Tall perennial for back of border

13 years ago

Can someone recommend a hardy, tall perenial for the back of a border. This particular bed is about 15 feet deep, I already have daylilies,lady's mantle, poppy, siberian iris, globe thistle, peonies,black-eyed susan,sedum autumn joy, lavendar and I have probably missed a couple. It is in full sun. We live on a farm so would like a country like garden.

Thanks for any help.

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

13 years ago

Depends on how tall is tall :-) Gillenia trifoliata (bowman's root) is a great and underused perennial that produces airy white flowers in summer and rather stunning fall foliage color but only about 3-4' tall. And I love Crambe cordifolia - it can reach 7' and blooms in a cloud of fragrant, honey-scented flowers similar to baby's breath. Other choices are perennial sunflowers, Inula magnifica, Rudbeckia laciniata, giant scabiosa (Cephalaria gigantea) and tree mallow, Lavatera hybrids. Some selections of cape fuchsia, Phygelius, will hit 5', bloom forever (and attract hummingbirds) but tend to sucker a bit aggressively.

Hollyhocks tend to suffer significantly from rust, especially in our area, but it doesn't seem to affect their ability to bloom and if at the back of the border the unsightly diseased foliage is not very visible. And Monarda 'Jacob Cline' has a reputation for being quite mildew-resistant and also is one of the tallest growing selections. But it too spreads quite aggressively if happily sited.

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Comments (16)

Embothrium
13 years ago
Delphinium
Salvia uliginosa
meganpnw
13 years ago
I have Jacob Kline Mondarda/Bee Balm in the back of my border. It blooms all summer long. Raspberry Wine is another bee balm that is fairly tall.
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I've been thinking about your bed, Kate, and while I love most of the suggestions here, it seems a lot of them would be much larger than what you are looking for. Like firespike...easily tops 8 feet in my yard and just as wide. Finding something that will stay between 2 and 4 feet is trickier. If there is enough light, salvia farinacea would be perfect. Gets about 2.5 feet tall, or a bit more, and nice and full. Loads of lovely blue flowers. Butterflies love it. If you want something a wee bit taller, rudbeckia triloba would work, but it won't get as many blooms there as it would in full sun. I think seaside goldenrod might be too tall. The plant, itself, stays about 2' feet, but the bloom spikes are often 6' to 8' high. I think coleus could be the perfect thing for height and color, but they won't pull in butterflies, unless you let them bloom. And I don't usually do that until the end of summer, when the bees just cover them. Plus some varieties really don't flower much at all, which is fine for most purposes, but not what you are asking for. I'm still thinking.............. Marcia
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Timmba's list of plants which grow well with Iris is very good. Here are some combinations, including some from that list, that I use in my garden which consists of mostly mixed borders. I love Iris and enjoy this forum, but do not have the soil conditions or space to grow many Iris, but maybe this will give you some ideas on the range of plantings that you can work Iris into. :~) I grow most of my Tall Bearded Iris in my daylily bed near the patio, which is one of the driest areas in my yard. There are two dozen daylilies in the bed, most of which are only 18-20 inches tall. With them I grow a Baptisia Purple Smoke (shrub size) and a topiary evergreen and several other shrubs for some structure, but most of the bed is kept low so that I can see out into the rest of the garden. The 1/2 dozen large Iris clumps are used for both color early in the season and as vertical punctuations in an otherwise fairly flat looking bed. Except for the baptisia, all the shrubs and daylilies were added to the bed first and were reasonably well-established (and well-watered as new plants) before I added the iris and other perennials. In addition to the Iris, there is one Walker's Low Catmint, a good sized grouping of May Night Salvia on one side, another of Caradonna Salvia for slightly redder blue purple on the other, and several winding patches of Red Baron grass along the path. Knautia Macedonica (which spreads like crazy), Guara Whirling Butterflies, & a variety of early and late hardy lilies are added here and there. None of these plantings need any supplemental water during the summer which greatly helps the Iris. The color begins in early spring with several large masses of Iris reticulata. I have had good luck with both Harmony and Pixie (both deep blues)in this bed but virtually no return from Iris danfordiae (a bright yellow). The Iris reticulata is following by other small bulbs such as crocus and then by the Tall Bearded Iris and Alliums. At this point the DLs, which are fairly small to begin with, provide a mostly green curved & strappy carpeting for the more upright Iris. The Alliums, Giganteum and Globemaster with their tall round orbs, mostly follow after the Iris, but there can be some overlap at times, so you need to be a bit careful with the colors here. The Daylilies begin in late June along with most of the other later perennials. The gaura and the short Red Barrons grass look their best in late summer and early fall. The Iris foliage stays pretty clean in this bed and adds a nice accent. As this bed turns the corner and becomes more shady I use a lot of Iris pallida for the creamy variegated foliage mixed in with the hostas and ferns. Any bloom on these I consider a bonus. This area also has several more patches of the early spring blooming reticulata and other minor bulbs, but also has a nice clump (variety unknown) of yellow and white Tall Bearded Iris on an outside edge - which surprisingly doesn't mind the part shade. In addition to these Iris, I grow many clumps of Siberian Iris in my shrub border in the lower (and wetter) yard and have a raised gravel bed which has 5 different clumps of dwarf bearded Iris (sold as Pumila group - whatever that means) that are doing quite well. These are grown with all kinds of early spring alpine type plants and some later blooming penstemons, dwarf gaillardias & tiny salvias. BTW, the biggest problem with growing Iris for me, besides a mostly wet clay soil yard, is fighting my way into those few areas where they can grow, to divide them. Hope this helps give you some ideas. Leslie
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meganpnw
13 years ago
Oops - monarda not mondarda
forster
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your response, yes I will try these, had bee balm some time ago and it got mildewy, will try again. Also, would like to try delpheniums.
tallclover
13 years ago
Hollyhocks
Eremurus

Both of these plants are great in the back border, when their foliage wanes, the flowers are stealing the show. Below is pic of one of my single flower hollyhocks at summer's end, and at least 12 feet tall. My eremurus or foxtail lilies reach about 7 feet tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Very tall hollyhocks
plantknitter
13 years ago
a couple more:
Campanula lactiflora
Verbascums
Filipendula rubra
Eupatorium 'Gateway'
Telekia speciosa
Thalictrum rochbruneanum

some sunflowers are perennial, or use the annual ones.
Embothrium
13 years ago
Plants with important basal leaves, like Crambe don't show or look well at the back.

I've grown the Gillenia for years, the fall color effect is like that of a deciduous shrub. Herbaceous peonies also tend to color noticeably in fall.
forster
Original Author
13 years ago
Wow, thanks for all of the great input, can't wait to take this list to my local garden centre and see what I think will work in this bed.
Like the rest of us in the Pacific Northwest, wish things would warm up and rain would subside, enough is enough. At least it makes the weeds easy to pull.....
PRO
George Three LLC
13 years ago
Valeriana officinalis. kinda fun giant plant. in part shade, it will kick over 6 feet here. it has a very very strong smell that you might love/hate. tosses up white blooms, thick foliage.

Here is a link that might be useful: nice picture here
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
Plants with important basal leaves, like Crambe don't show or look well at the back.

I guess that depends on your viewpoint :-) The leaves are of crambe are large and coarse looking and are always plagued by insect predation - hiding them behind other plants may be preferred, much like one tucks hollyhocks behind other, fuller plants to disguise the rust issues. It is the flowering of the plant that offers the major interest - I could care less about seeing the ratty looking foliage.
Embothrium
13 years ago
Hollyhocks, delphiniums etc. do not produce large basal leaves in a mound or rosette that is present when the plant is in full effect - and an important part of their impact. Putting plants with big leaves that sit on or come to the ground (crambes, hostas, daylilies...) behind other kinds without this feature produces an elephant in the room feeling, where the eye is drawn through the lesser or taller plant forms to the bolder or lower leaves behind. Such plants have too much "weight" visually to be at the back.

In front is the grand glaucous foliage of seakale

--Gertrude Jekyll

It's the same as the relating of shrub foliage textures in borders, a dumpy big-leaved rhododendron or hydrangea at the back of a planting sucks or pinches the visual flow to the back at that point. Such specimens are boulders in the flow of an informal bed.
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George Three LLC
13 years ago
on the other hand, a little bit of dissonance in the bed is good from time to time. occasional peeks to the back, occasional reverses in height order, etc etc.

cooking, music, gardening, its all the same. you gotta do something wrong every once in a while.
tallclover
13 years ago
I forgot to mention Orienpet Lilies, mine get about 6-7 feet tall, and are great performers and have perfume.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos: Orientpet Lilies -- Va Va Va Voom!
stolenidentity
13 years ago
foxglove. asiatic lily along with tallclover's suggestion. many happy returns from lillies!
cercis47
12 years ago
My two favorites are Veronicastrum and Persicaria polymorpha.

The Veronicastrum is tall and spikey, long lasting mid to late summer bloom. lavender, white or pink (Apollo).
Persicaria is a great plant but eventually will grow quite wide and tall, more shrublike,but nice throughout the summer and fall and not invasive. Definitely back of the border plant. I have 3 spaced in a 100 foot border and they really anchor the border.

Also like eupatorium Gateway -5-6 feet, also have more than one in my border.

All good suggestions in the forum. Good luck
Also like eupatoriam.

Tall perennial for back of border

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Embothrium

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