Grass for winter interest
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
7 years ago
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peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
6 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario CanadaRelated Discussions
New Front Landscape for 1850s House on Busy Road
Comments (8)lazygardens: I have measured that distance. The driver is 15 feet back from the edge of the pavement when trying to merge into traffic, so can't have anything tall in that first 15 feet. There are three large trees (2 Sycamores that are 30-40 feet and a mature Horsechestnut) set back 25 feet from the road. So that leaves just ten feet that could have taller planting on the way to the trees. I understand your idea of gradually increasing heights from perennials to shrubs to low growing trees to the big trees, I just don't think there is room to implement it. I have seen people try to fill in a line of shrubs between existing tall trees and that always seems to look wrong, so the more naturalistic idea does make more sense. Yardvaark: Yes, I did fail to profess my love of the house! It is lovely and I would hope whatever we end up doing adds to that. I would certainly agree that the existing plantings don't show off the house and the yews are certainly not doing it any favors, but haven't had the budget previously to deal with this. Old houses and upkeep, you know! Remember that photos always focus your eye on what is close up in a way that you don't do in real life, so the house is more visible that it appears above. So I think you are saying that you don't think it's right to try to make the front private at all? I do feel that these old places are sort of in the public domain. On the other hand, for fourteen years I've been able to go grab the paper in the morning without getting dressed. Now that the lilac hedge that did run the length of the house is gone, I'm finding that lack of privacy irritating. So what would you do to complement the house in your ideal world?...See MoreYour fav plants/trees/shrubs for Winter Scenery
Comments (27)twisted- search some old threads for daphne and you'll see you're not alone. they are picky but worth it. now that you have this one happy, i'd highly recommend working on getting another one going in a another spot, because typically they'll last about 5-8 years before they very suddenly succumb to the fungus that's endemic here. daylily- congrats, but you've been warned! couple yrs ago i was bragging on mine living 8 years and i lost it the very next year. i've only seen or heard of 3 or 4 around here that have made it past around that amount of time living. by succession planting you always have one to enjoy. once you have success with one, you'll be addicted and always want them. some folks are having good luck keeping them in insulated containers- which is what i think i'm going to do the next time i find one on sale. big boxes mark them down at the end of winter when the general public doesn't know what they are and so only buy them while blooming. makes for good buys for those with sharp eyes! every single, solitary time i see a coral bark maple i lust after them. i am going to HAVE to get one soon. they are sooo pretty. only question is where to squeeze it in where i can ogle it all winter long. :)...See Morewinterizing perennials
Comments (4)In nature plants grow and nobody cuts them back for winter. The primary reason gardeners do it is for appearances. There is no health reason to do it other than in the case of obviously diseased plants. In fact leaving the dead foliage over winter often serves as a natural mulch. Come spring if the dead foliage is still prominent you might wish to cut it away to make room for the new foliage. How close to the ground to cut something (if you wish to cut it at all) can be determined at the end of the first growing season. How close to the ground does nature 'cut it'? Most green perennials that die back will go underground in the coldest part of the year. If the plant is dormant it really doesn't matter how much you cut back the green plants. They come back from roots/crowns. Chives and garlic are perennials. Chives just grow, but garlic forms bulbs which should be divided every year for best growth. In year one you plant a single clove (in the fall). In the late summer of the next year that clove is a full head of garlic and should be pulled up. Eat what you want and seperate the cloves and replant them. If you leave the entire garlic head in the ground it will continue to grow, but you end up with goofy looking garlic bulbs the next year as each clove tries to make it's own head, but doesn't have room to do so. I find that after a clump of chives gets to be 12" or so they need to be divided into smaller chunks to retain good culinary quality. Generally this means every couple years. You do not need to be gentle with chives. Can't help with the globe thistle. Mushrooms aren't a problem. If you don't like them, just knock them over and they are gone....See MoreWhat Perennials will add Winter Interest to my garden?
Comments (0)The suggestions below were provided by the folks in the perennial forum. Posted by pegnj 6nj What are some of your favorite perennials for winter interest? I have a 9' paver circle in front of my front door/landing. FULL SUN. It is surrounded with some small trees and some backbone evergreens/shrubs. I put in some perennials (baptisia, peonies, salvia, catmint)and annuals but now that everything is starting to die back I realize that any other perennials I add should add something in the winter. Until the bushes get bigger I don't want so much bare mulch by my front door. The santolina still looks great and I am planning on adding some grasses and maybe lavender. Which are the nicest grasses to mix in with perennials and that won't get to big? Does artemisia hold up nicely for most of the winter? does it behave around other perennials? What are some perennials that even if they "die back" still look interesting and not just dead? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: gardenbug Canada zone 5 Grow something fun on a pretty medium sized obelisk...and then the pretty obelisk will entertain you in winter. Small clematis for example. I also love grasses, but many blow over in the wind. Hameln is sweet. See here: I find most plants simply look dead. Some people like the look of sedum seedheads in winter. I like anything that attracts birds. A well stocked birdfeeder (not a birdhouse) is the ultimate winter interest for us. Shrubs with berries provide interest too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: chervil2 z5 MA Sage looks like sage all year round and it is useful next to the door so that you can easily grab a leaf for your cooking. Thymes and winter savory look alright during the winter as well. My Johnny Jump ups often flower during the winter months. These plants reseed easily. Once you have a Johnny Jump up you have them forever. Cheers! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mgrace z4MIUP Rugosa roses that form hips are also interesting. I also enjoy the birds and any shrubs which have berries to attract them. I love my Karl Forester ornamental grasses right now. Also I have alot of astilbe in a partially shaded bed. I leave the flower heads and they turn a deep russet shade. Soon, though, we will get a thick blanket of snow and it covers everything. I'm going to be adding some more conifers for winter interest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: Tracey_NJ6 (I love sedum and don't cut them back until the spring. But for great looking foliage, try Arum italicum. The foliage dies back in the summer just as the berries appear, which to me, aren't worth it. After the berries die, the foliage reappears, remains until the next summer and is lush and green all winter. This photo is a bit blurry, but you'll get the idea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: BeigestoneHill z 6 /7VA I love the different Acorus in the winter, beautiful texture and pleasing green and white and chartreuse colors. I too love Sedum Autum Joy in the winter. My favorite grass in the winter is Miscanthus 'Adagio' it never falls over and looks great until early spring. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: jwillis01 7a ) I second the Arum italicum suggestion, I also enjoy our Rohdea japonica during the winter months. Mature clumps hold bright red berries during winter that contrast the dark green leaves very well. I also like the low-growing silvery foliage of Dianthus gratianopolitanus. I have grown several cultivars, but I still prefer 'Bath's Pink' best of all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: Franeli z4 NH Here in Z4 I have an edge planting of Veronica blue'. Even with the temperatures as low as 9F and several snow days, this plant still has beautiful burgundy foliage and looks great in front of some dwarf pine shrubs. I wonder how those Veronica's would look in winter with blue fescue grass.(?) I also have Veronica Incana: silver-gray ground hugging foliage that looks great next to creeping and lemon thymes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: floresbellas z5 MI Iberis sempervirens, heuchera, armeria, blue fescue, creeping thyme. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: sbeuerlein zone 6 Has nobody mentioned hellebores? Awesome winter interest, great foliage, even flowers. Speaking of flowers, how about Erica carnea. Flowers from now until March. A few of the sedums are evergreen. Scott -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: oldroser z5 Arum italicum pictum is hardy up here so definitely not a zone 7 plant. Mine is just starting to grow (which it does every year around this time and continues through the winter) but is not as lush as the picture, maybe because it is in shade? Or poor soil? Or both?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: gardengal48 PNW zone 8 Anything that remains evergreen through the winter months I consider a candidate for winter interest. That includes euphorbias, heucheras and their cousins, hellebores, evergreen ornamental grasses (carex, fescue, blue oat grass, liriope, mondo grass, phormiums), ferns, perennial herbs like salvia, lavender, rosemary; many of the alpines or rockery plants like helianthemums, iberis, armeria, stonecrops, arenaria, dianthus; groundcovers such as lamium, vinca, kinnikinnick and epimediums. Plus, some plants just look their best at this time of year - Iris foetidissima has produced deep orange seedheads, Schizostylis (now called Hesperantha) is in full, late season bloom, many hardy hebes will bloom now right through winter in a sheltered location, earlier species hellebores are setting buds, bergenias have changed to their burgundy winter color and a number of evergreen groundcovers like wintergreen, veronicas and rubus have developed their burnished winter color also. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: SallyM z4 MN You mentioned you have trees and shrubs in your front garden. Do any of them have red foilage or red twigs (IE: red twigged dogwood). Also, trees like the river birch have great bark throughout the year. Depending on your tastes, how about something like rattlesnake master (eryngium yuccifolium). My artemesia does not even make it throught the summer without getting ratty. I have to cut it back for new growth. I second gardenbugs suggestion of Hameln. Sally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: Monique 6a CT At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last March, the Yucca plants were looking pretty good. I just bought one this year, so I don't have any winter experience with it yet. The rest of my winter interest perennials have all been mentioned. I love red and yellow twig dogwoods and there are some dwarf cultivars out there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: Tracey_NJ6 No, I'm in Bergen County, close to the George Washington Bridge, zone 6. My Arum italicum has been doing wonderfully; I've had it since 1997, purchased from the dreaded Michigan Bulb Co. It was bareroot and remained small for the first few years. It didn't even produce the berries until 2000. It's grown wonderfully; I only keep it for it's foliage; the berries aren't even worth the show. Thankfully they're short and will be hidden by new plantings. I just decided to turn that bed into a hummingbird area, since I finally had my very first 2 visitors this summer....See Morerouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
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