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peaches20

Tall perennials for back of garden

peaches20
18 years ago

Hi,

Does anyone have ideas for tall perennials for the back of a garden. The very back of my garden consists of ordinary hedges. So there is some shading by the hedges in the area I want to plant.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Peaches

Comments (10)

  • emiceekayeewhy
    18 years ago

    My Stargazer Lilies just gave their annual show. They are fabulous and smell so wonderful. I bet they would look terrific in front of a hedge.

  • peggy1155
    18 years ago

    Phlox paniculata (tall garden phlox) is nice at the back, (smells good too),grow to about 4' and comes in a variety of colors, Rudbeckia lancinata "Golden Glow", is nice, grows to about 6' and has yellow blooms. Or you could do something with an ornamental grass like Miscanthus Sinensis "Gracillimus" grows to about 5' - really depends on the amount of space you have, how tall do you want, how much sun does the area get? Is there a particular color you are looking for? There's always the dreaded (around here) Hibiscus syriacus or Rose-of-Sharon, can get over 6' and comes in lots of colors. Hibiscus moscheutos gets to be about 4-5' comes in pinks or whites and is a native plant. There are probably a lot of tall plants that would fit in for you. Just naming a few off the top of my head.

  • adenn1
    18 years ago

    I would suggest Liatris (Gay Feather). Mine grow to 4-5 feet with beautiful purple flowers. They are pretty easy to grow and hardy...believe they are native to great plains...so can tolerate hot summer weather and cold winters.

  • mwoods
    18 years ago

    Shasta Daisy..Becky. They are tall, bloom for a very long time,and don't need to be staked because their stems are thick and tough. An added bonus is that they last forever when cut brought inside.

  • lynn_d
    18 years ago

    Grasses or Joe Pye Weed fit the bill here, I hadn't thought of phlox, but they would be wonderful!

  • peggy1155
    18 years ago

    Adenn1, WOW!!! I never knew that liatris grew so tall! Maybe because I've managed to kill everyone I've bought. I do have some seeds and hopefully next year I'll do better. I don't know what it is with them that I can't seem to get them to grow. Now that I know how tall they are - woohoo! I really want to get them going. :)

  • wolfe15136
    18 years ago

    Hollyhocks are fabulous, and self sow very readily. They should be staked though, because the summer storms knock them over.

    I also like japanese anemone, which is about 4 ft tall, and starts blooming about now. They don't need any help at all.

  • peaches20
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try the star gazer lily and phlox.

    Peaches

  • Karigraphy
    18 years ago

    I have the phlox Franz Shubert planted in my perennial garden. It is a beautiful shade of lilac. The reason why I chose it was because it is disease and mildew resistent.

    Phlox is known for getting mildew so you may want to check out what varieties are mildew resistent. Other than the one I chose, I'm not sure which other ones are.

    Karen

  • murial
    18 years ago

    I have phlox in the back too. Smells great - specially on a humid night!
    My newest fav for background in full sun is Lucifer's Tails. Tall, with leaves like a gladioli, but gorgeous red tails on top. Just found more last week.
    Red turning grasses in front of the hedge would be nice too. Specially for winter interest.

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