The barren landscape of the still-sleeping garden gives a gardener the opportunity to design without distraction. Take stock of last year’s flower garden. Did the plants thrive or do poorly where they were placed? Did some plants not live well together? Did some shade or crowd out others? Did some fail to flower? Remembering the previous year will help to determine which plants should be moved and what sorts of plants ought to be added. The two most challenging areas of the garden are those in dense shade and full hot sun.
Almost everyone has a shady part of the garden, an area the sun simply doesn’t get to because it is overshadowed by a fence, a house or tall, mature trees. Shade offers many opportunities for the gardener to display plants with foliage and flowers in colors that may be washed out in full sun.
With their graceful fronds and varying shades of green, ferns are a good background choice for the shade garden. Ostrich Ferns are among the tallest of the ferns, growing up to 5 feet in height. Ferns are hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 8.
Hostas love the shade and come in a remarkable variety of colors. Bressingham Blue is one of the bluest-leafed hostas while Mama Mia has wavy dark green leaves with margins of golden-yellow maturing to pale cream. Clumps get larger with age and some attain a width of 4 or 5 feet. Hostas are hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 9.
Astilbe are another good choice for the shade garden. Their masses of feathery flower plumes in bright red, dark or light pink, lavender and white are a nice textural contrast to thick-leaved hostas. Astilbe light up the shade garden and can grow up to 4 feet tall. Astilbe are hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 8.
Growing 2 to 3 feet tall, Toad Lilies have orchid-like blooms heavily speckled in rose-pink, magenta or royal purple on a light background. Toad L:ilies have a graceful arching habit with elegant waxy leaves and are hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 9.
Shorter shade-loving plants can be nestled into the foreground. Lily of the Valley produces fragrant, tiny bell shaped flowers in white or pink with leaves of deep green or variegated with creamy white veins. They are hardy from Zone 2 to Zone 9.
Virginia Blue Bells bear thick clusters of porcelain-blue, bell shaped flowers that start out as pink buds then bloom to a darker richer hue. Virginia Blue Bells are hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 8.
Primulas are lovely foreground plants for the shade garden with thick clusters of small tightly packed flowers in a wide variety of colors. A relatively new variety of Primula, Red Cap, produces clusters of lilac pink flowers in a column topped with a cone shaped scarlet flower head. These plants are hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 9.
Some plants lend themselves to an area with plenty of sun and will thrive even in the heat of the day. Perennial plantings are preferred as annuals seldom have the chance to grow a sufficient root system to allow them to flourish in the hot sun. The following collection is recommended by Veseys.
Foxglove bears numerous heavy bell shaped blooms on a single spike. Flowers are usually downturned. The variety, Candy Mountain, is particularly prettyy as its candy pink flowerrs face upward from the bottom of the spike all the way to the tip. Growing up to 4 feet tall, Foxglove is hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 9.
Coneflowers are large daisy-like flowers with dark eyes. They come in a wide range of colors. The variety, Fatal Attraction, is a very intense ruby-red and a nice compliment to Candy Mountain. Coneflowers can grow over 3 feet tall and are hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 9.
Another striking choice for the sun garden is the Lily of Nepal from the Himalayas. Once established it can have as many as 6 blooms per stem. Growing up to 3 feet tall, Lily of Nepal boasts greenish-yellow flowers with mahogany-red throats. This rare species is hardy from Zone 5 to Zone 8.
Salvia bear spiky flowers on bushy plants. Salvia, May Night, is a rich lavender-blue all summer long. Growing up to 2 feet tall it is hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 8.
Cooling down this hot color collection are the drooping variegated yellow leaves of Golden Japanese Forest Grass. The golden leaves grow slightly upward then cascade downward and flow to the ground. Golden Japanese Forest Grass is hardy from Zone 5 to Zone 9.
When choosing garden plants keep in mind the mature size of each, both its spread and its height. Choose plants that flower or display colorful leaves at different times, making the garden look fresh and lively all season. Determine whether plants will creep or self-seed or might become invasive. Attention to these two most difficult areas of the garden will reward the gardener with flowers that increase in beauty year after year.
Most homeowners have probably spent hours looking at the different types of garden seeders. You may have even come across…
When it comes to vehicle lovers, cleaning their cars on a regular basis is essential to maintaining the paint job's…
Gas chainsaws are the perfect tool for a variety of outdoor tasks, including chopping up logs for firewood, clearing brush…
A home can be a daunting project, one that takes some time and energy to maintain. With hard work, determination,…
Today ginger is grown all over tropical and subtropical regions in Asia, in parts of Africa and South America, and…
Onions are one of the most popular vegetables in the world, and growing onions is a snap in the home…