Seeking Plants to Combine with Rhododendrons

Discussion in 'Garden Design and Plant Suggestions' started by Laughing Dog, May 18, 2007.

  1. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Below are pictures of the raised plant bed we put in last week-end. It is approximately 40' long and 20' wide; faces a sunny, warm and well protected area with no significant wind issues; we tilled the base layer sixteen inches deep then added about 18 to 24 inches of top quality topsoil and fish compost.

    The border ground cover is bearberry; and we plan to use mainly sweet woodruff and periwinkle (the newer pink flower version) for the interior ground cover. So far we have planted three dogwood tree varieties; numerous rhododendrons; some pairs of spirea, weigela and daphne.

    Still to come are several New Dawn climbing roses on a trellis yet to be installed (plan to cover entry wall entirely with it); and some wonderful white hydrangea near the house next to the windows. We love the new Blushing Bride that blooms beautiful white mopheads all summer long - giving a light and airy feel to the front yard...just need to find some around, our local garden center did not have this variety in yet.

    With the exception of a couple of large, deep red rhodos (Trilby was suggested for these) we are trying to stick with a white, pink, or light red theme for any blossoms to give an overall consistency and light, happy feel. We have tried our best to plan for plant size in five to eight years (we can then transplant to rhodos if necessary and replant smaller ones). However, we still have room for several more plants and are open to suggestions - (no annuals please).


     

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  2. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    That's a pretty open-ended question. You don't say whether you want shrubs, perennials, or what.

    For my tastes, however, I'd be looking at conifers and other issues of winter interest. Hellebores, for example, are nice to have in an entry garden. My eye also craves some foliage variety here. In addition to conifers, maybe something purple like smoke bush, and something large-leaved like hosta (there are several sun-tolerant varieties).

    In keeping with the same theme, I'm also big on hardscape and focal points... you've done it all with plants, which may work just fine.
     
  3. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Karin,

    Thanks for the reply and yes, it was pretty open ended - upon reflection that is probably a good thing, as we are seeking a broad variety of suggestions. I have a blue juniper hedge and two cedar hedges very nearby, plus I back onto 10 acres of parkland which is a mature forest with pleasant mix of softwoods and hardwoods. Consequently, we wanted to avoid any conifers in this particular space (although I am still seeking a good location to place a couple Scotch Pine, love those).

    We had initially planned to include several large boulders for character - but when we looked around our neighbourhood for ideas it seemed like everybody has a couple rocks thrown into their garden ... some looked great, but most looked either too small or not well planned. Plus, we have a 'private nook' to one side which consists of a bench and retaining wall (pictured below) and felt the emphasis for this particular space would be on plants alone - for both their flower and overall structure. By eliminating the boulders, we were able to squeeze in more plants of varying height - and plan to use the three different Dogwood Trees to balance everything out. We placed a stepping stone path through the middle with a stone stairway to add height and provide an opportunity to view the garden from different angles. We included a variety of ground cover, which vary in height from lowest by the steps and increases in height as it goes outward - with sweet woodruff being the highest of the ground cover in the middle sections of the garden.

    We whole heartedly agree with foliage for variety - we have so far planted twenty five rhododendrons / azalea's and wanted to balance that with plants exhibiting more foliage variety. One of the Dogwood's is a [FONT=arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Cornus alba "Elegantissima"[/SIZE][/FONT] , whose variegated foliage is a pleasant contrast. We have also added several peony's to the garden, all with a pink flower colour to remain consistent with this garden's overall scheme of pink, white or very similar hue ... with the exception being several Anah Kruschke Rhodos which we love for their rounded habit and rich flower colour.

    We have also added a couple more weigela's and additional daphne; plus we managed to find the BlushingBride Hydrangea which we have planted to form a hedge wall along the back - hopefully it produces those magnificent white mopheads as promised. The trellis still needs to be made and placed properly against the wall, so it will be a while yet before the New Dawn climbing roses get planted - but they are intended to be a significant focal point to this garden as well... at least that's the plan, gardening always seems to be a bit of an experiment!

    When we allow measured growth over five years, we still have room for a few more three/four foot plants and some "filler" plants of which we are seeking suggestions. We have some English Daisy's in several of our back yard gardens and like them enough we may include them in the front as well. The peony's were a complete surprise to us, did not plan for them but they look like a beautiful addition ... just need to pick up some support hoops for them. Any ideas for small shrubs?
     

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  4. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

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    One "filler plant" suggestion I would make is something with spiky foliage/vertical feel- like siberian iris or one of the upright grasses like miscanthus. You have alot of plants that are mounds, something upright would set that shape off. If you would rather a shrub, something like Helmond Pillar Barberry would ad that vertical element and purple foliage at the same time.
     
  5. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I agree with Silver Creek that spiky foliage or other vertical elements would be another good addition along with other foliage variety. One plant I thought might work for its upright lines is Leycesteria formosa, a bamboo-like shrub with white flowers, red bracts, and purple berries. But I would still think you need some seriously different foliage. Have you looked much at dwarf/mini conifers?

    It is always difficult asking for design/planting advice; we run into this on the GardenWeb Landscape Design forum all the time. If you've decided for reasons of your own to work within certain constraints or within a limited plant spectrum, then it is more difficult to achieve a design that meets the objective criteria that other people are more likely to bring to the table. Which means, in other words, that a garden consisting of oval leaves on mounded plants is entirely your privilege; it just might not get design accolades.

    You've also posted with only limited pictures of the garden and with it not quite finished, so we can't "see" the composition as you can. So perhaps you will have enough hardscape, and variation in height and leaf shape when it is seen in context.

    And I agree, rock placement is definitely an art that not many people have mastered. As an alternative, I often put containers in my beds to gain a hardscape focal point without sacrificing planting space (you do have to put them on a paving stone so they don't get rainsplash on them).
     
  6. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I'd agree with Karin on some conifers, maybe a Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris; nice glaucous foliage, orangey bark), a Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo; dark green foliage), or a Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora; glaucous foliage)
     
  7. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Thanks folks - they are all great suggestions. We are going to explore some dwarf conifers or, as an alternative, a Scots pine in one corner - I would love a trio of them but it would take too much room. Difficult to photograph, but the garden progressively rises up so there is a difference of about eight feet from the front to the rear ... hopefully allowing greater visibility of the flowering plants. We have also tried to plant the smaller growth plants up front and staggered the larger ones to the rear.

    Karin, your suggestion about a few containers is very interesting - we had not considered it but like the idea and it may work very well. I absolutely agree with you in regards to design advice being quite personal and subjective - but we are so new that we are hungry for any advice and can play around with all the suggestions. We went with a lot of rhodos/azaleas in the front yard for the simple fact that they are so easy to transplant elsewhere if our garden idea does not work out as planned.

    We also like the idea of some ornamental grass as "fillers" - it would provide a pleasant contrast. Well - off to the garden center we go with a bunch of new ideas to explore ... thanks :-)
     
  8. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Well, your suggestions have been excellent and we have decided to remove a few of the rhodos to make way for some dwarf conifers - particularly in key visual areas such as the steps. We have plenty of places in the back yard to place the rhodos, so it works out well. At this point, we are going to stick with a few dwarf conifers as we felt a full sized Scot Pine would take away too much from the rest of the garden.

    The more we explored, the more we realized how right you are with regards to texture and need for all season interest - so we are going to look further into Hellebores. It sounds like there are a large variety, so we need to educate ourselves a bit more about them before we plant any ... if you have any preferred varities, please let us know so we can check them out.

    As far as what type of dwarf conifers - when living on Quadra Island we had a couple dwarf conifers that we think were call Russian Spruce hanging over a stone wall? Hard to find much when we Google that name though ... the closest thing is the Siberian Cypress. Which looks like a good conifer as well, however we remain open to suggestions for dwarf conifers?

    Thanks again, your comments have made us re-explore our overall garden layout ... which is definitely a good thing :-)
     
  9. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    One of the spreading conifers you are thinking of might be Microbiota:
    http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/groundcover/microbiota_decussata.html

    ...which is lovely, but gets pretty big.

    Hellebores... there are two major types you'll run into. The most common are the orientalis hybrids (and some species), whose leaves and flowers grow individually out of the ground, so they only attain the height of the leaf stem (about 14 inches) and then the patch extends in width. You can get a fair selection of "garden variety" pinks and whites for circa $10, and the more special yellows, deep purples, peaches, and double flowers going up to $35. I'd suggest buying these in bloom in January/February. The other type includes Helleborus foetidus and corsicus, in both cases the foliage grows out of a central stem, which flowers at the top. Both give you an evergreen presence, though old foliage is being removed each year. You can get some photos at http://www.phoenixperennials.com/ if you search their plant list for Helleborus.

    I'm delighted to hear you're re-exploring your layout, although I should mention that as the season is advancing, you might be getting to the point where it is best to leave stuff that is alrady established in place for the summer and do any moving in fall. Planting is also getting iffy as we get into June... lots of watering needed to get new additions through the summer where they don't get much shade.

    To research conifers, I'd recommend a book by Adrian Bloom called Gardening with Conifers. Websites to investigate might include
    http://www.coenosium.com/welcome.htm (dreadful photos but good source)
    http://bonsaibc.ca/peninsula/conifers___p-Z .htm (because it's on-island)
    http://www.richsfoxwillowpines.com/Web Albums/Foxwillow Pines Photos Pinus/index.html (far away but good photos)
    You might also poke around the conifers forum on Garden Web.

    I was also going to mention that some of the best sun-tolerant hostas include H. plantaginea and H. Fragrant Bouquet. Both are fragrant.

    Best of luck!
     
  10. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Karin,

    Thanks for the info - we are going to wait to plant the Hellebores in the fall when we include some bulbs as well, need to explore a bit more but so far we are a bit partial towards the Helleborus foetidus and corsicus.

    So far we picked up two Mugo Pines (aka Swiss Mountain Pine) which have far more texture and contrast than the cypress would have had in our garden - it was great going to a large nursery and exploring around, much better prices as well! UPDATE: We just planted the Mugo Pines and what a dramatic change to the overall feel of the garden ... all for the better. It seems to tie everything together, and bring more interest to the other shrubs we have planted versus just a focus on the rhodos. I do realize that was exactly what you folks have been trying to tell me - but it definitely is a "seeing is believing' type of experience.

    We are now going to stop moving things around as per your suggestion and simply let things have a chance to settle in and grow. Meanwhile, we plan to educate ourselves more on various shrubs and conifers to look at what we can include in the front. A fragrant Hosta that is sun tolerant - sounds absolutely delightful... we truly do have so much to learn.

    Thanks again Karin, you advice has been enormously helpful. We shall post more photos in the fall...we we plant some bulbs for the spring :-)
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2007
  11. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    We had a chance to check out the Helmond Pillar Barberry and like it, plan to try and include one or two in the garden as well ... great suggestion, thanks. The purple foliage is just enough to add some contrast yet still within the spectrum we were seeking...
     
  12. chimera

    chimera Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Dwarf western hemlocks, cryptomeria, and native yew do well here with some shade. True dwarf firs,true cedars, Taxus baccata, spruce, chamaecyparis obtusa {except yellow foliaged} and pine do well with full sun. Grafted dwarf sequoias can be a pain with the rootstalk sending up shoots. Might want to consider adverse effects of wet snow loads before planting fine foliaged conifers, and seasonal colour changes of some conifers. Juniper communis compressa is an interesting small upright. Microbiota decussata takes clipping well, plus seasonal colour change. Room for a small scented viburnum might be desirable.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2007
  13. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    You are right and it was not until after we planted the Mugo pines that we realized if we experienced another bad winter like last year than this would be a futile effort. Ah well, worth a try anyway - as they do balance out the garden very nicely.
     
  14. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Now I'll be watching your weather with guilty qualms all next winter! I actually have not heard that pines suffer particularly under snow, although I appreciate that your snow might be wetter and heavier than in some of the US, which is mostly where I hear from. If they do suffer, mugo pines would at least tolerate corrective pruning.

    Garden design is a series of trade-offs anyway of course; if it isn't lack of hardiness that stands between us and the perfect garden, it is lack of money or time or the wrong sun angle or something else. Even if the mugos don't hold up for long, the value of having seen how they change the overall effect of your landscape will stay with you in the quest to replace them.

    Hope it works out, though, and kudos to you for your research and interest in suggestions.
     
  15. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Pinus mugo is one of the most snow-adapted species there is - it grows at high altitudes in the Alps, where it regularly gets several metres snowfall every winter. The branches are adapted to bend downward under it, and then spring back up when it all thaws in sping.
     
  16. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Thanks ... sounds terrific, I'll try and get a few pics of Before vs. After we put the Mugo pines in - it trully is interesting how quickly the dynamics of a garden can change.

    I just got an offer to relocate which my wife and I will likely accept - so now we are seeking a property in the Qualicum Beach area and get to start the fun process of designing a garden all over again :-)
     
  17. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Have just recovered from the surprise, and am able to say "congratulations" and look forward to posts of your new project :-)
     
  18. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Thanks, it has been a busy few weeks but we are excited about moving to Parksville / Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island as it has a slightly better climate and great soil for gardening. The people who purchased our place in Campbell River love gardening and are appreciative of the work we did, which is always nice ... we are looking forward to seeing the place in a few years and watching its overall progress.

    We have learned a lot of lessons in a short period of time, now we are hoping to take that information and incorporate it into our next project ... which will be even bigger and planned for a longer term, as we are hoping to make the Parksville/Qualicum Beach move our last and seeking a long term residence for retirement!

    Should be fun :-)
     
  19. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    You also have the advantage now of being near the Milner Gardens and Woodland!
     
  20. Laughing Dog

    Laughing Dog Active Member

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    Yes we are quite excited about that, should be an excellent learning opportunity.
     

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