garden color through the seasons - University of Illinois Extension

GARDEN COLOR
THROUGH THE SEASONS
Chicago Botanic Garden
Jaci Dixon, Master Gardener
University of Illinois Extension McLean County
GETTING STARTED
• Bed Prep
Consider location – light, drainage, good sight lines from
house or patio
o Lay out bed to desired shape and size
o Amend soil as necessary and till in
• Mixed border allows interest all season long
• Consider form, flower, texture, size and growth rates of plants
o One third to one half shrubs and trees
 Evergreen or deciduous
 Spring, summer and late winter flowers
 Leaf color summer and fall
 Berries and bark texture in winter
o Bulbs, spring and fall
 Stagger bloom times of bulbs
• Crocus, tulips, daffodils, irises, etc.
o Perennials
 Early bloomers cover fading bulb foliage
 Fill the gap before planting summer annuals
 Late summer perennials overlap summer annuals
till frost
 Include ornamental grasses to provide structure,
texture, and color
o Annuals
 Cool season varieties can be used around bulbs
 Warm season bloomers follow perennial flowers
 Continuous flowering fills gaps spring till fall
• Garden color continues in winter
o Variety of shades of evergreen foliage
o Tree and shrub bark
o Berries and rose hips
o Dried seed heads and grasses
TIPS FOR SUCCESS EVERY SEASON
•
Before digging, arrange the potted plants on the bed to
get a general idea of what the garden will look like.
•
Leave space between the plants to allow room to grow.
•
Plant from the back of the bed to the front.
•
•
Set shrubs and perennials at the same depth as they are
in containers.
For a lush look, plant tulip bulbs thickly (about 5 per
square foot of bed). Remove spent flowers so that the
bulbs put their energy into storing nutrients for the next
season rather than into setting seeds.
•
•
•
•
Remove tulip leaves after they brown. Perennials and
annuals will hide the aging leaves.
Fertilize regularly. Pull mulch from the base of each
plant early spring and spread an inch of compost. In
July, lightly mix slow-release fertilizer into the soil
above the bulbs.
Spread 3 inches of organic mulch (such as shredded
bark or leaf mold) over the bed to retain moisture and
control weeds.
Remove fading flowers to increase perennials' bloom
production as season progresses.
•
•
•
Do not remove brown foliage on perennials until early
spring when new green growth appears. This insulates
plant roots from the temperature extremes of winter.
Shrubs drop their old flowers and may bloom again if
conditions are right.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs after blooming – summerflowering shrubs in early spring.
Once your three-season plot is planted, be patient.
Perennials reach their full size and beauty by the second
season. Shrubs grow more slowly, reaching their mature
size 3 to 5 years after planting.
THREE SEASON GARDEN DESIGN
Garden Ground Rules
• The bed is 16 feet long and 6 feet wide.
• The garden requires at least six hours of
sunlight a day.
• The 13 plant varieties are massed in numbers of each for
maximum color and instant curb appeal.
• To create larger beds, double or triple the number of plants
• For a small bed, cut the length of the bed to 8 feet, reduce
the number of plants accordingly, and skip the large “Black
Lace” elderberry shrub.
• For an island bed, place the elderberry and taller perennials
in the middle surrounded by shorter plants with Rozanne
geranium and “Obsidian” heuchera at the edge of the bed.
Spring Color
1) Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ Elderberry – 1 plant
2) Weigela ‘Wine Roses’ weigela – 2 plants
3) Dicentra exima ‘King of Hearts’ bleeding heart – 4 plants
4) Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ coral bells – 2 plants
9) Geranium ‘Gerwat’ Rozanne cranesbill – 8 plants
Missouri Botanical Garden
11) Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ Tulip – 40 bulbs
Summer Color
5) Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ Black-eyed Susan - 2 plants
6) Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra ‘Summer Sun’ heliopsis – 2 plants
7) Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’ sneezeweed – 2 plants
8) Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’ salvia – 4 plant
10) Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’ aster – 3 plants
13) Delphinium ‘Connecticut Yankee’ delphinium – 6 plants
Still in bloom –
1) ‘Black Lace’ elderberry
2) Wine & Roses weigela
4) ‘Obsidian’ heuchera
9) Rozanne cranesbill
Missouri Botanical Garden
Fall Color
12) Aconitum carmichaelli ‘Arendsii’ Monkshood - 6 plants
Still in bloom –
1) ‘Black Lace’ elderberry
2) Wine & Roses weigela
4) ‘Obsidian’ heuchera
5) 'Goldsturm' rudbeckia
6) 'Summer Sun' heliopsis,
7) 'Mardi Gras' helenium
8) 'May Night' salvia
9) Rozanne cranesbill
10) Mönch' hardy aster
Garden Design by Doreen G. Howard, The Old Farmers’ Almanac,
The 2007 All-Seasons Garden Guide, Yankee Publishing
Missouri Botanical Garden
Sources:
Garden Design by Doreen G.
Howard,
The Old Farmers’ Almanac,
The 2007 All-Seasons Garden
Guide,
Yankee Publishing
Jaci Dixon, Master Gardener
University of Illinois Extension
McLean County