Suggestions Please! Planting a garden-picts attached

Hello,

I am helping a friend plant a garden, neither of us know anything. Most of the places to plant are along side the house or a fence, so no area will be in full sun for too much of the day. I'm not sure what typ of soil is at her place (sorry).

I'm hoping somebody may be able to suggest some plants "for dummies" that we could buy for this garden. I would love to have plants of various height, colour and season (s) in the garden so if you have suggestions if you could include that info it would be amazing! Well any info at all would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance, Melissa

 

The first things that come to mind are lilies and irises, which can be used close to the house to provide lovely green foliage for most of the year and amazing flowers in the spring and fall. These are perennials, so you only really have to worry about planting them once. Saskatchewan lillies are particularly nice, make large round clumps, flower for most of the summer, and are very easy to care for. These plants will form midheight foliage.

I'd also look at some of the annuals for low-growers. African daisies (Arctotis and Osteospermium) are very nice for this, as they have dark green leaves and bloom constantly throughout the season. I'd also invest in some taro root from your local Asian grocery - they'll sprout into really nifty plants with large, velvety leaves. (This is Colocasia esculenta; it needs to be brought in over the winter.) This will get quite tall over the season. Look for entire tubers without much wax on them.

Along the fenced area, try Sweetpeas close to the fence and let them grow up it. You can mix them with Kiwi Issai (a hardy, easy to grow Kiwi) and Akebia quinata if you like; these are three vines of different season. Sweetpeas are not edible, but make lovely cut flowers; Kiwi and Akebia produce edible fruits. Or, if you like, try runner beans or snap peas. In front of these, I'd suggest veggies - tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, beets, carrots, peppers, etc etc. There's no reason that part of the garden can't produce while it's looking pretty. If there's a cat problem, intersperse the veggies with Rue - they seem to hate it.

The corner bed seems to be calling out for a shrubbery or shrubby perennial. Consider Tree Peonies, if you don't care how it will look in the winter, or a Lilac if you do. If you want fruit, try a Saskatoon bush or a Highbush Cranberry. Then I'd fill the space in front of it with colourful low- to medium-growth annuals like Coleus. Equally, if you like green better, Hoya will do well there. So should Cannas or Zantedeschia. If you want something really unusual (for a Canadian garden, at least) you can try Musa basjoo, a hardy ornamental banana, as the focus plant.

The front beds, behind the hedge, probably need either very short or very tall plants. It's a good place to consider for sunflowers or corn; if you go with corn, try planting squash at the bases and peas or beans as climbers - it's more efficient and better for the plots as well. However, if you're concerned that your neighbours will harvest your veggies before you can, then it's best to go with more ornamental things.

Hope this helps!

 

All of Lorax's suggestions are wonderful, as always. I have certain other personal thoughts and prejudices which I will share.

Hostas (hundreds of varieties to choose from, none of them bad) are easy and, I think, tremendously valuable in creating a lush, leafy expanse of foliage in a wide variety of colors from blue-gray through yellow-green. They are not showy plants but they provide a sort of framework of healthy foliage. They like shade and moisture but in the cool northwest they can also grow happily in sunshine. They flower (usually white or pale lavender) in mid- to late-summer, but the main point is their big showy leaves. Ferns can be allowed to mingle and thread their way among the hostas, and other flowers (like foxgloves and campanulas) may seed themselves in there as well, all to very serene effect.

Daylilies (genus Hemerocallis), which are different from true lilies (genus Lilium) are absolutely carefree, with nice fat grass-like strappy leaves. There is hardly any such thing as a bad daylily, but some reliable classics -- all of which flower in cheerful yellow -- are the fragrant, early-summer-blooming H. flava (known also by other names including lilioasphodelus), 'Hyperion' which is also fragrant but blooms later, and either 'Stella d'Oro' (yellow with a hint of mustard-orange) or 'Happy Returns' (clear lemon yellow) which bloom on and off through most of the summer.

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm.' A perennial black-eyed Susan that likes sun, tolerates any kind of soil, and provides some winter interest with tall black seed-heads that stand up right through the winter wind and rain and snow.

Liatris -- any species or variety. Tough, brightly colored purple-red pokers that contrast well with the above.

Coreopsis 'Zagreb' (bright sulphur yellow) or 'Moonbeam' (lovely pale yellow but less vigorous). Lower growing sun-lovers that also look interesting right through the winter.

Echinacea -- any type but one of the prairie species like angustifolia, pallida, or paradoxa, which will sulk in Vancouver. This plant is known as the purple cone flower. Bees and butterflies like it.

Monarda, any variety. Bee balm. Spreads by the roots but not too aggressively.

Astilbe, many types and sizes and colors. Ferny (but tough) foliage and bright plumes of flower in mid-summer.

Perennial geraniums (genus Geranium, not the common "geranium" which is really a Pelargonium). I like the species maculata, which has fragrant, semi-evergreen foliage and spreading roots and rose-pink flowers in late spring. But there are many others. These are good for the front of a border, along a walk.

Catmint (Nepeta) -- another good edger with many small, long-blooming pale blue flowers and fragrant, minty foliage.

Now you need some taller specimens: Cimicifuga (bugbane or snakeroot), Filipendula (queen-of-the-meadow and other names), Thalictrum, Eupatorium, Rudbeckia 'Herbstonne' -- there are many possibilities.

Climbing roses, clematis, honeysuckle, and ornamental grape (say, Vitis coignetiae) will go nicely on that wall.

Now I think, if this is a permanent home, you could use some structural plants like boxwood or holly or yew or Hinoki cypress that will grow fairly slowly but provide year-round visual interest and a feeling of solidity when nothing is in flower.

None of these plants -- well, with the exception of roses -- is really hard to grow. Most of them practically grow themselves as long as you've plopped them in decent soil and don't let them die of thirst during the first year. Feed -- not too extravagantly -- with some kind of (preferably organic) all-purpose fertilizer. I like a mixture of fish emulsion and seaweed extract. You can also try the fiendish trick of hanging up a couple of bird feeders and waiting to see what kind of interesting seeds are deposited by visiting birds. Not everything will be welcome but you never know what might pop up.

 

Here are a few random thoughts...Since you are also in Vancouver, you might consider the Ribes sanguinum (flowering red currant) shrub. It blooms in the very early Spring. I have some at my house in a spot that gets Winter sun (do we actually get winter sun here :), but very little sun in summer - it is dead easy! In shadier spots consider ferns - ferns and hostas make a nice pairing. Solomon's seal is nice in shade too. Rhododendrons come in all sizes and bloom at different times during the year. They are ubiquitous, but very reliable and need little care. Daylilies are good, but you have to be vigilant here, as we have some kind of worm that likes the flower buds. If you see signs of it you MUST pick off the bud and dispose of it in the garbage, not the garden waste bin. When picking roses, make sure to select ones that are good for our weather conditions...VanDusen Botanical Garden has replanted all the formal rose beds with resistant varieties, so check what they have. A reliable climber in my yard is the David Austin Graham Thomas rose. It is yellow. Mine is about 9-10" tall (even though the tag says 4' - ignore that) - it would look nice next to a fence. The Hibiscus shrub (sometimes called Rose of Sharon and the national flower of Korea) is also quite easy here and flowers in August. They come in different colours. If you get one take care - next year it will look dead about now because it doesn't leaf out here until later in June! Smaller magnolia trees are lovely here and do well in shadier sites. I like the Johnson's blue geranium a lot (a true geranium). Make a bit of space for herbs for the kitchen too. Hydrangeas are also ubiquitous in Vancouver, but that is because they do so well in this area. Heuchera and Heucherella does well too - the blacker ones look really nice coupled with Hakonechloa macro 'Aureola' (this is a grass that dies back in the winter and comes up in the spring - it is great here. Primulas are nice in spring - especially the cowslip primulas, I think. Japanese maples are good here and come in various sizes. Don't plant holly!!! It is considered an invasive plant here (even though in the Eastern US and Canada it is ok)!!!

 

Looking at all the great suggestions and endorsing the super easy, long-blooming and wildlife-friendly ones. Don't forget colour in the very early season: bulbs! Daffodils won't attract the squirrels. Crocus are the harbingers of spring. There are lots of others to choose from.

As for shrubby "backbones" for the garden, especially in the areas that get only morning sun, I suggest some Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape), maybe a large Pieris, and Dicentra. On a morning-sun fence you can grow Pyracantha, another totally easy and pest-free shrub.

Blank slates are great! Don't be daunted-- try planting just one part this year, put the rest into clover or some legume-type ground cover to keep the weeds down, and just do what you can each year.

 

WOW! Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I am going to print up all your thoughts and look up each plant you have suggested and make a plan as to plant what where. This info has been so helpful and much appreciated! Melissa

 

For some of your garden corners, a rhododendron is a low-maintenance choice that would provide some structure and height, and evergreen leaves. They can provide a focal point or a backdrop, as you wish.

My other favourites have already been suggested.

Slightly higher maintenance, but with a lot of reward, would be including some vegetables and herbs. Tomatoes, lettuce, and cilantro are easy, and chives, parsley, basil or mint would do well in pots.

 

fabulous suggestions, all!!

that corner by the fence is just calling out for a nice rose bush with some other short items planted by the edging...some crocus and daffodil for spring blooms and one of the many dianthus for summer to fall blooms. the rose should bloom late spring and most probably repeatedly throughout the season.

the rhododendron is a great bush!! the area shown in the second pic would be a good spot for it...dappled sun is ideal for them. you could add in some black-eyed susans and some coneflowers and some bulbs, too. crocus, daff's, tulips for early spring color and daylily for late summer color (rhody's bloom early/mid spring here, might be a bit later up there).

rose of sharon, beauty berry, japanese maples, all would do well in the shadier locations you've got there. spirea is another bush that does well in sun with part shade - dwarf varieties only go a couple feet tall and regular types get taller - and would easily cover that privacy fencing and/or be a nice accompaniment to the hedges out front. the other three could also be used along that privacy fencing.

you could also do hydrangea if the soil is fairly moist - they like shade and moist. ferns are a nice accompaniment to hydrangea and so are siberian iris (which also need a fair amount of moisture). the area in the last pic or the one in the third pic would be good spots shade wise...you'll have to check moisture levels at those locations to see if it's enough (even if it's not perfect, you can just water manually...i wouldn't plant it if the soil is bone dry and very well draining though because you'd need to water every day and that just wouldn't make sense! )

other plants for shade are hosta (many, many varieties with a wide range of leaf size/color/shape and the flower colors also vary), helleobore's, bleeding hearts, ferns - there is an amazingly large selection of ferns!!! some are low to the ground and others get quite tall and there is also a variety in how far they spread - some only a foot or so and others will have a leaf spread of 2-3 feet. they're not all just plain green either! japanese painted fern is absolutely lovely and comes in some different colorings. then there are heuchera - this is a fabulous group of plants!!! very easy to grow and very hardy! again, there are tons of different colors to choose from - greens to yellows to reds/magenta, to blueish to purple to black, even. the flowers aren't to striking (very small) and they come in a variety of different colors as well. this plant does very well in shade and can handle some morning sun.

sweet woodruff would be a nice groundcovering in the shady spots and so would mayapple - both have small white flowers in early spring and then are just a nice green layer below the taller plants as they flower over the summer. also, lamium for a ground cover - fabulous leaf coloration and they'll bloom most of the summer.

sunnier spots you could do stonecrop sedum - blooms in fall - gets about 2 feet tall and is a really nice accent plant. each year they're coming up with more varieties - some are green - light, dark, yellowish - and some are reddish or purplish. the flowers are white, pink or lavendar.

coneflowers, daisy, chysanthemum, black-eyed susan, dianthus (many many plants in this family), liatris (sun or part shade), allium (many different types and colors). if you have a good full-sun all-day-long spot anywhere put a peony in.

for vegy's you really do need an area that has full sun for most of the day. you can fit them in here and there depending on what spot gets the most sun. nothing wrong with having them mixed in with the flowers! i do it all the time (my space is limited though, so i don't have a choice, lol).

for flower color - pick two or three and stick with that...another color added in here and there will break things up just a bit. too many colors all over the place tend to make things look unorganized and too busy...even with 'cottage garden' style gardening, no more than 4 colors looks best, to me, anyhoo. you can add in more colors with things that bloom at different times, so you can get a good variety of colors over the season.

still, pick just a few that will be consistantly there throughout and they're your base...every thing else is extra-added bonus stuff :)