Cannas (Credit: Getty Images)
Color and texture are tried-and-true ways to add interest to your garden, but gardeners may not always stop to consider shapes. Contrast feathery with bold, tall and slender with wide and round, or any other variations you can imagine. Here are a few plants that just might inspire you.
Cannas are wonderful large additions to any garden, be it a border or a foundation bed. The many varieties provide gorgeous, exotic blooms in a variety of colors, but sometimes the leaves are the stars.
Canna ‘Cleopatra’ spends most of her life as foliage in your garden, sporting large vivid green leaves slashed with burgundy. In July, she produces tricolor blooms in red, yellow, and orange with speckles. Bulbs should be dug in fall to overwinter.
Crocosmia is a showy bulb ordinarily used as an annual. For a tall statement in the garden, crocosmia grows to 4 feet by 2 feet and stuns the senses with long stalks of brilliant scarlet flowers from June through August. Plant in full sun with some shade in the hottest summer areas. Bulbs can be dug in the fall and stored for replanting in spring.
Edelweiss is an alpine perennial that always gets attention. Low-growing gray-green, somewhat furry, lance-shaped leaves spread out, then in July, stems pop up and produce the most interesting fuzzy, white, wooly blooms. It grows to about 1 foot with about the same spread in full sun. This plant looks great paired with astilbe and heuchera.
Goatsbeard can command all the attention at the back of the landscape bed, looking for all the world like a giant astilbe. The pinnate leaves are dark green and lacy, forming a lovely background for the showy plumes of white flowers that appear in May. This perennial grows to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It loves full sun with some shade, needs plenty of moisture, and tolerates rabbits.
Lupine is an old-fashioned plant that is often overlooked because it does poorly in hot weather. Tuck this herbaceous perennial into a sunny spot that has light shade from intense afternoon sun, and you’ll be rewarded in the spring and early summer with tall spikes of fragrant flowers. The leaf clusters look like small palm trees, and the scent of lupine in full bloom is incredible. It is attractive to butterflies and slugs.
Foxglove is another old-fashioned plant that needs some patience, as it only blooms the second year, but the stalks of trumpet-shaped flowers are stunning at the back of a bed, and the velvety leaves contrast nicely with other plants. Foxglove grows to 5 feet and comes in several colors, but the most common are yellow or purple. Plant in full sun to part shade and watch the hummingbirds arrive. It tolerates rabbits and deer.
Red Hot Poker is a dynamite plant to put into a sunny, dry garden space. Once established, this herbaceous perennial grows to about 3 feet tall with sword-like leaves and a brilliant orange bloom that opens slowly and lasts a long time. It tolerates rabbits, deer, drought, and dry soil.
Rhubarb. Who would have thought to use this vegetable as an ornamental? Gorgeous huge, ruffled leaves start in early spring, then come May, tall stalks of lacy white flowers appear. It makes a beautiful statement in a large landscape bed, with the added plus of fresh rhubarb stalks during the second year of growth. It tolerates rabbits.
Sweetfern is a deciduous shrub with narrow, fragrant, deeply notched lustrous green leaves of about 4 inches. The effect is lacy and a wonderful backdrop to bolder plants. It grows well in full sun to part shade and is low maintenance. It produces insignificant flowering, but the resulting burr-type nutlets add interest. The plant tolerates drought.
Taro ‘Cranberry’ or ‘Black Magic’ is a bulb to be reckoned with! A spectacular addition to a sunny garden (although hot afternoon sun will bleach the leaves), Taro grows to 6 by 6 feet, producing green-black, heart-shaped leaves that measure almost 2 feet long. Taro is a tender bulb and should be lifted in the fall. It tolerates wet soil and is a good choice for pond-side.
Toni Leland is a master gardener from Ohio who now writes from her home in Connecticut.
Color and texture are tried-and-true ways to add interest to your garden, but gardeners may not always stop to consider shapes. Contrast feathery with bold, tall and slender with wide and round, or any other variations you can imagine. Here are a few plants that just might inspire you.
Cannas are wonderful large additions to any garden, be it a border or a foundation bed. The many varieties provide gorgeous, exotic blooms in a variety of colors, but sometimes the leaves are the stars.
Canna ‘Cleopatra’ spends most of her life as foliage in your garden, sporting large vivid green leaves slashed with burgundy. In July, she produces tricolor blooms in red, yellow, and orange with speckles. Bulbs should be dug in fall to overwinter.
Crocosmia is a showy bulb ordinarily used as an annual. For a tall statement in the garden, crocosmia grows to 4 feet by 2 feet and stuns the senses with long stalks of brilliant scarlet flowers from June through August. Plant in full sun with some shade in the hottest summer areas. Bulbs can be dug in the fall and stored for replanting in spring.
Edelweiss is an alpine perennial that always gets attention. Low-growing gray-green, somewhat furry, lance-shaped leaves spread out, then in July, stems pop up and produce the most interesting fuzzy, white, wooly blooms. It grows to about 1 foot with about the same spread in full sun. This plant looks great paired with astilbe and heuchera.
Goatsbeard can command all the attention at the back of the landscape bed, looking for all the world like a giant astilbe. The pinnate leaves are dark green and lacy, forming a lovely background for the showy plumes of white flowers that appear in May. This perennial grows to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It loves full sun with some shade, needs plenty of moisture, and tolerates rabbits.
Lupine is an old-fashioned plant that is often overlooked because it does poorly in hot weather. Tuck this herbaceous perennial into a sunny spot that has light shade from intense afternoon sun, and you’ll be rewarded in the spring and early summer with tall spikes of fragrant flowers. The leaf clusters look like small palm trees, and the scent of lupine in full bloom is incredible. It is attractive to butterflies and slugs.
Foxglove is another old-fashioned plant that needs some patience, as it only blooms the second year, but the stalks of trumpet-shaped flowers are stunning at the back of a bed, and the velvety leaves contrast nicely with other plants. Foxglove grows to 5 feet and comes in several colors, but the most common are yellow or purple. Plant in full sun to part shade and watch the hummingbirds arrive. It tolerates rabbits and deer.
Red Hot Poker is a dynamite plant to put into a sunny, dry garden space. Once established, this herbaceous perennial grows to about 3 feet tall with sword-like leaves and a brilliant orange bloom that opens slowly and lasts a long time. It tolerates rabbits, deer, drought, and dry soil.
Rhubarb. Who would have thought to use this vegetable as an ornamental? Gorgeous huge, ruffled leaves start in early spring, then come May, tall stalks of lacy white flowers appear. It makes a beautiful statement in a large landscape bed, with the added plus of fresh rhubarb stalks during the second year of growth. It tolerates rabbits.
Sweetfern is a deciduous shrub with narrow, fragrant, deeply notched lustrous green leaves of about 4 inches. The effect is lacy and a wonderful backdrop to bolder plants. It grows well in full sun to part shade and is low maintenance. It produces insignificant flowering, but the resulting burr-type nutlets add interest. The plant tolerates drought.
Taro ‘Cranberry’ or ‘Black Magic’ is a bulb to be reckoned with! A spectacular addition to a sunny garden (although hot afternoon sun will bleach the leaves), Taro grows to 6 by 6 feet, producing green-black, heart-shaped leaves that measure almost 2 feet long. Taro is a tender bulb and should be lifted in the fall. It tolerates wet soil and is a good choice for pond-side.
Toni Leland is a master gardener from Ohio who now writes from her home in Connecticut.
