Perennials All Season
Our gardening dream is to be the envy of the neighborhood with vibrant gardens gracing our homes from spring through fall so all winter, we dream of lush gardens, fully loaded flower stems, and fragrant bouquets by the truckload. In our mind's eye, we see those wonderfully crowded beds full of healthy, fragrant flowers just waiting to bless our garden parties and if we close our eyes, we can smell each and every one
The Reality of Perennials All Season
The reality is often different. Oh, we plant, feed and prune but somehow the garden never comes close to what we can imagine. We continually move plants about, we haunt specialist nurseries looking for just "that" right plant to make our dreams come true. Yes, we run all over the place trying this technique or that, this new and "scientifically guaranteed" fertilizer or this new, ergonomic pair of hand pruners.
We attend meetings and we ask our garden writers and radio gurus for advice but still the elusive season-long blooming perennial garden eludes us.
The Design
It's in the design. The reality of perennial gardening is that the way in which the bed is laid out determines how lush it will look.
Plant Selection
It's in the plant selection. No matter how good a gardener you are, if all the plants in your garden bloom in May and June - your fall garden will be a wasteland.
Plant Arrangement
It's in the plant arrangement. Great combinations are not accidental in those lush gardens. There are guidelines and rules of thumb to create those seemingly simple, cottage garden perennial borders.
It's in this book
I've combined all of the above elusive tricks of the trade into a
simple system of garden design. Following the guidelines given in the
book will allow any gardener to create a season long blooming garden. No, Not Rocket Science
This is not rocket science, nor should it be artistic psychobabble. It is easily learned and almost as easily accomplished.
For now, let us start with getting the garden to bloom all summer in the colors you love.
Here’s what is in the book:
Table of Contents:
Dreaming of an Ever-Blooming Garden
3 secrets for turning the dream into reality
Design in context Garden shapes Plant shapes
Exception to the rules: gardening in the shade
Three Top Tips for All-Season Bloom
A Word on Maintenance
Chapter Two Designing for All Season Bloom
Step one – spring bloomers
Step two – early summer bloomers
Step three – mid to late summer bloomers
Step four – fall bloomers
Step five – Drift Master Sheet
Designing in Color Drifts
Chapter Three: Color in the Garden
Designing with color
How the color chord system works
Two color chords
Three color chords
Four color chords
Using color chords
Foliage color
Color Contrast
Spatial effects of color
Chapter Four: The Hard Part – Choosing Which Plants to Grow
What Makes a Plant Outstanding Find Good Plants Which plants grow in my zone? Plant habitats
Chapter Five – Early Spring Bloomers
Plants included in this chapter include: Bergenia, Brunnera, Epimedium, Helleborus, Hepatica, Primula, Pulmonaria, Trillium.
Each plant is described in the following way
Brunnera macrophylla
Common names: Siberian Bugloss
Derivation
Brunnera was named for the Swiss botanist Samuel Brunner (1790-1844)
Brunner was a plant collector specializing in plants of the Crimea,
Italy and West Africa. The plant is native to Siberia and the Caucasus,
hence the name Siberian. Bugloss itself comes from two Greek words
meaning ‘ox’ and ‘tongue’ and describes the shape and rough texture of
the leaf.
Cultural Details
Bloom time: Early spring
Height: 12” to 18”
Sun needed: Shade to Part shade
Bloom color: Sky blue –
forget-me-not blue
Planting space apart: 12” to 18”
Soil preferred: Well drained
but with adequate organic matter
Propagation method: Division
Recommended Varieties The
species is often sold and is a delightful plant all by itself. Other
hybrid forms include these two choices:
'Langtrees' also sold as 'Aluminum Spot' This form has aluminum colored
spots on the leaves – quite attractive in the part shade garden.
'Variegata' also sold as 'Dawson's White' Heavily variegated in white
and green leaf. Very attractive but see note below.
Growing Brunnera
Brunnera do quite well in shade or part shade spots in the garden where
they produce forget-me-not blue flowers for an amazingly long time in
the spring. If you think of woodland soil, rich in organic matter and
slightly damp, you’ll have exactly the right soil for them. Chopping up
leaves and using them as mulch around this plant in the fall is a
perfect way to create a good soil. They do less well when given full
hot sun, the leaves tend to scorch during the summer months and become
quite unattractive. A lack of water will accomplish the same thing so
if the plant is competing with greedy tree roots for water do keep it
healthy and attractive by adding extra water on a weekly basis. The
variety ‘Variegata’ or ‘Dawson’s White’ is a very pretty plant but
should be planted exactly where you want it to grow. It resents being
moved about and divided. If you try to divide it and take too small a
chunk of division, you’ll find the plant will lose its variegation and
revert back to green leaves. I’ve had this happen several times when I
tried to get a bit greedy. Do not stress the variegated forms.
‘Langtrees’ has not demonstrated this reversion characteristic in my
garden and is an excellent plant.
Chapter Six: Late Spring Bloomers
Plants included in this chapter include: Anemone, Aquilegia, Corydalis,
Dicentra, Euphorbia, Hylomecon, Iris, Phlox
Chapter Seven: Early Summer Bloomers
Plants described include: Aconitum, Actaea, Agastache, Allium, Aruncus,
Astrantia, Baptisia, Centaurea, Chrysanthemum, Delphinium, Dianthus,
Dictamnus, Digitalis, Geranium, Gypsophila, Hemerocallis, Heuchera,
Heucherella, Lathyrus, Lilium, Lobelia, Lysimachia, Oenethera, Paeonia,
Papaver, Penstemon, Phlomis, Polemonium, Polygonum, Primula japonica,
Thermopsis, Tiarella, Tradescantia, Veronica
Chapter Eight: Late Summer Bloomers
Plants described include: Achillea, Anthemis, Astilbe, Campanula,
Cephalaria, Cimicifuga, Clematis, Coreopsis, Echinacea, Eryngium,
Filipendula, Gaillardia, Gaura, Gentiana, Inula, Kniphofia, Lavandula,
Lavatera, Macleaya, Malva, Meconopsis, Monarda, Nepeta, Phlox,
Physostegia, Salvia, Scabiosa, Sidalcea, Stachys, Verbascum, Yucca
Chapter Nine: Fall Bloomers
Plants described include: Anemone, Aster, Boltonia, Chelone, Chrysanthemum, Coreopsis, Eupatorium, Gentiana, Helenium, Heliopsis, Perovskia, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Solidago, Tricyrtis, Vernonia, Veronicastrum.
Chapter Ten: Foliage Perennials and Multiple Season Bloomers
This chapter describes a range of plants that can be used for foliage (some described in more detail in earlier chapters) as well as comments on grasses and ferns. The plants that bloom for long periods - the multiple season bloomers - are listed.
Nearly 300 photographs of the plants are included – many taken by myself.
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