Euonymus alatus can be a good choice. Just to make sure you know, the beautiful pictures you see are of the fall color. Most of the season, it is green. Depending on the individual plant, E. alatus varies in fall color from a deep dark red to florescent red, pink or orange. If you want red, best to choose you plants at the nursery in the fall when they display their color.

How are you going to mow a one foot strip of lawn? The tiniest mower I have ever seen had a 15" blade. Nearly all gas engine mowers are at least 20", and electric about 18" nowadays.

OH! good question! I never thought of that, we might have to put the fence back a bit further than we originally thought. Not a big deal.

Jenny P

Scanning the list most of the bulbs need to be lifted and stored inside for winter.

Lobelia is hard to keep happy.

Fuschia isn't hardy, nor is kniphofia.

I realize some of the things on the list won't be hardy up here. I was hoping the lobelia would be though! I started some this year, so far they are doing ok.

I am going to have an arbor in the fence line. Can anyone suggest a red rose, hopefully a climber that is hardy up here? I don't think I want a hybrid, I just don't have enough time to monkey with them.

If not a rose, what else would be hardy, with red flowers or foliage, that would climb an arbor?? LOL my DH says that red grapes fall in that catagory!

Jenny P

Trumpet vine has red flowers, though it's a thug IMO.

I have 2 native lobelias in my garden and they do fine. I think they are good up to zone 3...

Thanks Leaves! Can you tell me which varieties they are? And will they work in a dry hot area?

Jenny P

As for roses the first two below are climbers, the last 2 are shrubs..
Ramblin Red may be hardy enough. It's done quite well in my yard but for some reason last winter killed about 1/2 of the canes. It has quickly regrown and been blooming pretty much all season.

Henry Kelsey is very hardy but not quite as pretty as Ramblin Red.

I don't grow it myself but I've heard Hope For Humanity is a really nice rose. I've wanted that one for my garden -- the blooms are a rich dark red and it is supposed to get fairly large.

Linda Campbell is another nice red. This is only my second season with her but I'm really impressed with the amount of bloom. She did dieback a fair amount over winter but has already grown to around 5'x5'

Oh thanks! Ramblin Red is definetly going on my list! It looks like the best choice for what I will have. Thank you so much!

I love this forum!
Jenny P

I forgot one more climbing rose: Quadra. This one should be super hardy as well..

good luck on your new garden bed!

Hey there Jenny-
I may have some seeds for you-
The Amaranth in the photos looks just like what was to be a tri color Joseph's Coat- but is a burgundy color in my front bed- and I have a Burgundy (possible 'Bronze')Amaranth that is much taller in my garden beds which has the burgundy leaves and a much showier top "flower"-
I also have Bishop's Children Dahlias with burgundy/bronze foliage and one has sandy red blooms-
Gosh- I love purple-bronze dark rich foliage! Try Japanese parsley- Red Rubin Basil(my FAV- thanks Lynn)Oh and Thai Basil is green leaved with a purple cast to the stems and flowers- same with cinnamon basil- and purple/red Perilla- for edibles- Sweet potato/Ipomea "vines"- Dark leaved cannas- Viola labridorica- "Black Dragon" and "Giant Palisandra" coleus- and those cute "Black Magic" (Moisture lovin, sorry) colcasias too. I have all of those too- many may seed- some will not however.
I see Knautia macidonica and a "black" sedum (Purple Emporer comes to mind) there as well as the 'New Zealand Purple Castor Bean" which I believe, is the tallest plant in that garden. Carmencita and Impala have a pinkish red cast to green leaves- the N.Z. purple had a deep red cast to bronzey purple leaves.
I also have a red flowering green leaved canna (Possibly 'Red President') that may just make seeds before the year is up-
And a red with a pinkish center 4 0'Clock, emelia javanica the tassel flower plant- Penstemon 'Husker's Red'- Black Pearl ornamental peppers and red flowering sunflowers too!
I think I may have some alcea nigra seed left from last year as well as Burgundy Gaillardia....
The ferny leaved red flowering vine in one of the photos is a cypress vine. I think they are annuals for us- just as other ipomeas are.
I think I might be tempted to plant red tomatoes- red okra- raspberries (I do like the frosted red of the canes especially in the winter), Rosa Glauca, Blue Fescue and echinops and sea holly too- as I do like what those frosty blues do with the reds. I would have some 'Purple Majesty' Millet in there as well- I think I will have seed for some these as well..
From what I know- you will need to fence off the euonymus to keep the deer off of it in the winter- who knew they liked those shrubs!
I know I am counting chickens before they hatch by mentioning plants that I have not harvested seed from yet here- but- I wanted to let you know I can possibly help you get your red bed going....

"Hope for Humanity" is a beautiful rose, there is no better red shrub rose that I can think of, I have two, love them... they do get large (tag says 36", mine were at least 5') but not really arbor material, they are too wide, good for the border though! If I am not mistaken, the primary problem with red lobelia is it's incessant need for water and sun both, you can create a micro-climate for it by planting it in a container (in the ground). I noticed "Lady in Red " salvia in the pictures, it is an annual but it reseeds like crazy...so if you plant some you should have some for years to come! Good luck it looks like a really fun project.

Helen.

Thanks Julie! And Helen, sorry I am late getting back to you, I was out of town on business for a while. And now I am home I am playing catch up!

I will be going down to the cities this weekend. On sunday the DH and I are planning a trip to the arboreteum, he has never been there. Then on Monday it's the State Fair, to pick up our daughter who is there. She has been there since August 9th, she is in 4-H and is one of the performers (in the band actually) at the Arts-In program. So she has been performing 3 times a day at the fair. She is gonna be one tired kid!

Jenny P