Favorite Astilbe?

Hi just lurking here.
Astilbes caught my eye while looking for an open forum.
I have a new "woodswalk" garden thats actually able to support sun plants.
I was given a ton of Daylilies and have them planted around the end of the last stone.
I want to find some taller Astilbes.
I am looking for Ostrich Plume but the peach color and a few others.
I love the airy Sprite.
Right now I have hostas and Bridalvail at the shadier beginning of the stone path.
Any ideas for other astils?
I will also interplant Asiatic lilies to have both blooming in June here
Sorry there isnt a wider view Some of my astilbes are at the left near the front.

Snapple - CONGRATS! I can see that you also have a way with conifers. (Thanks for posting the article, rcn.) You both have far more design skills than I do and have inspired me to think a bit harder before "throwing" plants into a bare spot.
rnc - Digging a hole with a trowel? Only in my dreams. When I first turned over the back garden among the trees, I worked in all sorts of stuff, used a rototiller (the one and only time) and thought that I was set. Never realized then that amending soil is an on-going thing. My daughter lives up on a ridge in TN and has rocky clay soil. Can't dig without running into rocks. Yet her plants grow amazingly big and beautiful.
ge1836 - What a beautiful walkway. The stone is amazing and it suits the grade of the little slope. There've been so many beautiful varieties mentioned in this thread - I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. Little A. chinensis 'Pumilla' is a small pink ground-hugging variety that might look nice closer to the walk. It blooms last in my garden here. Some of the red varieties might look nice near the bottom with the daylilies.
Grr - was wanting to plant the bare spot in the lower garden where I thought I had eradicated the nasty Campanula but saw a few new leaves sprouting. Looks like I need to get out the Roundup again and spray a little more. I guess I'll have to wait until next year to plant now.

Cindy thanks for the input.
I am waiting for Pumilla to get big enough to divide in another garden,
i also ordered Liliput from Bluestone it matches a lily I'll plant this fall.
Your right about astils mentioned here.
I'm leaning towards the airy ones rather than the ones that look like chinelle

ge1836, love your stone :) Sorry we certainly have strayed from the "Favorite Astilbe" topic! LOL Ostrich Plume is one of my favorites and I've been wanting to add more to the gardens but it was hard to find by the time I was finally looking for them this spring. I wish I had taken some pictures in May, two of the Astilbe I was impressed with this year were 'Rock n Roll' (white) and 'Rhythm and Blues'. Both bloomed for a long time and had lovely foliage. As a rule I always tend to lean toward the 'arendsii' types http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=astilbe&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=arendsii&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search. 'Fanal' has always been my favorite deep red and although I lost 'Sister Theresa' years ago it was probably my favorite pink. 'Key West', a simplicifolia type, has also won me over http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/120349/. It's extremely vigorous, shorter than most and would be perfect for the front of the border. Although I'm not as fond of the foliage from those in the 'Vision' series, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=astilbe&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=vision&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search, their blooms last a very long time and they're supposedly more drought tolerant than most Astilbes. I'm hoping to add more Astilbes to the gardens myself but they're not as happy here as they are in the north!

Snapple, have you come down off that cloud yet? LOL

Thanks for the response.
I will check out Rythm Blus,I have Amethyst first year it was great, also Visions in red which is just blue enough to qualify as a companion to deep pink Lilies
Now I will pay more attention to the family Ardensii is great.

Ahh - I'm guilty of leading this thread astray as I've thought to myself on a couple of occasions. I was surprised (only my second year here) that there weren't any thread police.
The Vision series - are the flower spikes as dense as the PR states? I don't think I have any of those. Of course, now that I've divided almost every one I have, there's not much room left although I still have some serious editing to do. What's new in unusual colors?

When the topic on the thread gets out of hand, there will be a reminder.
You can believe it.

This is a teriffic thread. Just keep on going. Packed with nice people and priceless information. No- I havn't come down off the cloud yet. Do I have to? ;)

Ah - one more half-day in the lower garden and I'm done for the season down there. Today I worked on what I refer to as the "hell strip". Yes, a rip-off from Lauren Springer but it's challenging. It gets more sun and is absolutely the furthest from the garden hose. Used to have coneflowers but the deer like those way too much. And then I planted the absolute no-no - Lysimachia clethroides. I figured "how bad can it be?" So spent some time digging that up as well as more northern sea oats and Canadian ginger gone wild. All I have left to do is tidy up a few small areas and top-dress with some compost. Then I will have to tax the brain on dividing the white Astilbes and where I'll plant the divisions. And I also have to decide whether to pull out two big Hosta 'Spilled Milk'. They're plain green and in a small bed right around the patio. And to think I pulled 'Strip Tease' out there in favor of the 'Spilled Milk'.

LOL Snapple, no you don't have to come down, just make sure to visit us once in awhile :)

Cindy, yes, the flower spikes on the two Visions I have are really dense! I just planted 'Visions' (pink) this year but I've had 'Visions in Red' for about 3 years. I got it because I really like the bronze color of the foliage early on and the flowers are so unique. I actually like the color better before they actually flower, a deep red opening to an almost electric "lavender". My main problem with my Astilbes is that the largest grouping I have are planted under a huge Willow which definitely robs the moisture they need! Three years ago this is how the "mess" of Astilbes looked that are planted there :(

The Willow was actually more of a "mess" than the Astilbes! It's a Corkscrew Willow ('Scarlet Curls') and it was so overgrown you couldn't appreciate its lovely form plus it was creating too much shade for some of the other trees/shrubs in the area. We hired a friend to do a major pruning in December of 2006!

We started reclaiming this area the following spring and by Fall 2007 we had extended the border in front of the Astilbes.

By July 2008 we had cleaned out more of the area and planting continued.

I love how the reclaime worked

We still have a few 'stubs' to remove from Conifers which suffered from too many years of shade. We also need to terrace the slope behind the Willow to resolve the erosion problem but with our planting early this spring the project is almost done! The Astilbes are still competing with the roots of the Willow but the area is no longer neglected so we provide extra water when needed and they're much happier now :)

Thats a nice setting.
Does the ligularia like it there

Thanks ge! It was such an eyesore for so long and you can see how close it is to the house. I'm not sure why we waited so long, every time I walked down the driveway I'd pass it and just look the other way! This is where our original planting of Ostrich Plume Astilbe is planted and I had been trying to decide where to plant more. I "found" the spot this spring but since I couldn't find any Ostrich Plume I filled it with Ferns, Hellebores and Hosta. I still have to fill the area behind the "cat" so next year I'll be looking for Ostrich Plume early and get it planted there!

Cindy, ironically 'Spilt Milk' is what I just planted in front of the "cat" - not a very exciting choice but I thought it was appropriate for the cat! LOL

The Ligularia wasn't happy last year with the drought, neither was the Cimicifuga :( But this year we've had enough rain and with all the new plantings I've been making sure the area gets watered whenever anything starts to droop so they're looking much better. Fortunately the hose I use to water the containers at the front door is just long enough that I can drag it across the driveway and shoot some water over the slope :)

i moved into this house 2 years ago and there were no gardens to speak of.
I have been planning gardens since joining DG 18 mos ago.
Its odd how instinct can guide us, looking away from an ugly spot is my first clue there is something needing to be done there.
My solution most times is "more mulch" just to cover unsightly stuff.
Round-Up helps too.
This should be a topic for a thread, think I'll start one when I come up with a good idea for the theme

Maybe "Ugly Spots" for a theme :) I have to say that DG has definitely provided "inspiration", or should that be "the instigator", for my gardens? LOL I rarely took pictures of my gardens because like Cindy, every time I dug out the camera I'd have to train myself all over again! Once I finally started sharing pictures on DG I began "documenting" every project with before and after photos. Now I have before photos of the 'ugly spots' and when the winter months approach I "play" with them to come up with ideas for spring planting! I've still got a few 'ugly spots' to go so I'll be able to keep myself busy this winter :)

I did that all winter also.I use Photoshop to find plants with color compliments or matches.
I have been fortunate in my DG friends who sent plants.
Thay helped transform the 15 foot wide x75 feet long side of the yard that is common with the neighbor who grows raspberries but doesnt weed.
My 5 foot plants cant grow fast enough to suit me.
They are great people ,but not gardeners
this is that side last year august

this year

rcn- What a transformation! In the first photo, the Astilbes looked healthy and green compared to the surroundings, even with the drought. The end product is gorgeous! I'm anxious to finish up the lower garden where I really haven't spent much time on "design" but more on the grunt work. It's not so much a focal point as the upper yard and it could be a couple of weeks sometimes before I get down there to look around. You all put me to shame with your gorgeous combinations and plantings. Hmm, you know 'Spilt Milk' can get big, right? Of course, it would be fun to have the cat "hiding" among the Hostas. Maybe I just got a plant with minimal markings but I was attracted by the name since I have Pulmonaria 'Spilt Milk'. DH has recognized my ineptitude with most things electronic (that's why I keep him around - geek at heart) and is planning on getting a smaller, simpler digital camera that even I can operate with his credit card points so it won't really "cost" us anything. And I may have to put the Visions series on my "want" list. I have 'Ostrich Plume' - I think it was mail order. Don't recollect it blooming well but it was in dense clay soil but now it should be more than happy to bloom well with all of the soil amending and fertilizing and compost...
ge - Wow! In only 18 months? Beautiful! Are those butterfly bushes? I'm jealous of your sun. The closest I've come to butterfly bushes is pruning them at the "box" stores when I was a merchandiser for a nursery.
"Ugly Spots" would be a great theme for a thread. You two definitely need to repost your photos there to get it started. Hmm, maybe even a forum...

If I were to choose another BFLY bush again I would not have chosen the honeycomb for that spot.
The lower branches cantelever off the stalk and eventually break off, so I have to prune them all the time.
I do cut the bush down in the Spring

No time to chat this morning but just wanted to tell you ge that the "changes" in your garden in such a short time are incredible! It usually takes me at least three years to get it right, well almost :) Three years to see what stays and what goes! I found your new thread and will get some photos together to post. I had never given much thought to where things were planted, just found an empty spot and planted it! LOL I'm still making mistakes in the landscape but I'm trying to be more careful, the older I get the more I realize I don't want to be moving these things forever! Photoshop has become my new best friend during the winter months. The program is helping me create what my "vision" is supposed to look like :)

Thanks I spend most of my time on the garden and try to pre plan what and where things will go.
I have arthritis so if I spend more time planning I will spend less time moving and digging, its all to conserve movement and energy.

"Empty spot planter" - that's me too. In my experience, every time I've planned out a small designed area and planted accordingly, I usually lose a plant(s) that was a key element of the design. Like religiously planting in odd numbers and ending up with even numbers. I now plant in what I call the "tapestry" effect (read, excuse for no plan). I once read/heard that you can tell the age of the old hedges in England by the number of different species that have grown up among the original shrubs. Why does that appeal to me?
Haven't made it down to the lower garden yet for the final half-day due to rain. Rain is a good thing this time of year since we're usually dry by now. I'm hoping it's enough rain to help all of those Astilbe divisions settle in and hydrate the soon-to-be-divided white Astilbes.
ge - what is that silvery metallic ornament in this year's picture? It's unusual and beautiful.

Its a piece of clay sculpture
I have to bring it in the house for the winter.I think garage will do as there is a huge colony of ants living in it now

ROTF LOL

ge - Have heard of bee hives, toad houses, bat houses but ant colony housing? :) It is a beautiful piece and looks almost metallic in that light. In your pic in the other thread, I could see the colors better.

Its made of terrecotta clay and decorated with slips and glassy glazes that are dark colors. When the sun shines on the piece it looks like metal.
Here is another piece by the same woman
Tree earring
oops wrong pic

here it is

Okay. Where might one find this artist and her creations? I find the pieces quite striking and if given the opportunity might try to put one in the budget.

She is local I'll send a link
http://www.nancyvalle.com/NancyValle.com/Ceramic_Portfolio/Ceramic_Portfolio.html
Keep in touch I'd love to see what you get.

I like the contemporary (to me) look of them.
Still raining here. OK I guess since it does force me to catch up on other things. It does tend to make me a little stir-crazy though. Ach! It's supposed to get down into the upper 40's for the next few nights. It can't be fall already! Don't think my tomatoes will be real happy nor will the tropicals. None of them really started fruiting or flowering until earlier this month since we had such a cool, rainy start to the summer.

I went to the web site. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. But I have the feeling it's way out of my price range. It would be especially risky in a garden where my dogs streak through flower beds in pursuit of squirrels and the occaisional night time raccoon. I think I'd better stick to granite and cast stone garden statuary.

Good thing you know your environment Snapple.It would be risky.
The prices depend on the piece.

Here's a piece of garden art that I don't worry about the dogs toppling.

are those coleus?
What variety.
Your right.about the dogGreat spot for that piece

Snapple, that's gorgeous! I think your garden art is out of my price range :(

ge, thank you for the link, she certainly has some very unique pieces. I think I was as impressed with her website design as I was with her art, very nice!

Cindy, I think "tapestry effect" is how my DH plants! LOL We visited Plant Delights' Open House in July and brought home some choice plants. The center island in our driveway has been begging for a makeover for years and we decided to plant almost everything we purchased there after building "up" the soil. We noticed that almost all the beds in the gardens at Plant Delights appeared to be "raised" soil so rather than spend years amending the rotten soil in the island DH merely dumped about ten buckets of soil from an area along our field where we "steal" good soil! He finally got everything planted last week and although it looks nice, I question his "design"? Not exactly how I would have done it but we often have different opinions on placement of plants in the garden. I guess that's why we've sort of divided the landscape - he plants out front and I plant out back! LOL I have to admit he plants "faster" than I do but I like my designs better :) I did get a few "before" photos and as soon as I take some "after" shots I'll be posting them in the new 'Changes' thread.