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I am planning to revamp a med-large (150 sq. foot) bed that currently is mostly filled with native orange daylilies. It is basically a three-cornered bed, and currently a mature small dogwood (15 ft tall) and a 7 ft. tall Redbud anchor two of the corners. I am planning to purchase a small-med. Witch Hazel to anchor the remaining corner. Right now the bed gets about 4 hours of direct sun--but what is making it hard for me to know what to plant is that it gets AFTERNOON sun--like from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. right now. I know as the Redbud tree grows (NW corner) it will provide a bit more shade, and the Witch Hazel eventually (SW corner).
The soil is a good mix of sandy/humusy with leaf mold but I know there is clay somewhere underneath (I live in VA, in zone 7b I believe). The site has good drainage & average moisture (and is near a watering hose, for times of stress).
So--basically I have 2 questions:
1.) Am I right in thinking that I need to be looking for shady plants, or does the fact that the bed receives the hotter afternoon sun change this?
2.) Any specific plant suggestions? I am mostly looking for perennials right now, but annual suggestions would be welcomed also as I plan to leave places to stick some in each year. :-)
I would love to have taller plants in the middle of the bed and smaller ones on the sides, and am trying to compose a bed that has something of interest/beauty most of the year. (Isn't that the challenge we all face?!) :-)
I would be really grateful for any help. I've been doing lots of searching in catalogs and on the internet, but I keep getting confused by differing plant descriptions. I need real experience-tested help! :-)
Blessings,
JoAnna
This message was edited Sep 29, 2009 6:35 PM
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