When designing and planting the herbaceous border plants are typically arranged in size order, the large towering plants are at the back or in the centre, the ground-hugging varieties at the front and edges leaving medium sized plants to fit everywhere in between.
Leaf textures and flower colour combinations are also important considerations at the planning phase.
Perennials grow quickly and can be very effective ground cover plants minimising competition from weed species especially when they are planted in large drifts.
If you don’t have a lot of time for your garden, choosing the right species or variety of plant is important.
Perennials can be grown with very little input necessary to care for them. It can be as simple as planting and watering while they are establishing, then letting them do their own thing. However, they do need some attention. Remove scruffy foliage and old flower stems and have an end-of-season tidy-up.
The Anemone cultivar in the photo is planted in a large drift. It has just finished flowering for the season and shows how successful it is growing as an under-planting amongst camellias. This is a very good example of an easy-care perennial.
Similarly, other adaptable easy-care evergreen perennials suitable for ground cover plantings include Iris wattii which grows well in dry, shady areas, also Ajuga reptans, Bergenia crassifolia and the New Zealand native plant Arthropodium cirratum, being a few other reliable options to consider.
Garden life is produced by Dunedin Botanic Garden.
For further information contact Linda Hellyer.
