Any gardeners out there?
 

We are planning a sundial garden in our lower field. Already have a huge post and have marked the shadow places with numbers. Now need to plant perennial flowers. Full sun, loam soil, sometimes a bit of standing water after a huge rain
and plenty of wildlife. Suggestions please for flowers that bloom in different colors and all season. We can do just two kinds and alternate but would prefer several varieties that we can plant now, or start inside over winter. We are zone 5. Thanks

Coneflowers, Blackeyed Susans, Shasta Daisy's are all good for full sun. They can withstand a bit of water, also handle drought well. Monarda--Bea Balm comes in all shades of pink, purple, and red. Daylilies come in all kinds of colors. You can always fill in with pansies and other annuals until the perennials get going.

I'm not sure what grows in your area. But here where we live in Oregon our growing season varies with the weather.
We found a local nursery where the Lady who owns it, grows plants that she found survive our weird weather patterns.
Here it can be 80 degrees during he day and freeze at night, makes it hard for delicate flowers. We buy from her rather than Lowes or Home Depot because even if it says its for our zone. The town those stores are in has a completely different weather pattern than ours and its only 25 miles away and the altitude is a difference of about 500 feet above sea level.

So check around at one of the older more established nurseries in your area. They should have a good idea of what works and what doesn't.

I would plant Salvia, butterfly-humming bird favorites.Hellebore plants that bloom in the winter.I am in zone 7 so you need to check to see whats hardy in you zone, check out GARDENWEB on line, they have great information..

Thanks all of you. Hadn't thought of groundcovers, good idea to use annuals to fill in, will check out Gardenweb too.

I don't how many perenials bloom at different times of the year. I agree with Chasing Hawk. Try to find an older nursery and they could tell you what grows best in your area.

I love coneflowers. Here's a site for ideas: http://www.burpee.com/product/produc...7&sort=default

Coreopsis and yarrow come in many colors, too.

ITA with Tartan ... groundcovers ... many of them will flower as well, though most of that would be in spring.
Add to the list ... periwinkle, sedge,

Being that it's a Sundial Garden and you have numbers placed, I'm thinking you probably need to consider the height of the plants, so they do not cover your numbers.

You mentioned standing water after a huge rain ... of course, we have no idea if this is common in your area? or only once a season. That needs to be taken into account as to which plants would survive flooding! Likewise, during dry periods, will you water or do they need be dought tolerant?

The possibilities are endless ... and this could be a long term acquisition project, to enjoy for years to come.

What kind of wildlife do you have(In the garden,that is. LOL! If you have deer,they don't like irises,coreopsis,lavender,burning bush,spirea. If they're not too hungry they will leave lilacs and spirea be.

If you plant yarrow, you better like it as it may well take over the garden. Another nice flower that you can see from a distance is garden mellow or bright pink flocks, these both are rather tall.

One person mentioned Monarda - will do great in the sun but does not like it's feet wet and it is susceptible to powdery mildew. It can also grow quite tall and may be taller than your sun dial. There is a small variety - Petite Monarda that has a lovely habit and is not bothered by mildew as much. It grows in a small tight mound about 10" high and still has that lovely Monarda spicey smell (the leaves - not the flowers). Summer bloomer.

Echinacia (Cone flower), Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan), and Tradescantia (Spiderwort) are some nice choices. Depending on the height of your sun dial, the Echinacia and some variety of Rudbeckia might be too tall - but the Tradescantia is only about 24". BUT be careful of the Tradenscantia as it seeds like crazy!! Tradescantia is a late spring bloomer, the others are summer bloomers.

Another great one that is very well behaved (ie doesn't seed, nice compact clump, never too tall) is Huechera (Coral Bells). One of my favorites and you can actually plant a garden in several variety and have many colors of foliage. The foliage is just as pretty as the flowers. I HIGHLY recommend this one. If you want to see all the wonderful variety of Huechera and Huecherella (a cross), check out one of the country's foremost Huechera breeders at http://www.terranovanurseries.com/ga...a-c-82_23.html. In fact ... you'll find a lot of different perennial's on their site. You cant buy direct of course, but you'll know what to shop for. Note on the Huechera - some are best in shade, and some in sun. Choose carefully. Also ... pay attention to planting instructions - they don't like to be completely buried - nor do they like to be bothered once they are planted. Summer bloomer.

Iris ... many Iris love to have their feet in water. There are SO many Iris variety you should be able to find the right size so it doesn't dwarf the sun dial. When you have an Iris bed, plant them and leave them alone. They really don't like to be moved and they may not bloom the first year. Don't fret - just leave them alone. Another thing about Iris, they will multiply (and seem to bloom better the "tighter" the corms are), but once they become too crowded you will need to split them - at which point they may decide not to bloom the next season again. Spring bloomers.

Several Sedum varieties should do well too ... and could be the late summer-fall bloomer that rounds out the season. Many varieties to choose from, from medium size mounds to ground covers.

YTA with DHMom ... you could plant a whole garden in different varieties of Sedums and have them all looking different. Very forgiving and tolerant.

Have you thought of adding herbs mixed in with your flowers. They add a delicious aroma .... sage, rosemary, oregano are all easy to grow.

Plus they can give a nice contrast in colours and textures to the flower gardens.
Add to your list .... thyme ... love the lacy look of it.
Basil is a good one ... though an annual, there are several different varieties, and looks. The variegated one puts on quite a show in with flowers!

Love those perrinals (sp?) that will come back every year. I'm in zone 4. Some of mine include: coneflowers, yarrow, wooly lambs ears, tulips, lillies, Veronica, peonies, hen & chicks, iris, dusty miller, coral bells, lupine, fern leaf peonies, blue bells, (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some -- cannot remember the names of some of them. My garden changes with the seasons - early tulips, late spring tulips, iris, peonies, lillies, etc. I enjoy seeing the changing show throughout the growing season! Good luck with your garden. Also, even in zone 4, some flowers self seed & come back every year. I believe some that have for me are corn flowers, poppy, and again I 'm forgetting some. Enjoy!

Someone mentioned using spiderwort. I would add a severe warning to planting spiderwort anywhere! I planted a couple spiderwort plants to a fairly large garden and in 4 - 5 years the spiderwort completely took over the garden and choked out almost everything else in the garden. When we tried to dig it out, the roots were like iron ropes all tangled and knotted together. It took a great deal of work to dig up the entire garden to get all of the roots out. Even then I was still digging pieces of sprouting roots out every year for another 3 years to get rid of it completely. Cute flowers on the plant, but I believe spiderwort has plans to take over the world!

If you have a lot of wild life specially deer you have to be careful what you plant because the will eat it to a nub as will rabbits, and I heard even skunks (I have not had that experience with them) you could go to your local garden shop and talk to,them about what plants are deer resistance.

The best wild flower mix I ever found was at Wal-Mart in a box and was marked for 2.00. I still have the seeds from that flowering mix and use them frequently. I am a seed saver, my kids laugh at me, but I stand tall with asking people for seeds from their flowers to put into my yard. I took some seeds from a friends house the most gorgeous red/copper marigolds to put around my tomatoes for both color and to keep the horned worms out of the garden.

I'm a seed saver too. I compliment people in their own gardens and they are happy to share with me, have wonderful seeds from post offices and other businesses, always carry empty envelopes when we travel to collect seeds as souvenirs. I have seeds from trips to 16 different states, including Hawaii and Alaska, also Scotland, England, Germany and Sri Lanka. Even have seeds from Midway Atoll. I enjoy the stories of my seed travels as well as the beauty of the plants. Maybe we could start a seed swap?

Russian Sage would be good but it gets a little tall.

I SUGGEST YOU START WITH DIFFERENT COLORED MARIGOLDS AS THEY COME UP EACH YEAR BY RESEEDING THEIR SELVES AND IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THEY ARE EASY TO PULL UP.
quilt for fun grandma G

I think I'm in zone 5 and marigold don't reseed here. But sometimes Impatients will - when they shouldn't.