backyard border 1 makeover part 2 - the plants

I delivered the client's perennials yesterday in the pouring rain, so didn't take any pictures of them in situ yet.  Here's the before picture and I'll post some after pictures next time I go back.

After showing this client pictures of a variety of styles of gardens, she said she liked everything (my favourite kind of client, easy going!), but this picture from Gardens West magazine (March 2008) was the one that really caught her eye:

This kind of bountiful bloom can only be achieved from lots of annuals in the garden.  The only perennials I can make out are blue delphiniums and purple phlox, otherwise there's lots of petunias and allysum (the annuals).  The only problem with a garden like this is that in Calgary, it won't look like this until at least the end of July because it takes that long for the annuals to get big.  So for 3 months May-July you are just waiting for the garden to look good, and before mid-May you won't even have any annuals at all, you'll be looking at bare soil.

So I suggested planting a few key perennials throughout this client's border, and then filling in the spaces with wave petunias to achieve the riot of colour she likes so much.   The perennials chosen all had to have at least one of the following attributes, preferably two or three:

- they had to be large and fast-growing to provide some structure to the garden

- they had to be long blooming

- they had to provide early spring colour, so the garden looks good even before the annuals are planted

- they had to provide more than one season of interest - eg. foliage colour and texture when out of bloom, winter interest, etc.

So here's what I came up with:

goldmound spireas (spring, summer and fall colour)

monkshood (long blooming, structure)

garden phlox (fall colour, paired with monkshood)

liatris (fall colour, paired with monkshood)

catmint (long blooming)

lady's mantle (foliage, paired with catmint)

hosta (foliage)

veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' (long blooming, structure, winter interest)

shasta daisy 'Becky' (long blooming, paired with veronica)

daylily (structure, paired with veronica and shasta daisy)

blue oat grass (structure, foliage, year-round interest)

dwarf bearded iris (structure, early spring colour)

She also has some cranesbills, bleeding heart and lamium to divide and move around in the border, plus we are adding an Annabelle hydrangea in the shade.  Like I said, I'll post pictures after my next visit.

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