How to design perennial gardens for both sunny and shady locations; which plants to use for both plus tips on where to get great garden lovers' catalogs.
Most of us who are blessed with a bit of ground to call our own have dreamed of having a lush and beautiful garden. You can endure the drudgery of planting an endless series of short-lived annuals or, with not much more effort, use perennials and enjoy their familiar colors and fresh green leaves year after year.
Planning is the key here. First, map out the shape of your beds and incorporate organic material such as well-rotted manure, compost or leaf mold into the soil. Both clay and sandy soils will benefit from this addition. When you buy the compost, pick up a few bags of mulch, such as wood chips. This will make your beds look very tidy, cut down on weeds and hold in moisture.
Watch your purposed planting areas during the course of a day. Does the sun shine on that spot all day, or do you need to choose plants that will thrive in shade? (If it's early spring, be sure to keep in mind any trees that will screen out the sun once they're in full leaf.) Keep your climate in mind; you'll need to consult with a nursery as to which plants thrive in your "zone". The plants I'll be discussing do quite well across the board.
Now to the fun part, choosing the plants. For a really abundant look, work from back to front, starting with the tallest plants. In a sunny garden, paeonia (peonies), of which there are 33 varieties ranging from 18 inches to 3 1/2 feet tall, will make a gorgeous backdrop. The flowers of the peony are from 3 to 5 inches wide and appear from mid to late spring into the early summer; the rest of the season you'll enjoy their handsome foliage. They do best in moderate climates; they don't thrive where the summers are torrid. In the hotter climates, panicum or switch-grass will serve nicely as your tallest plants. It'll grow from 4 to 6 feet high and provide masses of feathery greenery, with green to pink flowers in late summer.
Echinacea (coneflowers) reach 2 feet in height and have long-lasting purple to deep pink flowers. Achillea (yarrow) are a most hardy plant, with 3 inch flowers in the Moonshine variety, rosy red if you choose the Fire King, or double white blooms with the Pearl type.
Campanula (bellflowers) range from dwarf to 3 feet high. In a rich, well-drained soil, it will produce blue to lavender blooms the whole summer and well into the fall.
You're probably familiar with chrysanthemum, wonderful cutting flowers that grow from 1 to 2 feet tall. There's a huge variety to choose from...Oxeye, Shasta, Moon, or Marguerite.
Marigolds (calendula officinalis) are actually an annual but will re-seed themselves every year. They provide a spicy-smelling, 18 to 24 inch mound of yellow-orange color.
You might think that daylilies (hemerocallis) are always orange, having seen hordes of them blooming along the road, but they can be found in white, red, pale salmon, and nearly pink. They're a very easy plant and will provide lots of dividends when you divide the clumps at the end of the summer.
Salvia, a foliage plant with spikes of violet-blue, will add a beautiful silver, purple or red tint to your garden. The sage variety will also provide an lovely smoky aroma.
You'll need some low-growing, spreading plants for the border. Alyssum, with yellow flowers, or anemones (which will do well in sun to partial shade), that range from spring to fall blooming single to double blossoms, dark blue to pink to white, will finish off your sunny perennial garden nicely.
In shady area, your choice of flowering plants is a bit more limited. Digitalis (foxglove), uverlaria (merry bells or bellwort) and pulmonaria (lungwort) will do well there. Purple foxglove will grow to 5 feet, grandiflora or "Big Merrybells" reach 2 feet in height and have bell-shaped lemon-yellow flowers from mid-May to mid-June. Lungwort (pulmonaria) has spotted evergreen foliage that sets off blue spring flowers that turn pink.
Hosta are my plant of choice for shady areas. Their many different leaf colors provide cool color from spring "˜til fall, with no fussing. Frances Williams, at maturity, are a 3 feet by 4 foot, 18 inch clump of blue-green leaves with yellow edging. Gold Standard, 3 feet tall with pleated gold leaves edged with blue-green, has sweet-smelling lavender flowers in August, as does the Hosta sieboldiana (Elegans) and the Hadspan Blue. The Elegans and the Hadspan both have intense blue foliage.
The Piedmont Gold, 24 to 30 inches high, has pleated gold, heart-shaped leaves with white flowers. The Royal Standard type mounds its light green foliage up to 2 feet.
For a lovely ground cover that will set off your other plants, consider Vinca minor (periwinkle) or Viola odorata (sweet violet), Both produce tiny blue flowers in the spring; the sweet violet's are strongly scented.
To order fine plants, bulbs or seeds, catalogs are always fun. Akin' Back Farm, Amber Wave Gardens, with a great selection of ornamental grasses and hosta will be pleased to send you their catalogs, and Bluestone Perennials, who ship more than 3,000,000 plants every spring is also a great source.
For additional color, you can tuck bright groups of annuals here and there amid the perennials, changing them out as the season progresses. With or without them, your perennial garden will please your eye and your spirit for years to come.
