This month’s recipe is my take on a staple garden I see in Sudbury. It is typically employed in a foundation bed, particularly under a bay window or next to a main entrance. The garden doesn’t have much spring interest, but that can be easily rectified with some bulb plantings in between the perennials. It doesn’t ask much of you in terms of maintenance, but it does provide a lot of visual impact in the summer and fall months. All the plants used are tough and grow well in all but the coldest climates. However, I would lean towards planting the Echinacea in larger numbers than you otherwise probably would. They can be somewhat temperamental while they establish.

Ingredients:

Seasons:

Overview

Spring

Spring will mostly show signs of life with this garden and not much colour (yet). Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ will carry a lot of visual weight, while Iris sibirica ‘Butter and Sugar’ will add a splash of delicate colour while you wait for the other perennials to wake up.

Summer

In early summer, Iris sibirica ‘Butter and Sugar’ will fade and make way for the other flowering perennials. Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ will provide plentiful, airy feeling flowers, while Echinacea purpurea ‘Powwow Wild Berry’, Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’, and Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ vie for attention. Meanwhile, Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ will provide a splash of contrast both in colour and in form.

Fall

As fall settles in, the garden will become more laid back. Dried Calamagrostis tips will catch the falling light, while Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’, Echinacea purpurea ‘Powwow Wild Berry’, and Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ will display the typical fall tones with blacks, browns, and yellows dancing with early morning frost.