Eric_oh - Nigella in Upstate NY - they bloom for about a month in midsummer (June-July), then form their balloon-shaped seed pods. They reseed freely, and their seedlings form a fuzzy green carpet in the fall, overwinter without trouble, and grow on in the spring. Their foliage and seed pods look scruffy (totally dry) by September, so I pull them out then, and sprinkle the seeds where I want them (or harvest them to share). I have three mixed borders in my yard (suburbia, but a nice little lot bordering a wooded ravine). The widest border (full shade under hemlock trees for half its lenghth) is about 12 feet deep by 75 feet long. The others are both about 9 feet deep by 30 feet long. I wish they could be deeper, but then I'd have no lawn and the kids would have no place to play, LOL - they were unhappy when I took over part of the back yard for an island bed the last two years, so I'll be shrinking that bed this year to give them a little more room. SO, the point of this is that I've had to keep the shrubs in proportion to my smaller mixed border depth. I can only dream of a border that's 30' by 90' - that's almost my entire yard, LOL! In a small yard I have different issues than if I had a large lot. For instance, I can't use a full-sized lilac by the sidewalk (it would block the line of sight down the road from the driveway - a safety issue), so I planted lilac 'Wonderblue,' a "dwarf" that should max out at 6 feet tall. Nice plant, gorgeous flowers. And, my neighbor might not appreciate having a forest planted on the property line, so I have to be respectful of her view, too. Fortunately, she likes looking at my garden, and doesn't mind the border shrubs at all. The backbone of that front border is a mix of five shrubs: a tall lilac nearest the house ('Krasavitsa Moskvy'), which I'm training to be more tree-like and vertical than bushy and spreading; a butterfly bush ('Plum Purple,' dies back most years, stays 4-6 feet tall/wide), rose of sharon 'Blue Bird' (very vertical, self seeds like mad though), philadelphus/mock orange 'Virginal' (again, more vertical than spreading), and then the 'Wonderblue' lilac by the sidewalk. In front of those is a mix of perennials and annuals: peonies, tall bearded and siberian irises, daylilies, white echinacea, a spiny acanthus, pennisetum alopecuroides, culinary sage (makes a nice shrubby, furry texture), chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China,' Stokes asters, plumbago, rose campion, nigella 'Miss Jeckyll Blue,' alyssum, sempervivums, snapdragons, a campanula (from a garden swap - hopefully it will bloom this year; it seems to be a bit invasive and might have to be moved), nicotiana 'Lime Green,' and I'm sure I've forgotten something. I wish I had a good full-length picture of the border, but it's still young - only three years old now, so it's a work in progress. (These pictures are all PD - pre-digital camera. I'll be sure to get better pictures this year.) This is the only overview picture I have of it, from May of 2005, right after heavy rain caused the retaining wall to fall over into the border - AAACCKK! It looks much better now, really. This is the shady end of the longest border. You can't see in this photo, but I've included two Kalmia (mountain laurels) that should eventually give some nice form. At the back of the border, beside the house, is a doublefile viburnum - amazing foliage and delightful flowers. Again, I'm having to manage its spread a bit - I planted it several years ago, then realized it would get wider than I anticipated. The rest of the area on the left of the path is filled with hosta, lady ferns, variegated solomon's seal, pachysandra, two rhododendrons at the back by the fence, toad lilies, lamium 'Hermann's Pride' and 'Chequers,' a dwarf fothergilla shrub, and in the summer with impatiens. I could probably have gotten away with having NO shrubs and only perennials in this area if I really wanted to, but in the winter it's a straight swatch of barren mulch without the shrubs to break it up. The front (sunny) end of the long border. It's got a backbone of rose of sharon (2), rose 'Roseraie de l'Hay,' lilacs 'Andenken an Ludwig Spaeth' and 'Blue Skies,' rose 'Blaze,' a mugo pine, and an unknown rose (I think it's rosa multiflora, planted by a bird - I have to manage it diligently to keep it in bounds, but I love the sprays of white flowers and its tiny hips). That bed includes tall bearded irises, peonies, pennisetum alopecuroides, salvia 'May Night,' sedum 'Autumn Joy,' aster 'Blue Bird,' knautia, stachys byzantina, an unknown pink aster, daylilies, thrift, geranium 'Brookside' (an incorrigible flopper/spreader, but great flowers), yarrow 'Moonlight,' echinacea, hosta 'Minuteman,' clematis 'Duchess of Albany, climbing one of the rose of sharon bushes), white valerian, alyssum, and others, underplanted with clusters of spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips, and iris reticulata). This border has the fewest annuals of any of my garden areas. The reason for the dense planting of shrubs at the back was at first practical rather than aesthetic: the heavy planting (supposedly) keeps the neighborhood kids from riding their bikes through that area in the winter. . . . Laurel

K, I will share with you which of my plants took the weather in stride. We share the same neighborhood so that factor alone may be extremely helpful in some of your decision making. My yard is full sun, south facing. All plants are on drip system, and I will hand water new plants as needed. The area is rather small compared to most GW people, but we know what lots are like in our town. These are my favorite and most successful. Easy to find at Annies or HD. Abelia "Kaleidoscope". Gorgeous small shrub with green/yellow/red leaves. Penstemon "BOP" Favorite shade of purple, blooms much of year. Cuphea "mickey mouse". From Annies, this shrub is huge (4x5) and blooms all year. Cold knocked it out, I cut it way back, and now regenerating like crazy. Lobelia laxiflora "Mexican Cardinal flower" Mine get huge, tons of flowers/hummers. Cut back in winter to control size. Uruguyan Firecracker plant. Mentioned earlier, this one is a winner. Fortnight lily. I know, a parking lot plant, but in the right setting, it is like an iris that blooms all summer. Others that work so well: Yellow lantana, gaillardia, bidens, camomile, phormium, daylily, gaura, pineapple sage, variegated hebe, lavender, coreopsis.

Thanks Actually it was the High Country Gardens catalog that prompted my question! I was looking at all the wonderful pictures, and it seemed that everything I was interested in was zone 5. THEN I noticed that they were in New Mexico, no wonder everything was zone 5 or warmer. Got to thinking, if there were any places from up here with nice catalogs I could browse through, and actually buy stuff that is supposed to grow here! I know for some of you guys down in the lower part of the state, zone 5 things will sometimes make it. Up here I am on the edge of zone 3, and I really don't want to waste time and money on things that are marginal. I will check out some of the other suggestions. I already have the ambergate catalog, not many photos, but a nice selection. Thanks Jenny P

I see lots of wonderful suggestions for perennials and I was hoping I could add something to the conversation. I love viburnums for a lot of reasons, but even in my harsh climate there are many types that do really well in slightly or medium shaded areas. In your area (where I grew up and miss it often!) you pretty much can have almost any type of viburnum you want and it'll thrive. There are so many cultivars out there and many are wonderful. I found this little gem- which would grow well in your area but not mine so I'm going to live vicariously through you right now! I know that viburnums are known usually for their blooms, fruit, and fall color. This one here seems to be a winner in new growth and evergreen foliage. Let it sort of grow without a lot of trimming and I bet it'll help add a backdrop to your new perennial bed that will have the look you're looking for. Here is a link that might be useful: Viburnum Handsome Devil This post was edited by pinusresinosa on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 8:01