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Perennial Combination

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Drumroll, please…here is the perennial combination I put into the front of the house, right next to the steps and the porch. My perennial choices are highly dictated by what’s available at Lowe’s. Yes, I could head over to the fancy greenhouse in town, B & M (which has very nice plants) but my wallet is thin at the moment. So Lowe’s it is. I had a gift certificate. The soil was hard, awful clay that had to be broken up with a pick axe. The ground was also compacted from the construction on the house. We broke it up, amended it with compost, then put down landscape fabric. The perennials went in, and we covered the whole thing with pine bark mulch. Sun exposure is mostly south west, with sun reaching the area around noon and direct sun until dark.

  • The tall perennials in the back with the purple spikes are “East Friesland Salvia.” I love salvia, and it does so well here in Virginia. I have salvia “May Night” in the butterfly garden and it’s huge already!

 

  • On either end are two dianthus “Neon Star”. I love the spiky blue-gray foliage and the neon dark pink flowers. But what fascinates me most are the flowers. They’re yellow as buds, then they open to that neon pink color. How does that work? I don’t know. I have a few more in the perennial garden but they get lost among the bigger plants. Here I can really see them.

 

  • This is the first time I am growing Blue Star Lithidora. I’m not sold on this plant yet. It seems fussy already and believe me – you won’t survive this garden if you’re a fussy plant. It sulks when it doesn’t get drowned with water. That may be transplant shock. I don’t know. Now it looks good. Hopefully it will survive. I do love the little star shaped blue flowers.

I’ve got all the books with all the ‘rules’ about perennial combinations. I ignore all the rules. I buy what pleases me. As long as the tall things are in the back and the short things in the front, it looks good to me.

What do you think?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. gardenerprogress/Catherine

    It sounds like it will look really pretty. I love the sound of the salvia being in the back. I’m definitely with you on planting what you like as opposed to what the books say.

  4. Jeanne

    It’s so true, Catherine. Sometimes our own creativity soars. Books can be helpful. The pretty pictures can spark imagination, or information can solve problems. But mostly I garden by trial and error.

    Enjoy your day!

  5. GardenJoy4Me

    Absolutely the best teacher in the world .. our own experience with plants! .. It takes a few years but we know our garden like no book could and we know what plants do well and what ones don’t.
    You have a bit of my name on the left side bar .. good choice !
    Cheers !
    Joy aka GardenJoy : )

  6. Jeanne

    Hey Joy – thanks for stopping by! Yes, experience is a WONDERFUL teacher (but tough on my plants). Blessings, Jeanne

  7. Janet

    Nice to find another Virginia gal. I like your plant choices – especially the Salvia and Dianthus. The Lithodora does have issues. I like the Blue Star, tried the Grace Ward and it didn’t last. Could be the voles, could be the heat, could be a lot of things. Echinacea do well here in VA. Many of the Rudbeckia are great in a butterfly garden as well. Easy care too.

  8. Jeanne

    Janet,

    Thanks for stopping by! Also thanks for letting me know what works around here. Echinacea is funny. I started 3 types from seed last year – purpurea, White Swan, and a yellow whose name escapes me. They struggled last year but this year they’re very vigorous and I’m hoping for flowers. The ones I bought from Lowe’s are sad. Where are you in VA? I’m near Farmville/Appomattox. Looking forward to connecting and sharing gardening tips!