What's your favorite perennial/small shrub?

11 years ago

I'm looking for easy, inexpensive, and beautiful plants for an ornamental border outside our community garden. My personal favorite is catmint. What's yours?

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Comments (5)

peaches20
11 years ago
Hi,

You should look at the ieta little henry shrub -- it only gets about 2'and gets pretty white spiral flowers and leaves change color in the spring. I've been able to find them at home depot.

Nancy
marquest
11 years ago
- Purple Smoke Bush - Cotinus coggygria
- Carpet rose bush
- Sambucus Black Beauty & Black Lace
- Peony although they only flower in the Spring they are low maintenance and the leaves are a pretty small bush.
- Clematis Rooguchi - This grows as bush and blooms all summer.

I like colorful bushes that give color vs flowers because they are fleeting.
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Wonbyherwits, judging from the photo you posted i would say you have a very keen eye as well. I think the trick for me is useing plants that do well in my conditions and understanding there growing habits and mature size. I think experience is the best teacher in my case. I have no special talents as a gardener other than a deep love of plants. I've been useing the same plants (10 yrs.) and understand what thay do. Thanks for your kind words. I googled herbaceus borders "images", there are a lot of inspirational border pics. This is the 1st year i've started back working on my borders. I took the last 7yrs building and understanding my antique and shrub rose collection. Its good to be home again. Perhaps we should start another thread discussing combination and heights etc.........mark
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Carol, I thought the same thing ... Trillium. Bleeding heats? all varieties Mayapple Virginia Bluebells Forget me nots I really like the Hac grass "all gold" violets Johny jump ups (a type of viola I think) Irish or scotch moss (nice) a very nice low to the ground bird bath always looks nice and just like Carol said Rocks and Driftwood Blue oat grass Ladybells (grows like crazy, can be restricted, and looks like a tall campanula that blooms for weeks the dreaded vinca along with snow on the mountain oh and the always increasing Lilly of the Valley, I finally got rid of mine, and then I found it creeping thru the fence from the neighbors (rock band house) and plenty of snakes to scare away the verman (hopefully eat them) LOL and dont forget the Dandelions!! They will grow with anything!! LOL Paul There is also a hardy orchid (mine has not bloomed and had it about 4 years now) there are many annuals that look really great with Hosta, Try the Purple alternanthera, Persion Shield, Crocosmia, Mona Lavender (blooms like CRAZY in the fall) Coleous and a lot of them, elephant ears (all varieties, give them a lot of water, they will get huge) and last but not least, all hosta will look great planted around a backyard pond or streambed or waterfall okay... I think that I am done
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I hope that interpreting 'perennial' loosely is OK. I have found Geranium 'Jolly Bee' is hardier than 'Rozanne', but both bloom all summer starting in early July. Type 3 clematis start blooming in early July and continue for at least a month, and for some varieties much more. I don't have all the names off the top of my head, but I know Ville de Lyon and Venosa Violacea bloom for more than 5 weeks. Clematis are vines, and type three clems get pruned to about a foot in late winter. My third plant is Hydrangea 'Endless Summer', which started blooming for me in early July and is still blooming. Like G. 'Jolly Bee' it will still be blooming (based on 4 years) when frost hits. I also have a coppery double mum that starts blooming in late August and will bloom through several hard frosts until the ground freezes or it's covered with snow, so it's often still blooming in mid-October, later than anything else in my garden.
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Dzitmoidonc
11 years ago
Helleborus, all of them. Thousands of cultivars, all of them my favorites even though I only have 6. Along with being deer proof, you have an ideal plant for the Mid-Atlantic.

Hamamelis vernalis. The fragrant ones will blow your mind. Sweet smelling small yellow flowers in February. A fragrance you can smell a hundred feet away.

Callicarpa americana. Not as showy as its Asian cousin (C. dichotoma), but so dainty it more than makes up for it. Also, the purple on the berries lasts long after the ones on dichotoma have faded.

I have also developed a fondness for Viburnum triloba. A fairly coarse shrub, the panicles of white flowers appear very different when viewed by moonlight. (Those who have it should make a trip outdoors to see it by the light of the moon). The edible red berries hang on just about all winter because they have to ferment or something for the birds to eat them. The red leaves in the fall are not bad either. Humans can eat the berries, (mom made "cranberry" sauce at T-giving with them) you need lots of sugar, and don't smell your hands after you pick them.
Mike Larkin
10 years ago
Sedum are great plants for low care, full sun gardens.
No need to fertilize, the tall ones cut down at the end of the year, does not require too much water once established
So many to pick from - Sedum Angelina is a good pick.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Perennial
stimpy926
10 years ago
Fothergilla gardenii for it's 3 season interest of lovely bottlebrush flowers in spring, good looking foliage all summer, and blazing fall colors

Hydrangea quercifolia ditto but add winter peeling bark - best 4 season plant

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What's your favorite perennial/small shrub?

Comments (5)

peaches20

marquest

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Dzitmoidonc

Mike Larkin

stimpy926

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