Dan's Papers - May 16, 2008 - Earthly Delights by April Gonzales

The Mother's Day rush at the garden center is usually centered on finding annuals to plant, whether flowers or vegetables. Some gardeners have been chomping at the bit waiting for the weather to be warm enough to plant the petunias, begonias, salvias and mandevillas, and add all season color to the garden.

I myself often fall prey to the wonder of the new, finding a space for the latest hybrid, the promise of a true blue flower, or the exotic tropical that I can create some space for. But over recent years I have altered my strategy and returned to what I initially fell in love with about flowers, the succession of bloom in a well-designed perennial garden.

Annuals are always a necessary addition as a spine, border or filler of color, but a perennial garden should always have one or two things in bloom that bud up, flower and fade, giving way to the next delight in the garden. This style of garden design keeps the landscape exciting, simple and dynamic. There are several ways that the succession of bloom can be used to create different effects. But how? Therein lies the real art of perennial flower garden design.

If there is a dedicated perennial border separate from shrub banks, then the garden can have a life of its own by maintaining a certain color scheme like blue and white, throughout the year. Starting in spring, with the clear foamy blues of Brunnera and Pulmonarias planted with white Cerastiums and Galliums, this cool sophisticated color combination can continue throughout the summer ending with indigo Aconitums and cheerful white Montauk daisies in October.

Or the garden can completely change color over the course of the season, starting with pinks of Columbine Nora Barlow and Bleeding Hearts in the spring, moving into reds like Valerian and lilies through summer and ending with blue and purple asters in the fall. This keeps the eyes and the senses well entertained and the garden will always have the element of surprise awaiting you in the morning.

A single bank of pink can be made to bloom from front to back over the course of the summer, leaving interesting foliage contrasts to remain once the flowers fade. Geranium sanguineum can start this concept off in the spring and move into June with Veronica Pink Panther. One of the new Dwarf pink Phloxes would come next in July with maybe some Lillium Pink Pixie or Stargazer mixed in. Pink Echinacea would follow them and finally tall pink Asters like Hella Lacy or Boltonia at the back of the border would end the season with their delicate leaves and tall stems.

Another way to take advantage of the timing of bloom with perennials is to factor in down time. If the owners are always away for August, the garden can stop for the month after the Asiatic lilies are done in July, and restart in September with the Ceratostigma and Anemones.

Another strategy is to allow perennials to provide periodic splashes of color that rove around the property when they are mixed in with shrub and tree borders rather than being used in a separate garden by themselves. Underplanting dogwoods with white trilliums and bleeding hearts will light up a shady area in May. For August, in a hot sunny area by the pool, you can have some high contrast when the fragrant blue buddleias "Nanho Blue" are in bloom. Adding some grasses like Pennesetum "Karly rose" and a bank of orange Asclepias in front of them will provide a bold color combination that is very eye catching. Both of the perennial plants will be adorned with butterflies as the buddleia's common name is butterfly bush and the Asclepias's common name is butterfly weed. But if it is hummingbirds that you want instead, use the red buddleias.

Some perennials can also be used to create small hedges. Teucrium is best known as a replacement for boxwood, but think of using a bank of black-eyed Susans instead. They can be planted with all the ideas above; mixed with annuals, underplanting a shrub bank to highlight a specific area at a specific time to create a modern, clean color combination that would look good with some of the new architecture. Backed with the annual Salvia Victoria Blue, and used as the edging for a bank of white Rose of Sharon, this strong clear white, gold and indigo combination will last from July through August.

It is time to weed. Get'em while they're small is my philosophy, because it will only be more work later. Whether you find it meditative or tedious, weeding is an essential. There are some great tools available depending on the size of the weed and the area you are working in. Scuffle hoes are fantastic for larger areas; they cut the head off of the root of most weeds. A japanese hoe is a sickle shaped hand tool that can also be used for planting. The cultivator, a long time favorite, is best for small areas where more careful attention to detail is needed.