whats a companion plant???

when SS is 3 times as wide.. and twice as tall ... most of whats there will be irrelevant ...

though i agree.. i dont like the yellowish thing on the right ... thats probably the root of your problem ... it detracts from the SS .. instead of making SS 'pop'... its making both dreary ...

ah crikey... get rid of all of them but for SS .. and fill the space with hosta .. jimminey.. companion plants ... pshaw ... lol ..

ken

ps: dont recognize the name.. we have fun here in the hosta forum.. welcome ...

The heuchera has to go--unless you can find a couple dark burgundy red/purple ones. They'd look great and set up a nice contrast with S&S which would make S&S stand out.

The red impatience are fine--but not in a straight row. One here, one there, another one over there--scattered and informal would look better. I might prefer a bright pink impatience rather than a red one, but red is all right also.

Maybe stick in a Blue Mouse Ears (small blue hosta) and a small-to-medium sized green and white/cream/yellow combination hosta--for some lively contrast. Hosta leaves that are wavy-edged or puckered would make a nice contrast also. Don't put the additional hosta too close however, since you'll have to move them then when S&S matures. With the heuchera or annuals closer to the big one, there will be no problem since they can easily be moved when S&S starts demanding more elbow room.

No straight lines, remember. "Scatter" the plants around. : )

Look forward to seeing the results.

Kate

Solomon Seal along the house. Buy a beautiful varigated speciman, with red stalks, or double flowers, not the standard tall green, it can be a thug. Solomon Seal will arch above whats below without obstructing the view, and give a little height. Some varieties are slow growers, which is nice.

I would move the s&s so it is centered in the bed , It will eventually have a diameter in excess of 6 feet,

Plant some dark green groundcovers (Lamnia maybe)

some med blue hostas (e.g. Halcyon) scattered around with some fibrous begonias for color.

In our area (southern Ontario) the impatiens are pretty much wiped out by some airbourne fungus, They aren't even selling them here.

I also agree that the caramel heuchera is out of place here.

As Ken advised, whatever is next to your SS now will be irrelevant because your SS will grow 6+ feet wide 4 ft tall.

- Dark purple Huechera
- Variegated Solomon's Seal
- Dark purple Ajuga
- Lamium maculatum
-Tiarella
-some green hosta
-easy annuals such as Johnny Jumpup
-Brunnera - I like the green one better than speckled
-Pulmonaria
-Wild ginger

A friend let Lunaria annua reseed among her hosta. It is absolutely beautiful.

I would also move that SS at least 4 ft. away from the wall unless you have someone with a backhoe to help you move it later.

Be cautious with the variegated Solomon's Seal. It's lovely and easy to grow if it has enough water. The problem is the "easy to grow". I had a clump at each end of a hosta bed, and just spent hours digging most of it out. There's a soaker hose in the bed, and the Solomon's Seal spread all along the hose, crowding the hostas out. Fortunately it is easy to dig up. As soon as the rain stops, the rest of it is being banished to a ditch near a culvert where it can spread as much as it likes.

I'd save the Autumn fern and tuck it in between larger plants. Yours looks very healthy.

My mature S&S has grown well beyond the 6 ft. across it was supposed to get to and is crowding the hostas on either side. If it gets enough light, water, and fertilizer, S&S can be a monster. Makes a great specimen plant, and is very eye-catching. I put some small to medium variegated hostas in front of S&S and Dream Queen and Holy Mole on either side, also yellow corydallis between the smaller hostas. It's a pretty deep bed. Sorry I don't have a better picture handy.

Thank you one and all for your kind and thoughtful responses.

Ken, et al, the caramel heuchera will go. Probably will just be shovel pruned into the trash. There's nowhere else in my yard I want to put it. But it sure is hard to just throw away a healthy plant. It made both itself and SS look terrible. Your consensus that it looks bad will help me to get rid of it.

Dublin and Piti - dark purple heuchera sound great.

Ken, Dublin, Jimr, Mad and Piti - thank you for the spacing advice. SS is currently 3 1/2 feet from the house and is already centered in the bed. So I will just let it/him/her be. I will not plant any other hosta hearby. I'm thinking about some tall pots...

Beverly, your SS is beautiful, as is your lawn.

Jimr, regarding impatiens, two years ago all 160 of my impatiens plants succumbed to the fungus, last year there were no impatiens in the garden stores, this year I planted 130 and so far so good.

Dublin, thanks for your suggestion of dark pink impatiens; I think I will try for a shade of magenta near SS next year.

Unbidden, you suggestion about something tall sounds good. Solomon's seal goes wild in my yard, so I think I will consider an upright fern or tall variety of astilbe. Or maybe some tall pots planted with an uprightish hosta and creeping Jenny, which is similar in color to SS. Pots can be moved as SS grows. Also, I'm considering a Crimson Queen Japanese maple.

Mad, autumn fern is a nice plant here. It's evergreen and easy to grow. I will find homes in my yard for all seven of these.

I have a large supply of undulata erromena planted too close to a drift of azaleas. I bought these plants in a cardboard box bareroot multipack of 7 at, of all places, Sam's Club, and for 3 years thought they were dead. See pic. Not dead. UE might look good in pots near SS. It's a nice shade of darker green. Next spring...

Again, thank you all. Progress will be slow - I'll post some pics next year.

Christine

{{!gwi}}