Friend of a friend is offering to sale me some plants out of his seriously overgrown gardens that he no longer has the time to take care of. Would love some advice from you guys on which would do well in my yard which is part sun on one side and deep shade on the other. New to this and don't want to buy something that wont work in my yard. Here is what he has:
Hay scented fern
Liatris
Bee Balm
Coreposis "moonbeam"
Geranium (Ground Cover)
Siberian Iris
Belgian Aster
Ginger (Ground cover)
Obedient Plant ? (never heard of this one)
Thanks for the help!
Mel
Being offered plants need advice...
Hay scented fern shade
Liatris part sun
Bee Balm part sun
Coreposis "moonbeam" prefers sun and raised bed
Geranium (Ground Cover) part sun
Siberian Iris part sun
Belgian Aster - would think this prefers sun to keep it from being leggy but might do ok in part sun
Ginger (Ground cover) - is this wild ginger or European ginger? If its Euro ginger - the shiny one, take all you can but they are both beautiful ground covers for shade
Obedient Plant ? (never heard of this one) this is Physostegiea. This can be quite invasive as it seeds very freely
Alyrics,
Thank you :)
You might ask which Physostegiea he has - there is one called Miss Manners that is supposed to not seed so freely. I have one called White Snow or Snow White or something like that - the hybrids are not as bad as the original lavender one, but even so mine seeds itself in its own area and I have to pull it out every year. I keep saying I'm getting rid of mine because it flops in too little sun.
The fern is pretty tolerant of drought once its established. Its a nice little fern
I grow Monarda - the bee balm in part shade - its a little leggy and prefers more sun but it blooms and its great for butterflies and hummers
the geranium will go for shade, part sun, sun. Its also pretty drought tolerant altho it will stop blooming if its too dry but none of mine have every died. Once its established it will spread even in poor soil but it really does best in a loose loamy soil w lots of organics - then it will bloom till late summer.
I live in Maine, zone 5 and Obedient Plant (the original lilac one) tends to take over the garden. Not so much by re-seeding but more by suckers, runners. I keep a little of it but always "weed" it and compost alot during the spring and sometimes during the fall. It's kind of pretty though, almost looks like annual snapdragons.
Kim
Dear Mel,
Don't buy siberian iris. Dmail me your address and I will send you some out of the tons I have to spare from my garden. I am digging some up to sell at my Garden Club plant sale next saturday, but I have enough to plant a clump or two in every city and town in MA. Here's a pic of mine. they get everything from full sun to partial shade and are blooming in all spots. Martha
This message was edited Jun 3, 2007 10:41 PM
