couldn't be without. I am sure that Growin will come up with some heartthumping combinations to go with it. But please, stick to a Daphne as a must have.

Hmmmm, that's an idea - how about making this a scented area - leaving the windows open you could just fill the house with a lovely drift most of the year. You could even have some scented leaf plants that get brushed as you walk along the path to the greenhouse.

Thank you, girls, I'll wait if Growin will find time to offer some ideas. But scented area and some grasses sounds as a good idea.

I have bought daphne "Summer Ice" for this area and will buy couple small growing grasses later.
Waiting for a book to arrive, maybe i'll find some ideas there.
Any ideas what scented plants can go in this area that will have the same soil and water requirements as daphne?

Hmmm, what excellent news - I feel as if I want to say congratulations!

what about looking for a scented white violet? low growing, quite mat forming. spring blossom. and it would be quite nice to have the replication of white blossom.

would you consider growing a rambling rose either up a support or against part of the wall on a trellis? Or even better, a wisteria - now that is a wonderful scent - and it is mid to late spring, early summer.

For late summer - how about Gladioli Murielae. I love the scent of this beautiful white gladioli - each blossom has a nice burgundy blot in the throat. It is lovely. You will need to lift and store the corms each year - they are borderline hardy. But well worth the effort.

Exciting Brier, always nice to plant up a new space.

Laurie, you know of a lot of fragrant flowers!!! I think a rambling rose is a great idea as well, maybe some Heliotrope (an annual, but divine - the white one smells so good I can't even describe it, but the purple one is a close second!), and of course you could scatter some Alyssum seed and breathe in its delightful fragrance as well. I'll try to think of more, but so far that's it from my brain.

Sorry I have been absent. I have pics I took but need to process them. I got sick with Norwalk-like virus and am sorta recovered. I'll upload the pics which have some good ideas. Brier, I noticed you like sempervivums (Hen & Chicks) - ever thought of planting them in the Swans?

Growin - we missed you! Hope you're feeling better . . . sounds like a doozy!

Hi, Growin, sorry about catching bad virus, this is a very bad one. Hope you are better now.

I found these swans on garage sale last fall and planting them with sempervivums is on my mind. They don't have drainage holes, waiting if DH will be able to drill them or i will end up finding some small containers to fit inside.

Don't be in a hurry, i can wait when you find time. Thanks for not forgetting and take care.

O.K., yet another knuckle-brained question from me: Hen's and Chicks survive our winters? I'd love to stick some between my rock spaces.

This nice little combo is at one side of a walkway with Helleborus, Hebe, Heucheras and receives 3/4 light.

This combo has a variegated small Rhododendron, Hebe, variegated Daphne, and a few pots. It's casual and can change as you desire.

This little planting has a Stewartia monadelpha in the centre with a mix of Lonicera 'Baggescen's Gold' and Senecio (Brachyglottis) 'Sunshine' which make a very nice mix as they grow through each other. There's also Crane's Bill or Hardy Geranium that grows around the sides.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2007 11:10 AM

Growin! Welcome back!

Nice to have you back in the proverbial saddle, and great suggestions, as always.

Growin' - so nice to have you back. I was wondering where you were. Get better.

Oh, I like the idea of the heliotrope, especiallly the white - a good use for the first season with the greenhouse.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2007 7:46 AM

Estreya, I don't think you could kill Hens & Chicks if you tried (although I admit I've forgotten where Ridgefield is so don't know the zone, however, think they are about as tough as they come).

Growin, great combos again - ideas are just racing through my head!

Murmur, that's good to know. I'm definitely going to get some then. I'm 8a, according to the zone mappy thingie ... :)

You and I speak the same language - "zone mappy thingy" . . . yup, that's how I talk, too!!!

Delight your eyes to Squaw Mountain Gardens - specialists in Hen & Chicks http://www.squawmountaingardens.com/
So many to choose from. I was going to grow wreaths with them and also old windows with a pane missing and a few plants growing in it.

Wow! So many different kinds of chickies! And on sale too!

What a fantastic web site! And i quote, "These are mainly alpine plants so most species like a blanket of snow in the winter." And so many to choose from!

Can we all just collectively slather growin in grateful kisses?

"Wait!" I might still have that bug. I'm still a bit haggered. Make sure you check out the wreaths - could could start now and do a few for next Christmas.

Wow, I like your ideas, Growin. Thank you. I will show photo of this area later in season. And as estreya says grateful kiss for ideas and for the link (big tempation for me). I am still waiting for a book that you have recomment to arrive in mail. I hope to find there ideas to redesign other areas in my frontyard.

Last year i have removed all grass from frontyard and created rock garden (where my hen-and chick are playing), dry stream with tiny bridge and daylilies alley. But there is a big area in a middle that's waiting for some plants to give it life. Plenty of work for this summer.

Estreya, last winter and this one were the coldest with a lot of snow that i remember in our area, but hen-and-chicks appeared to be the most reliable plants in my frontyard. We shovelled a lot of snow this winter from driveway on area where they live and they appeared very happy when snow melted. I have good collection of them in ground and in pots, they are cuties. Stilll can't resist buying more or asking for one chick when i see something new somewhere. It's fun that can be started from one small chick.

I have to fix a little bit my cascading pot garden because one pot was kicked by winterstorm. This is a combo of two shallow wide pots filled with hen-and-chicks, one stands on a small stump and chicks are hanging from it to lower one that stands on a ground and filled with chicks too. There are hen-and-chicks growing on ground next to lower pot, all together looks nice. I lost summer picture, but can share with you later when i fix a pot.

Laurie, I like your ideas about scented plants. May i send a gratefull kiss to you? LOL

"Protector of the plants". I just had to add this little guy as the moss growing on him with his smug look is priceless.

Big smile here, Growin!!

He is adorable!

ewww, I think he is horrible - reminds me of our fox terrier (who I love and adore, and consequently get trounced by) - the gargoyle has exactly the look of our dog which we refer to as 'pissed-off-dog'. I get that look several times a day. He is the only dog that can actually say 'sheesh'. Fortunately, annoying him is half the fun of having a fox terrier, can't tell who is more annoying with squeaky toys, him or me. Me, I hope. I think I'll go find a squeaky toy and put it in my pocket - gets him every time. You think he would figure it out by now - but it just gets him everytime. Everytime - so good to know you can ryle somebody everytime. Gives a girl a purpose in life.

But what I really logged on about:

Two more for the underplanting of the daphne - Anomatheca Laxa www.joycreek.com/696-001.htm it comes in Red or White and Armeria maritima hflp.sdstate.edu/ho311/plant_list_5_2002.htm. Neither of these are scented, but I thought they might make a nice punctuation after the white of the daphne, especially if you were going to make this a primarily white bed (although that is my fantasy for it, not yours). Both are easy to grow, and from an early sowing, you can have blossom from seed first season. I like their strappy leaves, and small height will allow you to let them seed under the daphne as it grows larger. I also thought they might be good to use instead of grasses - both are evergreen with long blossom season. I am not sure that I would grow both of them in the same bed, but either will be a good companion. Both tolerate sun or shade, and both completely hardy. Actually, the Anomatheca would be nice as a contrast to the hens/chickens.

Laurie, I never would have guessed you are such a little dickens with your poor, innocent pup!!! LOL - how funny! I'll look at the link later, but need to get moving here or I'll be late for work!

Oh, those anomatheca's are lovely! I'm not really great at extrapolating the true nature of a plant from a close-up photograph, but am i correct that it's similar in size and shape to the muscari (as far as the foliage is concerned, i mean)? I LOVE muscari, so much so that i stuck a few by the front entranceway this past fall even though it's not in my "plan" to think about bulbs yet. Thank you for the suggestion - i'm definitely putting those on the list. :)

As for the gargoyle, i adore him! I don't find him to be the least bit petulant or menacing. He's deep in thought, is all, pondering life's vicissitudes. Now i want one of those too! :)

Does the list of wants ever end?

Laurie, thanks for suggestions. I actually have Armeria maritima (did not know the name) somewhere on property. Hmm, i can save some money by dividing it. Anomatheca's are nice too, i'll put them on my projects list.

No, estreya, list of wants never ends, but maybe when it ends then boredom comes.
Though I can't say that i want everything that i find adorable or lovely, gargoyle is adorable, but i don't want him, I need something more cheerfull to look at expecially on rain foggy days. I have a dream to have sunrise painted just on a fence in my backyard.

Is there a little shub called "pot of gold?" Wouldn't it be cute to have that srub at the end of a painted rainbow? :) Or maybe some golden roses?

O.K., i'll stop now ...

~~ giggles ~~

This message was edited Feb 6, 2007 10:35 AM

This message was edited Feb 6, 2007 10:36 AM

Oh my gosh, there IS a shrub called "pot of gold!"

http://ugatrial.hort.uga.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1314

:)

A couple of Cornus planted against the fence for background/winter affect would be a nice sunrise. There are some very strong coloured cultivars out there in yellow, orange, red. Put them against a rustic fence and it can get pretty bright for winter. You can also use them for winter floral arrangements.

Wow, that color is amazing. Those look like gingko leaves all dried up at the base of that plant?

Yes, they are. Check out these Cornus cultivars: http://www.springmeadownursery.com/plants_cornus.htm