Please note that next to the peonies, I have just planted an Heirloom rose, which has large and fragrant mauve flowers. Obviously it is still very small, but it will get much larger. I love how they look against the white peonies.

You will also see the Quick Fire in the foreground of the photo, and then the Pinky Winky in the background. Little Lamb is to the right of the rose, but you may not see it there. To the far left is a Limelight, which you don't see in this photo.

BTW, how do you like that Sambucus Black Lace in this hydrangea bed? After 2 years now, it is finally taking off and is growing like crazy! I LOVE IT!

P.S. I HATE the residual foliage of those daffodils next to my peonies! I am going to remove them soon...

Black Lace. The best speciman of it I've seen to the date. Super!
Daffodils. As soon as foliage will be on decline dig them out and replant as a clump anywhere in the middle of the bed, maybe behind the prostrate juniper on a left. This way they'll not bother you.

Good going!!!

Anyway, George, I was also wondering if it were a Festiva Maxima too (yup, I am barely just starting to learn about peonies!!! :-) ). However, I thought that FM was fragrant? This one is hardly fragrant... hmm... and the red streaks were probably what made me wonder about it being FM. However, when they were in full bloom today, I did not seem to see the red streaks any more. Do you still think that it might be FM?

Thanks again for your help with this! Now, what other perennials would you add around these hydrangeas, peonies and roses in order to add some more colors?

I have a row of (I think, must be- L A Duff Peony - my grand-dau calls ballerina tutus!) beautiful, fragrant, light pink - on sunny side, top of retaining wall. I dug up 2 clumps in '06 to open room for LL & QF. I was going to dig up another for Angel's Blush but thought Lime Lt might look better next to QF ... next year perhaps. These nightly tornado-like storms coupled with daytime hurling winds this wk forced us to harvest bucketsful of these beauties ... a Senior home, close by enjoys them... oops sorry to swerve! :-(

BTW Daffodils might also be nice around your tree ... can't get over what a difference a year makes, your island looks great!!! :-)))

Luis' suggestion great too - like cedar mulch will sent wafts of lovely, wood fragrance around!

Luis, I appreciate your suggestion - yes, the impulse buy is so dangerous!!! I need to STOP doing that... but it's hard! Sigh... in terms of the mulch, I have the landscaping people do it every June and I always choose the fine black mulch. I guess that's the color that I like the most... :-)

George, ask and thou shalt receive! I will include the photos in the next post.

This is the view of the bed from the driveway:

This is from the deck:

And this is from the other end of the bed, looking towards the driveway:

As usual, I really appreciate your suggestions! You have great taste and wonderful knowledge, so please feel free to comment and suggest! Thanks.

P.S. I HATE all that residual foliage from the daffodils! Yikes! I am going to move them later...

I love your peony, it wouldn't matter if it was white or pink. Use your store credit to buy BoB, it's all good. :0)

Does that bed stay shady enough for some hostas? They would come up just in time to cover the daffodils old foliage. Some of the more sun tolerant ones are gold or have gold streaks, and they would contrast nicely with the finer leaves of the other plants.

How many hours of sun does this bed get? That helps determine a lot of plant choices. Hardy geraniums and lady's mantle are nice edgers, along with pinks.

You might try tucking a boulder or two into the bed. Bergenias and blue oat grass look nice snuggled close to them, the bergenias need wind protection and the blue oat grass needs good drainage.

I have not tried Siberian irises yet, but you see that a lot in books. They bloom with the peonies, and then their leaves contrast with all the rounded shapes.

You really have a beautiful start, it would be lovely to see your progress from year to year. I just planted KO roses and QF this year. We like a lot of the same plants, so I'm really interested to see how someone else combines them.

George, thanks for your comments... first, where were those parties!? It sounds like you had fun... WAY TOO MUCH fun...! LOL! Anyway, guess what? You just said it. You just had to say the things that I was wondering about this bed but was too afraid to say them out aloud myself, because they might just generate more work!!! LOL! Seriously, George, I was also wondering if the Limelight was too tall there. However, it is actually closest to the driveway, and I love how I would see the Limelight first, as it is such a showy hydrangea. Now, in order to balance things out, that's why I planted the Pinky Winky to the right. Wouldn't that get as big, if you bigger than, the Limelight? Please don't make me move them... LOL!

Regarding the evergreens, I also was wondering about the same too... but the way that they are now makes them look quite nice during winter when nothing else is around. I also have to put the golden ones next to the dark shrubs in order to provide that nice contrast. Though I totally see what you are saying. I would welcome any suggestion as to where I can move them to! Thanks.

This is a very sunny location with full sun. The Limelight faces west, while the peonies and the Little Lamb faces south. Unfortunately, it is rather windy there, esp. during winter. I am surprised that the Olga Mezitt did so well there! BTW, the tree in the middle is a Sugar Tyme crabapple. How I wished that I put a little Kousa dogwood there... but I like the Sugar Tyme crabapple anyway!

Prairiegirl, thanks for the suggestions! I think some boulders might look nice there too. Where should I put them? I would love some hostas there, but unfortunately, it is too sunny for those lovelies, and also my bambi friends around here like them just a bit too much too! So I have given up trying to grow hostas around here... sigh! BTW, let me post another picture of the Sambucus for you! I am just totally amazed by how fast it is growing this year. However, this is its second or third season... good grief, I have lost track!!! LOL!

Thanks again for looking! I look forward to more of your suggestions.

Enjoy!

My BL is still pretty small. I am potting her up, not sure what to underplant her with. I have a thing for B&W combos, any suggestions? I did find a beautiful silvery-leaved cyclamen with stark white blooms for when she is finally planted out, it'll be a houseplant until then.

Those are some random thoughts (with a good intentions) without even taken into consideration eventual size of the crabapple and shade it may possibly cast in a future.
BTW, what is that singly growing shrub between you and a neighbor?

Prairegirl - I have a suggestion - how about some artemesia? Don't you think that the silver foliage of the artemesia would look incredible next to the black foliage of BL?

George, I want to first of all tell you how much I really appreciate you giving me all the advice! Thank you!

You know, I actually realized that I might be overcrowding these paniculatas. However, I did it anyway, thinking that I might be able to severely prune these lovelies every year to keep their size down, and more importantly, I did it for a selfish reason - I know that this is not my forever house, and I probably will only be here for a few more years. I wanted to enjoy these paniculatas and so I just planted them there, realizing that they may not be fully grown before I leave... ouch! I hope that is not too selfish. You know what? The worst thing is that someone or myself will need to chop down the shrub(s).

The physocarpus is Summer Wine, which is actually supposed to be only half the size of Diablo and Coppertina. So it is much more compact.

The crabapple is supposed to be about 12' tall when fully grown. Yes, it may create some shade, but with crabapple, the foliage is not that dense so it should not be too much of a problem.

The neighbors' shrub was always a mystery to me, until recently! They did not even know what it was - they just planted it there several years ago!!! Anyway, it's a lilac... yikes! It might get big. The thing that gets me is that the buds get eaten by the deer every year before they bloom! Sigh... I am going to advice my neighbors to prune it hard every year! LOL

Anyway, if I do want to move the Limelight, since it was in a 5 gallon pot before and this is its 3rd season now, how deep and widespread should I expect the roots to be? I want to make sure that I will dig carefully just so that I won't damage the sprinkler system. The trouble is, if I did move it, I am not sure where to put it then...

Hey, George, if you remember, I already removed the Pink Diamond from this bed to another corner after your advice last fall!!! :-)

Thanks again!

'The trouble is, if I did move it, I am not sure where to put it then... '

Instead of the neighbor's lilac :-)
Or next to it. Or on a side of the neighbor's house where YOU will admire it. Don't laugh at me, but my three neighbors already growing 12-15 of my 'unwanted anymore'/'don't know where to plant'/'too big for a place' or just simply propagated for a fun of it shrubs. They are happy, plants are happy and I'm happy :-)

ostrich, now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just plant BL in the ground. We're doing a huge new bed beside our garage, which is white, so the BL would really stand out against it! I had no idea (I know, read the label, LOL) that it would get so tall. I was expecting a low, mound of lacy black foliage, kind of like artemisia, only black? I do B&W planters, but my bed is bursting with color, so the black would be a nice foil.

Prairiegirl, this BL Elderberry does get tall! If you want something with very dark foliage in a sunny location, have you considered those dark leaf weigela's such as Wine & Roses and its newer and more compact sisters? I am not a fan of them but they seem to be well-liked by many. Take a look at those! They are not as tall as BL but then the leaves are much less interesting too....

I just planted my Quickfire with two Snowflake viburnums, one on either side, in a long bed along the fence. After studying your photos I'm going to get Little Lamb for the little shade garden beside the deck (morning sun, afternoon shade). Good grief, I was going to put QF there, glad you saved me from doing that! Is that your Olga next to your QF?

I absolutely must get Limelight!! It would look great in the front yard, with my Summerwine ninebarks and bright pink KO roses, don't you think? :)

Yes, it's Ms. Olga next to my QF. She was planted last fall, and I simply can't believe how well she had tolerated this spot, which is rather windy and with full sun!!! I thought that I would just try it and so far it has worked!

It's great to have the viburnums and QF together in order to extend the blooming period! Great plan.

Yes! I think that the Limelight, Summerwine Ninebarks and Pink KO roses would look smashing! Now, you might want to get the DOUBLE Pink KO roses if you can. I think that the double form is so much prettier, but then they are really new and not available everywhere yet.

Do you have any photos yet? :-)

Now I'm rethinking the whole viburnum/hydrangea thing. I may still move them while they're (very) small, for one thing I'm afraid it's not enough sun for QF. And I've read so much conflicting advice regarding the size of the viburnums, I really don't know what to think.