I need is advice on perennials or shrubs that are 2 1/2 - 3' tall, up to 3' wide, blooms in full sun AND part shade, blooms throughout July and August, and will look good between irises / daylilies and amaranth / calla lilies.
DETAILS OF THE GARDEN:
I'm in zone 7A (western North Carolina). The area I'm working on is in front of my house, so it's the most prominent garden that you see when you come to my front door. The garden area is about 15' deep and 40' long, with a brick foundation on the back side and a white cement walkway in front of it.
Facing the house, the sun rises on the right. But there's a large dogwood tree on the right side (east side) of the property, so about half of the right side of the garden is shaded until just after noon.
There are also heavy woods on the left side (west side) of the property, so there's also evening shade. The left (west) side of the garden is unfiltered sun for about 6 hours, and the right (east) side is dappled shade until around noon, part sun until around 6pm, and then dappled again.
On the right (east) side I have a permanently planted dwarf Tamukeyama Japanese maple (supposed to be red, but the leaves stay green so I think it doesn't get enough sun). Slightly behind and to the right of the tree are daylilies, and that marks the true beginning of the garden.
In the middle of the garden, I have a small semi-natural looking water fountain that I've surrounded with mondo grass. I've set up a sort of walkway to the fountain, so there are a few rock stepping stones and creeping jenny planted for color.
From the main cement walkway to the house, I try to stagger my plants by height and bloom season... the attempt is to keep color going throughout the season, and make sure everything is visible from the walkway.
Pictures below come from Google, they're not actual images of my plants...
Starting at the walkway, I have:
Purple Heart setcreasea
Autumn Joy sedum
Sunny Border Blue Speedwell
Purple Irises (not sure of the type, I've had these forever)
Daylilies
I also have a single Purple Coneflower and two Black Eyed Susans near here; I planted seeds in May, but these were all that survived. They're still sprouts right now, so I'm not sure if they'll grow or come back next year.
Behind this, I have 3 pots near the fountain: one with red zinnia and a spiky dracaena grass and a larger one behind it with tall Asiatic lilies (just now starting to bloom), and on the other side of the fountain is a smaller pot with calla lilies.
After this, I have about 5' of emptiness.
Behind that empty area, I have:
Loves Lies Bleeding amaranth
Yellow calla lilies
I also have yellow Easter lily bulbs in this area.
The Easter lilies obviously bloom first (sometimes it snows after they bloom!), and die away before anything else starts. The setcreasea, sedum, and speedwell usually come up in April and look good until November or December. The irises bloom in May, and the daylilies are blooming right now.
The amaranth is new for me, but if it survives then it will bloom mid- to late-summer. Same for the calla lilies, they are currently about 8" tall and have a way to go before they'll bloom.
So what I need is advice on perennials or shrubs to fill in that empty area between the irises and amaranth, preferably 2 1/2 - 3' tall, blooms in full sun AND part sun, blooms throughout July and August, and will look good in front of amaranth and calla lilies.
DETAILS OF THE GARDEN:
I'm in zone 7A (western North Carolina). The area I'm working on is in front of my house, so it's the most prominent garden that you see when you come to my front door. The garden area is about 15' deep and 40' long, with a brick foundation on the back side and a white cement walkway in front of it.
Facing the house, the sun rises on the right. But there's a large dogwood tree on the right side (east side) of the property, so about half of the right side of the garden is shaded until just after noon.
There are also heavy woods on the left side (west side) of the property, so there's also evening shade. The left (west) side of the garden is unfiltered sun for about 6 hours, and the right (east) side is dappled shade until around noon, part sun until around 6pm, and then dappled again.
On the right (east) side I have a permanently planted dwarf Tamukeyama Japanese maple (supposed to be red, but the leaves stay green so I think it doesn't get enough sun). Slightly behind and to the right of the tree are daylilies, and that marks the true beginning of the garden.
In the middle of the garden, I have a small semi-natural looking water fountain that I've surrounded with mondo grass. I've set up a sort of walkway to the fountain, so there are a few rock stepping stones and creeping jenny planted for color.
From the main cement walkway to the house, I try to stagger my plants by height and bloom season... the attempt is to keep color going throughout the season, and make sure everything is visible from the walkway.
Pictures below come from Google, they're not actual images of my plants...
Starting at the walkway, I have:
Purple Heart setcreasea
Autumn Joy sedum
Sunny Border Blue Speedwell
Purple Irises (not sure of the type, I've had these forever)
Daylilies
I also have a single Purple Coneflower and two Black Eyed Susans near here; I planted seeds in May, but these were all that survived. They're still sprouts right now, so I'm not sure if they'll grow or come back next year.
Behind this, I have 3 pots near the fountain: one with red zinnia and a spiky dracaena grass and a larger one behind it with tall Asiatic lilies (just now starting to bloom), and on the other side of the fountain is a smaller pot with calla lilies.
After this, I have about 5' of emptiness.
Behind that empty area, I have:
Loves Lies Bleeding amaranth
Yellow calla lilies
I also have yellow Easter lily bulbs in this area.
The Easter lilies obviously bloom first (sometimes it snows after they bloom!), and die away before anything else starts. The setcreasea, sedum, and speedwell usually come up in April and look good until November or December. The irises bloom in May, and the daylilies are blooming right now.
The amaranth is new for me, but if it survives then it will bloom mid- to late-summer. Same for the calla lilies, they are currently about 8" tall and have a way to go before they'll bloom.
So what I need is advice on perennials or shrubs to fill in that empty area between the irises and amaranth, preferably 2 1/2 - 3' tall, blooms in full sun AND part sun, blooms throughout July and August, and will look good in front of amaranth and calla lilies.
