Yes, I've never seen them used that way either...and they're impressive (they do winter over here).

I look at landscaping and plantings when we are in the car going somewhere, and I'm beginning to see how much nicer a planting looks when several plants are planted together, rather than a plant and a space, and a different plant and a space, and so on. There is nothing prettier this time of year than a large, solid planting of black eyed susans all in bloom at the same time.

I may need to rethink how I place my plants and also which ones look better in multiples.

Love your picture rouge. I would have never thought of using 4 o'clocks in a mass planting. The Cleome are used that way quite a bit in this area though. Together, they are really stunning.

Linda

Four o'clocks--one of the best fragrances in the garden--right along with magnolia, angel's trumpets and garden phlox.

next to my deck ... over the septic.. i have a 6 by 10 foot plot ... usually all 4 oclocks...

and since they open in the afternoon.. in season... the deck is wafted with stink .. good stink ... whn i sit out there in the evening ....

and it attracts the hummers ... [i used to wear an orange ball cap ... and the hummers would buzz my head thinking i was some giant orange flower .. boy .. that gets the juices flowing.. like some F16 in your ear ... lol ]

first time in 20 years... the seeds didnt winter over for me ...

also in the plot.. is annual poppy ... annual celosia ... and there used to be larkspur.. but come to think of it.. they were gone this year also ... hmmmm ...

so mass plantings can be glorious.. if you have the space ...

ken

As Ken said so perfectly mass plantings can be glorious.. if you have the space.

I so need an acre lot...sigh.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 11:03

Beautiful! And thanks for a great idea.

My mother always planted a long row of four o'clocks in front of her huge vegetable garden which was at the end of a corn field. They faced the road across from the house.

I don't remember the fragrance and didn't plant any this year. Will have to sniff them if I see any growing in a garden I visit.

It is my experience with my one plant a season 4 o'clock, that it invariably needs staking. And so I was surprised to see the above mass planting looking so neat and upright.

(I visited the same spot a few weeks ago and no 4 o'clocks, no cleome. A different set of annuals; it was fine but not as nice as the above).

Same boat as rouge21... years ago had planted some and they flop and lean on everything as they grew. Do have dwarf varieties? They do have the best scent out of the whole garden so maybe seeing this I will try again in dense packs.

Interesting enough, in zone 6 here... they seed down and start up in the spring in random places

I think if you grow them full sun and a bit drier, they're more upright. Not to say they can't get floppy even there though.

I don't remember my mom's getting floppy and the ones I grew were single accent plants that were not floppy but also not huge plants.

had planted some and they flop and lean on everything as they grew.

Here is our "Leaning Tower of Pisa" just tonight:

Planting Four Oclocks and Cleomes in a large area is very economical. Collecting the seeds in the fall and re plant new seedlings in the spring. The same with the larger Canas in the back ground. Here in southern Canada I dig up the Canas and winter them in the cold cellar. Its amazing how a few plants multiply so quickly. Nice photos rouge21_gw.

Good idea thanks for posting. I have several pots of them on the patio for fragrance. I usually bring the tubers in for the winter and I have been collecting the ton of seeds from them. I have yellow, pink, red and white.

Rouge, I think if you plant a lot of towers of Pisa close together, as in your first pictures, they would interweave and hold each other up.

Rouge, mine have never flopped like that. Does yours get enough sun? Is the soil too rich? Too much water?

Mirabilis 'Limelight' 2014 Perhaps this one is a dwarf 24" x 36". Years ago I grew some 'Broken Colors' which were over 3' tall.

One of the comments on DGarden from a FL person tells of pruning them to get thicker stem and bushier plant.

From reading at various sites it seems that flopping is a problem that many have noted.

(The foliage of the one in the picture above is kind of chartreuse...very nice)

mnwsgal, I have had floppy 'clocks whether or not they are in planters or in the ground. I always have it in full sun. They are healthy but invariably will lean lots. If there is ever a major wind/rain storm it will be kaput!

Here is one we had in the ground 4 summers ago. It was amazing!

I remember I had to kept lopping off side branches to keep it upright! I bet it was 3 feet in height and width:

That is a beauty. Your pruning of side branches made for a nicely proportioned plant.

As you can see and know these plants take up lots of valuable full sun area. And so instead we went to planting them in containers. I guess it makes sense that I have never got a container grown 'clock to do nearly as well in such a medium. Oh well I still like having them.

Most things don't do as well in containers as planted in Mother Earth (for me at least).

Rouge it looks like you like formal garden style which would not lend itself to any wild plants. I plant so close together nothing has room fall over. I have more of a cottage garden style.

I think as the poster said if these were planted close together they would not fall over. I planted some on the patio in pots this year but I put them in the pot with other plants so they did not fall over. I found some knockout roses on sale they made a good companion.