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crocosmia_mn

Anyone have photos of Cannas mixed in with other flowers?

crocosmia_mn
18 years ago

In other words, not in a line or as part of a formal planting or in a container, but in some more irregular pattern in a flowerbed with, say, Dahlias, Helenium, grasses, annuals, vines, other tropical plants, or whatever. Especially if you have photos of Cannas with other really tall plants. Thanks!

Comments (15)

  • annzgw
    18 years ago

    I don't have a photo at the moment, but mine are in a large bed with Cistus, Rhoddies, Smoke Bush, Mock Orange and Viburnum, along with a couple of grasses, annuals and perennials.

    I'll have a photo when things start growing!

  • crocosmia_mn
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Here's a few photos of my front garden last summer, using Cannas for the first time. I now wish I had spread them out more through the bed. Also, later in the summer, their blooms towered over even the gigantic Tithonia behind them and I wondered if there is a way to get them to bloom at a shorter height, for instance by cutting off the first stalk, or if they are just programmed to bloom at a certain height no matter what.
    I was pleased that several people who said they "hated Cannas" changed their minds after seeing Cannas used this way.
    {{gwi:529916}}

    {{gwi:529917}}

    {{gwi:529918}}

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    crocosmia_mn - now you know better than to post such gorgeous photos and not tell us what all is there with the cannas!!!!!

    I see the nasturtiums and coreopsis and cleome.... and.... ???????!!!!

  • lakemayor
    18 years ago

    What a beautiful flower bed. You must have wonderful soil. I don't know what I do wrong but I can't grow flowers so close together like that and have them look as good as your do. What is your secret?

  • florah
    18 years ago

    This bed is absolutely stunning. I bet that your neighbors stop every day and admire your gardening skills.

    As a newcomer to gardening, I have no idea what I am seeing there. Could you please tell me what the yellow and red flowers behind the canna (photo 1) are and the red flowers with the slender dark leaves to the canna's left? Is the canna a Pretoria?

  • lakemayor
    18 years ago

    Yes, your bed is stunning. I too would like to know what the yellow and red flowers behind the canna are. This is one of the most beautiful flower beds I've ever seen. I still believe that your soil must be the best. Do you amend it? If so, with what?

  • wanna_run_faster
    18 years ago

    I agree with all the above! Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us! I just planted some Tithonia Torch and have a seedling of fiesta del sol coming along so I'm very excited to see how beautiful yours is! WHat is the orange flower in front of the canna?

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    I think I may have id'd one more - fire cracker vine (Mina lobata) crawling through the bed and around the cannas in photo 1. Ie., the blooms are the ones with a spike and bell-shaped flowers that change color from yellow at the bottom to red at the top. I kept looking at the tri-lobed leaves in the foliage mass and kept saying to myself that they reminded me of the bean vines that have spike flowers (eg., hyacinth bean, scarlet runner). And in this case, it would make sense.

  • crocosmia_mn
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thank you all for your kind words! I was definitely inspired by some gardens I saw in England and by having FULL SUN for the first time. There are photos from that England trip and more of my front yard garden with most of the plants listed at:

    Homepage.mac.com/kenandnancy

    The soil is stuff I bought a trailer-load of and then amended with compost and manure for some of the plants. What's 24 inches under that is ancient builders' sand and rubble and tree roots, so pretty good drainage. The only plants that did not seem to like being planted so close together were the Dahlias, which mildewed a bit.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My garden photos

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    Thanks for posting the link of your gardens and plant IDs!

    What you indicated as Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) was the main one I couldn't figure out (and me of all people having attempted to grow milkweed myself from seed last year...lol). I think what caught me off guard were the dark stems and the height of yours, which makes them seem like some sort of bulb.

    That color combo of the butterfly weed with the mina lobata was a great choice for matching purposes!

  • crocosmia_mn
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    It's annual butterfly weed, Asclepias curassavica -- a fabulous annual. It even grows OK in my backyard which only gets morning and afternoon sun for six hours. Keep it dead-headed and it blooms until frost. My perennial butterfly weed quits about July 15th!

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    Thanks for the info! I may try that one this year. Anything that blooms until frost is welcome!

  • annzgw
    18 years ago

    OK...........I hate to ask this, since it's probably a common plant, but what is the plant near the sidewalk with the round leaves?

  • zitro_joe
    18 years ago

    Annz- Those are Nasturtiums, the ones I had spread about three feet. Beautiful flowers.

    I had Lantanas, Pentas, Celosia, Calla lilies, small Dahlias and Nasturtiums. The Cannas aren't in the frame of the picture, they were located just to the side. I didn't inclued them in this pic because my aim was to get a pic of the Monarch.

    {{gwi:529919}}
    {{gwi:529920}}

    Joe

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    Yet another great combo of plants. I like those dahlias!

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