Pennisetum Rubrum is not that overpowering since it is an annual in our climate. It is a wonderful accent and provides a lot of bang for the buck.

Any ornamental grasses that would be a perennial vs having to replant each year but still can be kept under control? Will they reseed and I end up with babies spread through the bed?

Julia: The constant battle with our Bermuda Grass has always made me wary of ornamental grasses. There ARE many of them that are highly invasive by seed or rhizome in our climate. The only one I have personal experience with is Zebra Grass (Miscanthus Sinensis Zebrinus). I can testify that it does not reseed or spread rapidly in our clay soil. The problem you may find with any ornamental grass, aside from it being potentially invasive, is the bloom sequence. Many grasses bloom at the end of the season, so their blooms wouldn't be seen when your daylilies are in bloom. However if it's just the structure of the grass that suites you, then this wouldn't be a factor. I've seen daylilies and Miscanthus planted together in some commercial plantings and it looks good even without the grass blooms added.........Maryl

There
are plenty of choices! Choosing carefully is definitely the key to
avoiding ones that spread aggressively or seed badly. I am a big fan
of Ornamental grasses.

Would
there be an ideal height? Would you like winter interest? There are
many Miscanthus sinensis that have the “flowers” last all or most
of the winter. Most are in the 6' to 8' range, but some are shorter
at about 4'. Perhaps you have noticed these.

Since
the choices are many, narrowing down your parameters will really
help.

p.s Maryl - I am a slow typer and your post came up when I was typing.

I have Miscanthus s. Strictus which is the porcupine grass. It is almost the same but more upright. It is among my favorites! I just added one last year with the same horizontal yellow bands called 'Superstripe Blooms' that is only about 4' tall.

Thank you, the height I want to stay at is no more than 4 ft, deer resistant,not invasive and has color like the one mantis posted. When I google ornamental grasses images I'm overwhelmed with all there is but only a few seem to be northern hardy.

Russian sage is deer resistant and keeps lavender color for a very long time. Here is some Russian sage in the upper right behind the daylilies, it hadn't bloomed yet, grayish green foliage.

The great thing about the O. grasses is their resistance to deer. I live in the middle of 3 huge deer yards so I certainly appreciate the desire for plants that will not be attacked (says I who am a Hosta freak). lol! Have the deer ever eaten your Daylily buds?

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' is another favorite. The foliage always has a mix of green and red but, from July on it gets more and more red/burgundy. The inflorescence are like little red beads giving a lovely airy effect. The size is 31/2-4' tall, it never flops and is not invasive in any way. Unlike most other Panicums this one wants full sun.

I do realize that these are not the same sultry color as the Pennisetum but they are wonderful. Here is a link for other pics Panicum v. 'Shenandoah'

Haven't had too much of an issue with the deer. It seems when winter comes is when their hoof prints can be seen in some areas but during the season they tend to stay out in the fields . I really like the Panicum v. Shenandoah so that is on my list to find a source. I had thought of Russian Sage and wish I had added it to my order with the local grower.

We measured the front wall garden area yesterday which is where the focus will be this year. I have approximately 94 ft in length and 12 ft wide but can extend the width a bit more if I want. Took a list of all the daylilies in that bed which surprised me that I have over 40 in just that area. So only half will be placed back in along with the other perennials I'll be adding.

Appreciate the photos.

With those dimensions if you want to really have a statement plant I would highly recommend Persicaria polymorpha. It is large at 6' tall and wide but sometimes we want something large to anchor a bed of that size. It grows quickly but forms a tight clump. It is the white shown in the 2nd pic I posted peeking out from behind. It starts blooming in May as clear white and becomes creamy white as the season progresses, by Autumn it takes on pinkish tones. Here is a full pic of it.

The blue is Eryngium (Sea Holly) because I like the spiky flowers for contrast. Echinops (Globe Thistle) is another I like, again because of the high contrast in foliage and the spiky globes. Echinops 'Veitches Blue" is a compact variety.

I agree Echinacea is a perfect pairing for Daylilies. The one just starting is 'Magnus'. I will post more later.

How about butterfly bush or caryopteris? Caryopteris has bluish flowers later in the season, would look nice with yellow daylilies that seem to dominate the later season.

Sherry

Peren.all: If you look at the picture of the Bennett garden in the link I gave, can you tell what is the cloud-like plant among the phlox. It has a silvery, feathery, cloud-like flower.

mantis - Unfortunately it is too far away even when enlarged. I would say it is an Ornamental grass, perhaps Calamagrostis brachytricha or one of the shorter Calamagrostis x acutiflora like 'Avalanche' or 'Overdam'. Here is a link Calamagrostis

I wish I had a closer pic because this is a wild guess at that distance and without foliage. You did mean the one in the back just to the right of center in the last pic?

The one in right foreground (not so big a plant as those in back and seems shorter). I think it may be sea lavender.

Yes mantis I would agree now that I realize the one you are referring to. Sea lavender - Limonium latifolium blends beautifully with so many plants. I use them with Phlox p., Echinacea, Helenium, Daylilies...it seems to go well with just about anything.

I would certainly nestle them between or in front of Daylilies!

Wonderful suggestions and thank you for the suggestions. I have Platcytdon Hakone Double Blue on order already. I like the Sea Lavender so its on the list to look for along with a few others that have been suggested. Caryopteris looks like a good fit too. Here is what I ordered already from a local grower (Graceful Gardens) along with the Platcytdon. Hope I made good choices.
Campanula persicfolia blue, Digitalis Candy Mt, Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit, Echinacea Pow Wow, Echinacea Primadonna White, Lavender Hidcote, Rudbeckia, Cherry Brandy, Heuchera Firefly, Lobelia, Red Cardinal Flower, Lobelia Great blue, Lychnis Coronaria, Penstemon Mystica, Physotegia Rose Pink.

I have several clematis already and I do love them. I have several plantings of bee balm which produces seedlings so I'll transplant a couple along with a couple of other perennial seedlings that always pop up in spring. I like the idea to anchor each end of the bed but not be obtrusive.

I realize this looks a bit chaotic, suppose they'd call it "cottage" style, but you can see the lightning coreopsis adds some bright green yellow that I love, and the blue larkspur of course, and then some reddish amaranthus comes up every year and I leave a few for accent.

here is the Lightning Flash coreopsis again on the north side and a red amaryllis that comes up and together really add a pow (while waiting for the daylilies! :)...... )

Ill add one more pre daylily photo. poppies begin the season. and you can see the rose champion in the background with blue larkspur and orange asiatic lilies and the white penstemon... all of these are cut back (annual poppies pulled up) by the time the daylilies start blooming.

Gorgeous pics. Thank you for posting these. I definitely need to add poppies.

Yes indeed, gorgeous pics from all!

Some nice choices Julia. Lavender goes beautifully with pretty much anything as do the Echinacea! I grow all of these (if not the particular varieties) plants that you have ordered and they are all wonderful.

The Lychnis & Lobelia will seed generously so you may want to deadhead carefully. I normally let some seed mature so that I can collect it and sow it in desirable spots. I love the Lobelia cardinalis since it is such a beautiful clear red but it is short lived so I always let seed mature. The blue Lobelia is a larger and much more robust plant than the red.

The Lychnis and Digitalis are biennials that you can keep going with the seed. The Rudbeckia is another that you will want to collect seed from, again because it is short lived but the blooms are large and really stand out.

C. v. permathread 'Red Satin' is another I would recommend despite the fact that it is borderline hardy for me but would do well in your zone.

I believe I have seen Red Satin in the nursery. I have the standard yellow here and added another one last season but can't recall the name.

I like the overall appearance of the Dictamnus in your pic and saw it was also known as Gas Plant. I see also it can be toxic so might have to do more research. Thank you for the suggestions. Sincerely appreciate all the ideas/inspiration.

Peren, I can't buy that Dictamus fast enough. Lazy S farm!! ha.. thanks for the share. I have moonbeeam too it's great. also love the texture

Julia if Dictamnus were consumed it would cause mild stomach upset but they are not tasty so little chance of that happening. No animal, domestic or wild has ever nibbled on it. If you have sensitivity to some plants it could cause photodermatitis. You would need to have the oils in the plant touch your skin and then have the skin exposed to sunlight to cause the reaction.

Dean that's great! Which one(s) will you get?

Dictamnus is a striking plant, but does not bloom for a long time. A dear friend gave me one, which I had for many years, and then suddenly it died under the stress of a bad summer. It is not really a companion plant for daylilies, as it blooms too early.

I'll try the same one mentioned. going to try this in a place for interest in early spring before the daylily show begins. hee :)

Good to know and Mantis, very nice photo of the one you had. Too bad it died.

Interesting perspective mantis. We all have criteria and mine is to have plants in bloom from beginning to end of season. I was certainly going to suggest Peonies for early color as well. I was hoping KarenPA would pop in here if time allowed her to do so. I pop into the Peony Forum from time to time and she is active there.

Most of the plants I have recommended have an extremely long bloom period. The Dictamnus is an exception since it does have a shorter bloom time however the seedpods are very interesting and last for a long, long time and the foliage is always immaculate. Amsonia hubrichtii is a plant I admire for its foliage and fall color since the flowers are fleeting.

Salvia was touched on and it is a terrific plant. I can only grow S. nemerosa varieties such as Schneehugel, East Friesland, May Night and Caradonna but you could grow others in your zone.

Veronica is wonderful for its long spikes of flowers (V. 'Sunny Border Blue') is just visible on the right hand side of the Coreopsis pic.

Nepeta works very well with Daylilies. I particularly like N. 'Walkers Low' because it blooms all season.

Agastache is another I would recommend. Zonally I can only grow A. 'Blue Fortune' and I love it but you could grow many more.

Helenium is great too. H. 'Moerheim Beauty' is my favorite. It starts in late May or early June here and blooms until Oct. at least.

I hope you will post pics of your garden Julia. It will be nice to follow its progression!

I've got my list and will go back to this thread to view all of it again and most likely several times. I will definitely post when the redo starts and its progress. I will have to get my namesake Echinacea Julia. I highly doubt any local grower will have it so will have to order it. Started to sketch out the plans.

Last highlight in my season: aster Raydon's Favorite (no mildew on this one)

Nancy: Lovely pic of your garden. What is the green mass planting to the lower left of the pic? Do you use pine straw for your mulch? mantis: lovely mound of aster.

Looks like physostegia leaves on the left.

I have to echo Mantis on Raydon's Favorite Aster. It is a stalwart in my garden. It's come through our 4 year drought and our recent floods equally and still managed to flourish. The foliage is highly aromatic also. Here it is in bloom in one of my borders a few autumns ago........Maryl

Maryl, is it highly invasive? I just pulled up an aster on my north side that was spreading far and wide. :)

I'll let Maryl do her own evaluation, but I would call Raydon's Favorite "vigorous" rather than invasive. I don't find it coming up everywhere else in the garden, but I agree that asters in general can self sow. In one garden, I use Raydon's on a slope where other things would struggle. But it stays in a somewhat expanding clump. So many people ask for divisions that the clump growth is restrained.

Not invasive by seed at all here. It does expand outward from the center however. In my heavy clay soil, it needs to be pulled and divided about every 3 years or so. Easily done as it's not particularly deep rooted. Unlike other types of asters this is a REAL fall bloomer for our area, not an aster that blooms in September for instance, leaving you with no fall display come Oct/Nov. It's a winner..........Maryl

In years with an early period of freezing weather, its bloom period can be hampered. But generally, it blooms for weeks. Of course, that is only a concern in very cold climates. I can remember at least one year here that the weather was too cold for RF to make a good show.

Thank you for posting your garden pics which is a nice neat garden. What is the feathery looking plant in front of the garden flag of sunflowers hanging on the fence? In the last pic, could it be Astilbe- the pink fluffy one? LOL about the "weed tree".

Julia NY the darker green light feathery plant is a wild Cosmo. I didn't plant it this year. It might have been in some soil from other annuals. It worked out well, they bloom wildly right into late fall.

Great garden pics everyone! My beds are mostly daylilies. The one that has variety are almost all early spring things like tulips & snow drops [the snow drops are blooming now] that are all gone before the daylilies bloom. I don't have enough room to add in other things.

Mommas_secrets. I have never grown Cosmos so will do some research on reseeding. Thanks for posting.

Wow, love looking at all the garden pictures! Julia NY, the plants to the left are Physostegia "Miss Manners". Also to the left middle, Peony "Bartzella" it's yellow. We have Asiatic lilies, Cone flower "Fatal Attraction", Yarrow "Moonshine" and Daisies. I mulch with straw, after applying Preen. This is the garden in 2014, when it was new.

I like the winding daylily beds. You also have some magnificent clumps of phlox.

Nancy:Thank you for the additional pic and information. I have Physotegia Rose Pink coming in the spring.

signet: Lovely photos. Thank you for sharing.

I just ran across this garden pic from a few years ago that shows lythrum with the daylilies at the hospital. The dark lily is a seedling out of Sir Modred.

Lythrum is another wonderful perennial in my garden. The species grows aggressively they say in the northern wet lands and is banned in all it's forms as an invasive species there. I grow a cultivar that is non-invasive called Mordens Pink. It has suffered a bit during our years of drought, as it does like a moist soil. However it's still hanging in there. If you can find a vendor who carries this one it is a long blooming, no care winner.........Maryl

I had to look up lythrum as I thought it looked like loosestrife ( which it turns out it is ) and yes it is a noxious weed here .....takes over everywhere there are damp ditches. Beautiful plant but it displaces natives so that is why it is banned as a garden plant . I have some growing in one of the ditches here and although I know I should destroy it , I just can't . I didn't plant it there so if someone decides it has to go so be it , but it won't be me.

Thanks for the nice comments all

We have it growing in the ditches here as well as other pretty weeds and of course the ever popular ditch lilies. The ditches are cut by the road department twice ( during summer and then again in the fall) so I think that is what keeps it in check. It is pretty but having to battle the wild morning glory which I still don't know how it got in the garden, I leave what is in the ditch, in the ditch. Mantis: how do you keep it from spreading and choking out your other perennials?