The texture is different, but perhaps you should consider Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Mountain Mist'. Lovely scent when in bloom, pretty silver-blue foliage the rest of the time. Will be happy with only morning sun.

Other suggestions:
Athyrium 'Ghost'--again, not the large-leafed texture, but the color and clumping habit should work.

Pulmonaria 'Excalibur'--more the texture you are looking for. Excalibur is the "whitest" of the pulmonaria I'm familiar with.

I'm in zone 7b...but I checked, and the plants listed above should be hardy where you are.

melanie

Hi mjsee,
Thank you for your suggestions, particularly the Pulmonaria, which looks like a wonderful possibility.

You are welcome. Please be certain to check with a local independent nursery (NOT Slowes or Home Despot) to be certain that the pulmonaria is hardy where you are. I haven't gardened in zone 5 in 28 years.

I love them, but I think the Athyrium and Pulmonaria are going to hate what I imagine to be a full sun position, especially dry. I think the Caryopteris would be wonderful, if cut down every year to limit height. Even if not, it arches rather than staying upright.

Alternatively you could contain the Stachys. A wide shallow planter might work, or a box sunk into the ground. Another option, though, would be artemesias, but I think those wander too.

KarinL

Swanoir,

The pictures are wonderful, the gardens look terrific AND THAT VIEW - spectacular! The lamb's ear looks so good there. Can you not find an effective way to get rid of the stinkin' earwigs?

You have done an outstanding job. Lovely lovely.

Rosie in Sugar Hill, GA

I agree...I like the stachys. Is it really that icky?

RE: the pulmonaria...
How many hours of sun/day does that area get? My pulmonaria are (suddenly) getting four-five hours (maybe more) of sun/day and are managing. (We took down a couple of trees.) Granted, it's all morning sun...but it's also zone 7b AND we've had quite the dry spell the last few weeks. 1.5 inches of rain in the last two days, but still...

mjsee: Will do. This area gets sun until around 2pm and the temperature in Aug can get into the triple digits. Also, the trees that provide shade are cottonwoods (ugh!) and since they are in the lake from March to July, they are slowly falling over. So at some future time, there could be more sun.

karinl: Thank you for that feedback about the Athyrium and Pulmonaria. As mjsee suggested, I will research that by talking to the nursery people who actually planted most of the plants in our landscape. So you think the Caryopteris would work better than the Mockorange?

I am actually laughing about the artemesia comment. We have three different types and it has been a battle to contain them. As with the Stachys, DW and I had several "discussions" about them and we compromised. Three of them were exiled to the side of the house and I will divide the rest in fall, but they will stay. Personally, I think there is too much aggressive foliage in the landscape and not enough flowers and grasses. I love the hostas and ligularia we have planted, so I am not adverse to foliage, but the Stachys in particular has been pretty high maintenance and rather thugish in behavior. If you look closely at Patio 4 pic, you can see where I already moved one of this brood off to the another area.

rosiew: thank you for your gracious complements. Behind the Stachys is my wife's vegetable garden, and the earwigs are really tearing it up. So even she wants to move them.

Well the only Artemesias I have are anemic specimens in a pot that don't get enough sun, but I have heard from others that they wander. Personally I have a phobia about travelling plants and anything that comes with even a suggestion of a reputation goes into a container, never the ground. I even have trouble tolerating Irises. But you seemed to be concerned about keeping a similar look. Which is why the Caryopteris would work (also flowers when little else does) and the mock orange (Philadelphus I presume) would not - it's a tall rangy shrub in my experience, and not an attractive one either.

If you're open to changing the look... hmmm. How about Hosta plantaginea? This is a sun-loving species hosta with quite wonderful fragrant flowers - not everyone's taste in flowers, as they do bloom sequentially and there are often dead ones on the stalk, but a magnificent foliage plant that might take that amount of heat - you could ask on the hosta forum. And having mentioned irises, how about them?

If you're open to changing the look, the options multiply like Stachys!

KarinL

karinl: lol! I am in awe of your skill with plants, which apparently extends to the metaphorical level as well. ;-)

I actually like the stachys there a lot, but I can see why you might not want all the earwigs. (Tho you are making me nervous about my relatively new stachys - but mine is a more cottage-y garden, so I hope I can deal with the spreading.)

The first plant that occurred to me was achillea Coronation Gold. I hope I'm remembering the right variety - I had it at my old house and it wasn't a spreader. It has grey foliage, and yellow flowers, so it fits with your color scheme. It doesn't need much water, and is definitely hardy to zone 5. It is flat-topped in form, so wouldn't block your view.

Another idea was lavender. The foliage is also grey in color, doesn't need much water, and is fragrant. It is a little trickier to get established - I had Lavender Munstead, and the ones that I moved never got as happy as the one that stayed in the same spot for years.

I think your best substitute for stachys might be a hardy geranium. Many to choose from, but the bigfoot geranium, Geranium macrorrhizum, and its cultivars might be best because of its thick weed suppressing foliage. One downside is that you may have to buy more of these than you would of a more spreading groundcover. Fun plant. Leaves have a lime soda or some say apple scent when crushed. You will get some decent fall color. One variety is variegated. I love these cranesbills. Truly these are great plants. Your only problem will be whether you like the flower color with your scheme. I find mine finish blooming before my coreopsis gets started, so that may not be a problem.

You might also consider Heliopsis 'Helhan' a.k.a. Loraine Sunshine. Yellow bloom. Mine receives compliments for its leaf varigation, which is what made me think of this oneÂ

I also think that the Hosta plantaginea idea would work. I pretty much limit myself to collecting fragrant hosta. All fragrant types trace their lineage to plantaginea. All rank very high for sun tolerance and really need sun for best fragrance. Many fragrant hostas have been Hosta of the Year--'Stained Glass', 'Guacamole', 'So Sweet', 'Fragrant Bouquet'. Hummingbirds love them, too! And my plain green ones get nearly full sun without missing a beat.

And for something sort of opposite to hosta, have you given any thought to sedem? I'm just beginning to explore these guys, and am sort of lusting for a dark purple foliage variety--either 'Black Jack' or 'Postman's Pride'. As with most perennials, I'm sure they'd work best in a mass planting. Could really pick up on purple flowers and make any gold or yellows really stand outÂ

Hope that helpsÂ

Wellspring

irene: you have wonderful instincts. A little further up, on the same border, we do have a patch of Achillea - 'Moonshine', I think, along with 'Paprika'. And almost right across from the Stachys we have Lavandula x intermedia ÂProvenceÂ. Both of these have done well in our garden and it is certainly an intriguing idea to pull them through to this area.

wellspring: like irene, you too have excellent instincts. It is impossible to see clearly but in the picture Patio 1, against the house and between the two stairs, we have a patch of Geranium (and further down we have a patch of Hostas). It could tie in nicely to place either of these in the new spot, especially a different cultivar. I will also consider the Heliopsis, which are beautiful.

lol! Yes, we have considered sedum - we have some sitting next to the Stachys so you are right on track there. I adore dark purple foliage - we have Sambucus Black Lace and Ligularia in the front - so I appreciate that suggestion since I wasn't aware that there were dark purple sedums.

I just wanted to say to everyone who has participated in this discussion how grateful I am for all your insights and excellent suggestions. I realize how busy we all are, so I am very appreciative of your time and expertise.

I agree with the other that said that this is a very nice looking planting. You have gotten a lot of good suggestions. You want something low that will contrast with its neighbors. Since your planting seems to be heavily weighted towards perennials, how about something like spreading junipers?

- Brent

Hi Brent,
Thank you for the suggestion. Though we do have junipers at our clinic, and enjoy them, the local fire dept has suggested that local homeowners not put junipers within a 15 to 20 foot radius around their house. I guess they can be a fire hazard when they are not irrigated properly.

And you are right, I have gotten a lot of good suggestions. Thanks!

I'm sorry but I don't see a problem. As the lambs ears spread - just pull out the ones you don't want. Based on the pics - I would not remove any of them yet.

Caryopteris in zone 5 will die back each year. They are a bit slow to get going in the spring, so you will have an empty spot for a while each year. I have one now that is spreading around even more than lambs ear. Not sure if it is seed or underground runners.