HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-04-15, Page 58Page 32
Design . garden with perennial
Life's book "Perennials", part of the series
"Encyclopedia of Gardening".
Location is the first consideration in
planning the herbaceous perennial border,"
Rintoul said.
Most perennials require a sunny location,
although some will thrive in partial shade
and full shade conditions.
To achieve the most pleasing results, a
backdrop such as a fence, hedge or wall
should be used to set off the garden and give
it a visual reference point.
A third consideration is soil type and
drainage; avoid low areas and heavy clay
soils because most perennials require the
good drainage provided by light, sandy
soils.
Once you have established a location and
determined the size and shape of the
garden, use the trace paper to outline the
perimeter on six siparate sheets to repre-
sent each of the months from April to
September.
These, in turn, may be used to plan in col-
or, each month's display, while
simultaneously considering the previous
and future month's display.
"By designing the garden this way, you
can avoid the tendency to clump plants of
one height, color or blooming time together
in the same area — because the six sheets
can be used as overlays," she said.
When actually choosing plant material,
several key points should be considered.
An honest evaluation of the size of your
border is extremely important at the outset;
smaller gardens should avoid such wide-
spreading plants as, delphiniums and
peonies becouse these tend to overshadow
and compete with other varieties.
Secondly, develop a plant list consisting of
the plants you would most like to have and
from this list, choose a few "anchor" plants
around which you can compose your design.
These 'anchor" plants will become the
focus of the border in their respective
blooming times, so choose plants to repre-
sent the entire growing season.
Repetition is the third,design consideration.
"Avoid the temptation of putting one of
everything in the border; repeat several key
plants and key colors instead. This creates
visual harmony and allows you to play with
patterns," she said.
For blooms in May and June, try tall
bearded iris (Iris sp. ) ; peonies i Paeonie
sp. i ; Oriental poppies ( Papaver orientate) ;
bleeding hearts Dicentra spectabilisi;
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ground phlox ( Phlox subulata 1; followed by
June and July bloomers such as lupins
Lupin polyphyllis) ; delphiniums
Delphinium sp,) ; astilbes l Astilbe sp. l and
evening primrose ( Oenothera cinaeus ) ; and
finally for August and September color,
black-eyed Susans l Rudbeckia hirta i and
the New England aster Aster Novae-
angliae ).
Perennial borders do require
maintenance — weeding and thinning in
particular.
Irises, for example, should be dug and
divided every two to three years in July.
Others should be transplanted in early
spring or fall months.
•'The rewards of these labors are many —
a constantly changing display of color as
well as a handy source of fresh -cut flowers
such as sweet William, phlox, chrysan-
themums and black-eyed Susans," she said.
Flowers can also be grown and later dried
for more permanent flower arrangements.
Chinese lanterns. silver dollars, straw -
flower, baby's breath are good examples of
perennials that may be dried.
As well, perennials often attract bees and
butterflies.
Red Beebalm 1 Monarda sp.( will often en-
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courage hummingbirds to visit your garden.
Peremals are more expensive per plant
than annuals but they pay for themselves
over time because they come up year after
year. And one plant can be propagated to
yield many offspring and spread color to
other parts of the garden," Rintoul said.
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