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Suggestions needed for short perennial

8 years ago

There is a large garden bed along the side of my driveway that is approximately 40ft long. I've got a mix of shrubs and perennials throughout but have been having difficulty finding something to plant along the front edge. I was hoping you all would have some suggestions!

The garden bed is in full sun - and by that I mean there is absolutely no shade from sun up until about an hour before sundown. The soil is pretty decent, maybe a bit sandy, and I keep everything well watered with an irrigation system. The bed goes right up to the edge of the driveway, so there is also heat radiating up from the pavement all day. I want to put a row of low perennials along the edge of the bed but I've been having difficulty finding something suitable.

I've tried a couple of varieties of dianthus but, once the flowering is complete, they look ugly the rest of the year and are not something I want in the front of the display. The same with some short campanula - initially it looks great in the spring but gets to be a tangled mess of fading blooms that is impossible to keep maintained. I've tried a couple varieties of coreopsis but most of the plants have not survived the winter.

Ideally, I would like something that gets to be around 4"-6" tall, keeps itself fairly presentable all summer and can handle the amount of sun and heat. Flowering would be great but is not necessary. Thanks in advance for your help!!

Featured Answer

User

8 years ago

..yes, love the Lambs Ears laceyvail....

... regarding the 'Georgia Blue' and 'Iberis', hope you don't mind but an opportunity for me to say 'Snap!'... as I've got loads of them too...

...certainly don't mind being next to a road as these are...

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Comments (8)

User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Candytuft? [Iberis sempervirens]... zones 3-9..
Iberis

...over here, I also have a similar frontage, about 50 foot bordering a road and I have about a dozen plants spaced out along the verge, and I grow lots of other things in between.... it starts blooming here in January, at its best in April/May and continues till June... tidy plants, evergreen. I think they grow where you are too..

..the variety I grow mostly is 'Snowflake' but I have a couple of others too... I find them to be exceptional plants..
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Is there salt or other ice melt product put down in this area at all? Many plants can't tolerate salt.

You could try one of my standbys - Veronica 'Georgia Blue' which has spring flowers and tidy everygreen foliage that turns purply-bronze in winter. I have it in full sun and full shade, and it seems happy everywhere. I haven't tried it alongside pavement, though one of mine grows along the edge of a large rock and it seems fine with that.

There are probably some Sedums that would work. Angelina seems quite resilient, but I am sure that there must be others that would work as well.

Wooly thyme is another plant that is happy in fully sunny hot areas. It blooms and then makes a mat of slightly bluish, fuzzy foliage. Mine grows slowly out over the walkway that is next to it, so will need a bit of pruning once a year or so.
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Here in zone 7b, there are a few perennials that bloom for me non-stop* from mid-April or May until frost. Don't know if these will be okay in your zone: Without any cutting back -- *agastache 'Cotton Candy' *perennial heliotrope (heliotropium amplexicaule 'Azure Skies') *salvia guaranitica 'black & blue' With a refresh cut -- hardy geranium 'Rozanne' leucanthemum 'Paladin' nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' Blooms off and on and foliage stays nice: salvia greggii 'Dark Dancer' or similar greggii varieties. Some are too tender for you zone. Blooms, then foliage stays nice: lavender No blooms, nice foliage: stachys 'Big Ears' I also like to use delosperma cooperii (ice plant) and ground-covering thyme and sedum along walkways. Cameron Here is a link that might be useful: my best plants in 2010 photos
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I was given annual candytuft seeds. I didn't even know it was a perennial, and it's hardy to zone 3. That sounds like a great one to consider. I had heard of bugleweed before but was concerned about its invasiveness. If it would spread and grow between the rocks that would be very welcome, but I don't want it taking over the perennial bed. I'll check around on its invasiveness in my area. And, a note on invasiveness, I had to deal with some serious invaders with my weeding last year. There was artemisia everywhere, but it was shallow-rooted and once pulled was gone for good. Piece of weeding cake. Then there's mint and wild strawberries. I'll never be rid of those. Trying to figure out if I can get the strawberries to fruit so at least their invasiveness will do some good. If bugleweed is easily pulled like the artemisia was then I won't mind. I just don't want deep hidden roots that I'll never get rid of. Thanks so much for your prompt reply! (Too bad butterfly bush wouldn't work for edging-got plenty of those, right ;-) )
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Everyone else suggested this, but I had 2 hibiscus plants in the back of a west-facing bed. I put them behind some of my bulbs and other plants like verbena. I wanted something that would get tall. They gave a nice tropical feel to an otherwise very desert-y looking bed. They live through the intense blare of the afternoon sun. although stopped blooming when I cut their watering short, but bounced back. There are a lot of great pink and red blooming ones. Sadly I don't think mine lived through winter... I haven't seen any new signs of green in the spot where I planted them. There's always bougainvillea? It repeat blooms... can get pretty big.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
I would have recommended Veronica Georgia Blue as well :-) Very long bloom season (sporadically on and off all summer and well into winter in my climate) and a real trouper in term of the abuse it can take.
gardenfullofswallowtails
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Stokesia Peachies Pick might work since you have some sandy soil. You'll have to divide it every couple years.
gdinieontarioz5
8 years ago
Another vote for 'Georgia Blue'. One of the very few plants that grows under my Norway maple, shade with roots everywhere. And it is great in full sun too. Not so much rebloom here, but evergreen/-bronze :-). A great plant.
laceyvail 6A, WV
8 years ago
Stachys byzantina, Lambs Ears, the type that don't bloom.
lam702
8 years ago
Gold dust alyssum, lavender, thrift, gaillardia all would do well there, I think. I have them along my walkway, which gets full sun all day. You could use some annuals in there as well, to keep up a succession of bloom. Portulaca, alyssum, zinnias, marigolds are just a few that come to mind.

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