I live in southern Ohio . I have an area about 12 ft by 5 ft . I want mounding low growing perennials that need very little attention . I like foliage of different colors including reds and purples but do not like the look of dying flowers. HELP HELP . I have look at so many plants its making me nauseous . SOME I like are : sedum ,moss verbena , Euphorbia , purple shamrocks . I DONT KNOW what colors go together . I need a plan . Any ideas would be so appreciated .
Flower garden /blank slate
- Thread starter JL Frank
- Start date
Perhaps design it on paper something similar to a jigsaw puzzle with each adjacent piece being a contrasting colour. I think yellow and purple look nice together for example. Perhaps you could get some inspiration from insect or reptile colours, even butterflies, birds or moths.
I can't help on the design, nor on choice of plants as my climate (UK) is very different from yours.
I can tell you what we did in part of our garden and it might help. We have an area by a pergola seat and we planted lots of mounding, ground cover plants around it. We didn't think too much about it - we were fairly random in our planting and it looks lovely. Plants we used (which might not be suitable for your climate) include:
Creeping Thyme (comes in lots of colours)
Creeping Phlox
Rock Rose (Heliathemum)
Roman Chamomile (looks a bit messy in winter so you might not like this)
Dianthus (there are lots of varieties, but I used mainly the ground covers)
EDIT: Another that we've purchased seeds for is Erigeron karvinskiannus 'profusion'. If you like daisies then this sounds like a good choice. An abundance of daisy like flower from May to November (UK climate - so essentially the whole season). No dead heading needed. I sounds as if it'll spread over large areas if you let it.
Some more ideas here:
33 Ground Covers That Are Tough and Easy to Care For
The best ground cover plants spread readily to cover lots of ground without becoming unruly. These 33 plants are vigorous but controllable ground covers.
These are the best no-fuss, low maintenance ground cover plants for your plot
A guide...
www.gardeningetc.com
13 Low-Maintenance Ground Cover Plants - INSTALL-IT-DIRECT
Add color, texture, and visual interest to flowerbeds, borders, slopes, and walkways with these low-maintenance ground cover plants.
www.installitdirect.com
If you want height in some areas I love the combination of Cone Flower (Echniacia), Black Eyed Susan and Blanket Flowers. They benefit from a bit of deadheading, but the flowers last a while so it's very little work.
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Thank YOU , great ideas