Garden

[terrier3]

[gardenman]

In place of the grass? The easy option is some of the Wave type spreading petunias. They're gorgeous, will fill the bed, and may still be available in garden centers.

[terrier3]

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@gardenman wrote:

In place of the grass? The easy option is some of the Wave type spreading petunias. They're gorgeous, will fill the bed, and may still be available in garden centers.

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I want something that will come up every year, if possible. Here is another view...

[Lilysmom]

Terrier, I am inclined to agree with gardenman about an annual because you are in Buffalo aren't you? Whatever you out here will get a lot of winter snow, ice and salt dumped on it, isn't that true?

Or, what about tulips, daffodils or bulbs of some kind? Allium would be pretty mixed in with something. Hostas with bulbs?

[terrier3]

I was thinking hostas with bulbs...we have literally HUNDREDS of hostas growing in front of the main building in front of our condo.

Here is my neighbor's bed...lots of hostas and other perennials, with a large pot filled with horseradish and banana plants in the middle.

[gardenman]

How about Hostas and some dwarf daylilies like the Stella D'oro's? Add in some daffodil bulbs and alliums  for extra impact. Alliums tend to flower in June around here (South Jersey) so they stretch out the bulb blooming season a bit. Alliums are kind of a backward bulb in that they put out the foliage first, then the bloom. I've never had good long term success with the huge alliums (allium giganteums/globemasters) but the smaller flowering alliums have been very reliable here.

[JustJazzmom]

terrier3, look into Japanese Hakone grass. It comes back every year and is very soothing to look at.

Hakonechloa macra 'Naomi' is a golden yellow variety that turns burgundy in fall before it goes dormant. Then comes up again in spring. I usually cut it back late fall-- by you probably around Thanksgiving -- if no snow there yet.

Picture of it from internet:

[JustJazzmom]

I had to head to dinner and have more suggestions. It looks like its a sunny area but is it in shade at any time of the day? You can use astilbes which bloom right about now or later depending on the cultivar for color --reds, pinks and whites. 'Peach Blossom' a pink flowering astilbe is more sun tolerant than some others you see like 'Fanal'-- a red or 'Deutschland' a white.

There is also ferns of many kinds for interesting foliage and even Lady's Mantle for its foliage in shady areas. 

A very nice group of daylilies are the 'Candy' series which are very large blooms and very colorful. I have 'Strawberry Candy' and 'Custard Candy'. Anything with 'Candy' at the end of its name is very sturdy and colorful. If you consider daylilies look for tetraploid types as they are stronger, and their colors are deeper. If you subscribe to some perennial catalogs and look at the daylilies there, the tetraploids (marked with a T in the details description) stand out.  Look for rebloomers (RE symbol) and SE (Semi-evergreen) or D (Dormant). Look if they mention amount of buds per scape (that is what a daylily stem is called) The more buds the more floriferous the daylily is.

Do you want plants that require a lot of work? You would have to be out there deadheading the daylilies as they fade.

Another perennial for sun areas is gaillardia or blanket flower-- these have flowers going till fall provided you do remove the spent seed heads so they keep sending up flowers instead of wasting their energy making seeds. Some blanket flowers are reddish orange and some are orange red or with deep yellow in them.

I'm partial to either 'Goblin' or 'Arizona Sun' which was an All America selection when it was trialed.

There are of course shrub roses like any of the knockouts or drift roses or flower carpet roses which look great in an open area.  You can peg the ends of the drift or flower carpet roses to increase bloom using those U shaped landscape stakes.

[Lucky Charm]

I would tend to stay away from Hostas as the stems seem to droop and then you're tripping over the flowers.  I noticed that at my daughters today, same thing for Tiger Lillies.

Whatever you put down, remember people are going to be walking their dogs and they're going to water you flowers for you. 

People always wonder why I have on vinyl gloves out in the front yard while I'm weeding.....

[terrier3]

JustJazzMom -

Thanks for the detailed suggestions. The area is in full sun most of the day. You probably can't tell from the photo of my neighbor's planting, but he has goldenseal, hydrangeas, poppies, LOTS of stuff! I want a little more order.

When do you plant daylillies? Are they bulbs that are planted in the fall? I have King Alfred daffodils under the two oak trees on either side of this plot...and I'm transplanting hostas there today. We had two days of solid rain and the ground is easy now to turn over and plant.

We have lots of astilbes, ferns and hostas in our main garden in front of the large condo building. There is a lot of shade there.

I really love David Austin English shrub roses and will probably have a few in this plot too. The cheapest way to buy them is bare root in the spring, so I'll wait until then to plant them. 

I plan on preparing the plot and planting the bulbs this fall.

Thanks for your help!