Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
This was the garden bed that greeted us at one of the gardens we visited a couple of weeks ago for the Garden Conservancy Open Days Program in northwestern Connecticut. It ran alond the entire driveway of this house, and it was stunning. But I couldn’t help wondering what this bed looks like for the rest of the season. I had a chance to talk to the homeowner, and she says that this entire bed is filled with daffodils in spring. The daylilies and black-eyed Susans start to emerge soon after and their foliage hides the fading foliage of the daffodils. Now that I think about it, a bank of solid green for a couple of months before they start to bloom wouldn’t be so bad. But I bet there’s something she could add to bridge the gap. What would you suggest?
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
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Comments
Add some Dr Regal daylilies, they bloom in May and Autumn Mineret daylilies for bloom in Sept.
Add Asters and Mums for lovely fall color!
Some clumps of Siberian iris would help bridge a color gap between daffodils and daylilies.
I generally agree with adding some colour, perhaps purple cone flower as they bloom at the same time as the Daylillies and Black Eyed Susans. However in this case I think the wash of yellow gold is very powerful, I have areas like this now in my garden and they never fail to please.
This looks like my garden right now! Earlier, I have foxglove, delphinium, and peonies. And weeds, mustn't forget the weeds,Haha!
Shasta daisies with oriental and asiatic lilies would be a nice addition.
A great question and interesting answers. I would probably add some dwarf lilacs, May tulips and allium shubertii to fill the gap. The foliage of the tulips would be coverd quickly by the summer planting. The alliums have interest from spring to summer and into the fall. The dwarf lilacs would coordiate well with tulips in the white to bluish pinks and reds and purple blacks, not to mention the viridis mixtures. The height of the lilacs would also help to connect the bed to the neighbouring landscape.
I have a AHS Daylily display garden, so this is what mine looks like at peak bloom. The garden beds are planted with spring bulbs, mostly bluebells and camassia with some daffodils and hellebores. By the time they are done my peonies are starting to bloom and the daylily foliage is nice and green. Oriental Lilies bloom in July with the daylilies. Lots of hardy fuchsia, different perennials and annual containers bloom thru the rest of the summer. The one thing I like about my beds are that in the winter and early spring it is a clean slate for garden clean up. Garden art is always showing off just for fun.
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