Archive for the ‘Garden Design’ Category

When it comes to my favorite shade plant, Brunnera ‘Jack Frost ’ PP13,859 easily comes to the top of my list.  Few shade perennials have such interesting silver foliage through the season.  This clump forming plant is  a versatile deer proof groundcover that is widely adaptable to numerous shade garden designs such as woodland settings, near ponds – even containers.

I can’t think of a more beautiful plant to be named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2012 than Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’.

The foliage resembles crackled porcelain.  In the shade garden it creates a shimmering silver contrast against other companion plants.

Here are a few Garden Design Tips to make Brunnera work for you your shade landscape.

Container Gardening.  This is an easy shade container plant!  I like using big pots when it comes to containers. Keep pots consistently moist.  In the event plants wilt or the foliage begins looking tatty, simply trim off old foliage and new fresh foliage will emerge later.

Transition or Filler Plant.  Brunnera is a delightful shade plant in garden design to transition or fill in between two large shrubs or perennials.  This gives a wonderful flow to the garden.

Pair the gorgeous  Brunnera as an under-planting to  red Japanese Maples. To extend bloom time in the garden pair Spring blooming Brunnera  with summer flowering Hydrangea.

Combine Brunnera with narrow leaf Hakonechloa and radiant yellow Heucherella Stoplight

Dark Foliage Plants.  You can really make dark-leaf Heucheras, Red Coleus or other dark foliage plants pop with color when combined with silver Brunnera. Dark and light foliage plants pair well in garden design.

Leaf Shape Combinations. The heart-shape foliage of Brunnera contrasts with narrow leaf forms of  shade Ornamental Grasses such as  of Hakonechloa or Carex.   I love combining Brunnera with with soft, airy-texture of Ferns.

Have Sun? Plant on the east side of the house, near a large boulder or large plant . Anywhere you can find shade from the afternoon sun.

Brunnera is such a terrific shade plant. I sincerely hope you included it in your garden design plans if you haven’t done so already!

More info:

How To Grow Brunnera

Brunnera Jack Frost – Where to Buy

“Good things come for those who wait….”

My admiration for Baptisia took a couple of years to develop.  It certainly wasn’t love at first sight since  first year plants were spindly and I thought it was never going to amount to much. The second year  this sun perennial started to take off and I began to see its merits both as a drought proof flowering perennial and its shrub-like habit.

Garden Design with Baptisia

Baptisia is worth a place in any garden.  Here’s why:

1)  Baptisia helps anchor the back of the border.  It is an excellent choice as a small shrub alternative due to its size, shape and some pretty spectacular foliage that stay attractive all season.
2) No serious insect or disease problems.
3) Seldom bothered by deer.
4) Drought proof once established.
5) Maintenance –  Easy – Just cut back in fall or spring

Stunning lupine-like violet-blue flowers in spring are loved by butterflies

More on Baptisia

• Baptisia grows 3-4 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
• Hardy perennial – Zone 4-9
• Thrives in full sun to part shade
• Stunning, violet-blue lupine-like flowers in late spring
• Plump seeds pods turn charcoal black when ripe and can be used in dried arrangements
• Prefers a moist, humus soil
• Needs good drainage
• Develops deep taproots – not for the serial plant mover – best to leave alone.
  

  The dried seed pods of Baptisia lend themselves to craft projects & dried flower arrangements

I like the fact it won the prestigious 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year award.  There’s a lot of new flower colors that are rocking the garden world. I personally love an old fashioned variety called  B. australis because there is so little true blue perennial flower color.  This is a true beauty of a garden plant in or out of flower  providing interest, color, and structure  from spring-fall in the perennial garden.

Find out more about Baptisia

One of the most frequently asked questions we get from fellow gardeners is what are the best, fastest growing, and most colorful groundcovers for sunny locations.

Well, here’s 4 of my favorites that fit the bill!

Delosperma cooperi – Ultra hardy, extremely fast growing and a dazzling display of brilliant 1″ pink flowers all summer long!

Sedum Angelina – Vivid yellow foliage thrives without water for weeks on end! Rapidly forms a colorful matt up to 2′ across. Perfect along hot asphalt driveways where it shines!

Sedum Voodoo – Another vibrantly colored and highly drought-proof Sedum. Voodoo has wonderfully dark red foliage that remains showy from spring thru frost. Dark pink-red flowers top the plant in early fall.

Aster Wood’s Light Blue – This is a great groundcover that puts on a burst of much-needed blue flowers in the fall. Each plant is covered with 100’s of azure-blue flowers that are visible from 300 feet away!

So, there’s my top picks for ultra-hardy, fast-growing, & colorful groundcovers!

Here’s a  garden plant combination for the shade garden that is a real eye-catcher!

Hostas are a terrific shade perennial to use as a foreground planting to flowering shrubs such as Hydrangeas.

The large rounded Hydrangea flowers play well against the delicate, lacy creamy white flowers of Goatsbeard or Aruncus.

Aruncus is an imposing upright shade perennial that thrives in a moist setting.    It grows up to 5 feet tall.  I like using Aruncus to give height in my shade garden and often will use this perennial in place of a shrub.

Astilbe Visions is one of the most FRAGRANT groundcovers that thrive in shade and moist soils.  Graceful, colorful raspberry flowers create a bold statement in midsummer growing 15″ tall.

Delightful when planted in groupings near a walkway where you can really enjoy their fragrance.  I love to combine spiky Astilbe with bold leaf Hostas here in my former Michigan garden where they make a wonderful contrast.  When not in bloom Astilbe makes a superb carpet of elegant green foliage which nicely bridges my larger Hosta plants keeping the weeds at bay while filling in the garden.

After flowering you can trim down the flower stalks or leave them for winter interest.  I’ve grown a wide number of Astilbes over my gardening years, and Visions remains one of my favorite for ease of growing, fragrance, colorful flowers and attractive foliage.