...that is left behind when your bleeding heart has died back and been cut down? Any plants that will grow up and through it ? Do you just stick a pot in there? This BH is quite large and leaves a big space in the garden at this time of year. I am tempted to replace it but then I think of how welcome the plant is in spring and can't give it the heave ho for another year. Any suggestions?
I have Astilbes next to mine and wild geraniums. The geraniums send out flowers on long stalks which entwine with the BH and the Astilbe keeps the foilage 'mixed', when they flower they shift the attention away. I also have Solomon's Seal 'peppered' in the area. ☺
Mine is near my big-leaf hydrangea, which hides the dying foliage. Hosta should work nicely as well.
Funny. I was just reading about this very thing. Victor and WC have offered some excellent suggestions.
I like the hydrangea idea. There is a hosta and an early blooming DL in front of it right now, so the hosta is good and just blooming now but the DL is past it's prime and only adds to the emptiness look. Now need a new home some place for the DL. Found a likely suspect for hydrangea, this one might be nice. http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/985/index.htm What do you think? Good ideas thanks. :)
Looks nice to me. Never met a hydrangea I didn't like! Nice compact size and the fall color is a bonus. Might have to get it!
I have some mid-sized catmints
They're planted quite nearby.
They send up plumes of tiny blooms
When bleeding hearts do die.
Combined with D. exima,
A pink and bluish pair,
They tend to drift and fill the rift
You hardly know it's there.
Awesome Don!
I just ordered oak leaf hydrangea, Little Honey.
I like the hydrangea (and astilbe) suggestions. I bet I have room for one of those!
Hostas, too? Hmmmm, I need more hostas .....
If anyone want any Solomon's Seal, I have tons.
(There is definitely a catch 22 coming to visit this site; all these suggestions are great and getting them into my garden becomes a moral imperative!!) :-)
Another option I like is caladium.
I may have to amend the area where I have a BH to include some of these suggestions. Right now I have a Bear's Britches by it and some Montauk Daisies. I love all the suggestions so far, now to decide which to plant.
Great ideas people. More planning and lists is in order.
BTW,did everyone get the email from GC about the hosta sale? I am being good, no more plants until next spring. Really. http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.specials/index.htm :)
This is a great thread, funny I had the question just too slow to ask.
My BH still has green growth.
I was hopeing for some yellowing to mix with the red leafed plants.
Hostas are a good idea.
Thanks everybody.
Here's mine being overtaken by the hydrangea.
I have dahlias in front of mine - odd isn't it ;)
I didn't know you were a fan of dahlias!!
LOL AL, whodathunkit!
Almost forgot, does the hydrangea have a name Victor? Its very pretty.
N0 - I inherited that one, Pat. It's big - about 6 ft high and wide. Inherited two of them.
I have large geraniums next to mine to kind of weave in the leaves.. Mine still have quite a bit of green, and I just can't bear to cut them down. My bleeding hearts get very tall where they are, about 5 feet.
I can't see my dying bleeding hearts for the weeds!
That's one approach! You can also grow Dicentra formosa and not have the die-back at all.
Haven't the weeds been horrible this year, with all this rain?
Yes!
I planted coral bells all around mine... but that won't make up for the height... sorry I have nothing other than a pot
They aren't too hard to plan for since they bloom so early and have good height.
This is one I have at my neighbors - I have that blue combo for that other thread here too.
I think we all ought to join "Lovely Weed Club".
I'm having weeds for lunch - lamb's quarters and purslane with volunteer tomatoes!
YUUUM, yum.
I toss Marigold seed around the tomato and pepper plants at planting. The young Marigolds are good as fillers later in the season.
ngam: Why'd you have to include that link to the hosta sale? Too tempting. I have been spending a spending on plants this year. My gardens are really coming along. I think I'm making up for the fact that I didn't spend much last year.
Good ideas, everyone. I have 2 big empty spots from my bleeding hearts, too. Gotta fill in with other stuff.
Karen
NFD, always glad to help. :) If we could get a couple of decent days in a row I have a few things to plant still too. Also a lot of things I want to move about this fall. Sounds very reasonable to me, if you were very frugal last year, not so bad to get a few extra things you really need. Totally reasonable. :) Enjoy.
I tend to think of the 'I need to purchase for the garden' list as a Prime Directive, too! And I had worked really hard at avoiding any Garden Crossing links for fear of adding to my already way too long list. Alas! I peeked last week at GC. What a great website!! And now my list is ever so much longer!
ngam, just found this thread! I had the same problem with my Bleeding Heart - the blank spot by the middle of summer! Wonderful ideas here...this is how I resolved my "problem" :) A couple of years ago I realized I really needed to find something to plant as a 'cover up' to fill the void. Finally came up with the idea to plant Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/722/) around the Bleeding Heart and it has turned into a perfect combination :) The Begonia always come up late and just in the nick of time when it's really starting to take off the BH is finally dying back. Then by late August the Begonia is in full bloom, so I have blooms in the spring and fall in the same spot!
Thanks for the idea.
My BH's are still green.They don't die out.(this is another issue entirely)
They go with everything else when it freezes in late Sepy. Maybe being in Z6 makes the diff.
I will apply that method to other plants like where the bulbs are in spring.
Thanks JoAnn
That's very late, Jo Anne! Mine are all yellow - except, as I said earlier, for the formosa ones, which stay green and keep blooming all summer.
these were transplanted this may.
Divided a huge one .The two divisions are at 1:00 and 3:00
Original plant was 20 years old and had roots the size of overgrown zuchinies,there are still plantlets comming up where I dug the original.
Wow! I did not know there were hardy begonias. I will have to try some.
Karen
