help with fitting architectural plants into a border

19 years ago

I have been gardening for 3 years and love it. I wish our growing season was longer and that the snow would go away. In a late-night bout of garden catalog shopping, I went a bit crazy with ordering architectural plants, as I really like them. My question: How can I fit these architectural plants into a narrow border setting (about 3 feet deep and 25 feet long going around a 90-degree turn along a chain-link fence)? The plants are echinops ritro, acanthus spinosissimus, yucca filamentosa, and eryngium (v. giganteum, I think). The area is sunny most of the day. What plants can I use around/next to/behind these plants to make these plants look more unified? Also, I bought some Pandora's Box daylilies from Breck's (dwarf cream with purple). Can these work into this border? I have been going nuts trying to figure out some plants to go with these "monsters." I would appreciate all help you can give. It may be an impossible dream to get all these plants to work.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

motria
19 years ago
My landscape is pretty random, but here are a couple of ideas from my readings:

Repetition in the border can create unity. Did you get more than one apiece of the architectural plants? If so, then you could space out the most dramatic (the acanthus and yucca) at regular intervals. Maybe they could be used to "anchor" the ends of the border or to highlight certain focal areas. I have a couple of eryngium, though, and they're too wispy to make a very dramatic statement.

Although the plants you mention are big, they all seem to have white and purple tones that should be easy to blend with existing colors. Possibly they could be used to separate potentially clashing colors of other plants.

I'll bet you could work these giants to your advantage in more ways than one. Good luck!
nycowboy
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the advice. It never occurred to me to get more than one acanthus or yucca! I like this idea a lot.
Related Professionals
Washington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Alpharetta Landscape Contractors · Cicero Landscape Contractors · Damascus Landscape Contractors · Wheat Ridge Landscape Contractors · Browns Mills General Contractors · Cape Girardeau General Contractors · Dallas General Contractors · East Riverdale General Contractors · El Monte General Contractors · Lincoln General Contractors · North Lauderdale General Contractors · Norwell General Contractors · Owosso General Contractors · Cherry Hill Siding & Exteriors
motria
19 years ago
Oh, no! I've encouraged you. ;-)