Under planting an Amelanchier Lamarckii

Geraniums - A Comparison - Dorset Perennials

This is an excellent page I use when choosing geraniums.

Some sprawl (eg Rozanne), but some are compact. Flowering length varies a lot, so that is something to consider. My personal favourite is Azure Rush, a more compact version of Rozanne, which has lovely purple flowers from May to November here.

 

Geranium &s;Azure Rush&s; | cranesbill &s;Azure Rush&s; Herbaceous Perennial/RHS

Azure Rush - it really is that pretty, and grows in a low mound with flower stems branching outwards rather than upwards.

 

I also like G. Azure Rush but you may then have too many similar colours. Also thinking about winter interest, what about a Heuchera, repeated, there are many colours to choose from. Have a look at the specialist grower’s website, Plantagogo. Alternatively, a variegated variety of Hakonechloa to contrast with the green one. I like H. Aureola which is also attractive in winter, plus, like the other variety, it adds movement.

I have a block planting of H. Aureola under an Acer. This is how it looks in winter:

 

Some great ideas there thanks very much everyone. I do like the Roxanne Geraniums and the Azure rush looks fab too. Like @Plantminded said I was looking for a contrast to the blue/purple. Is there a white or pink option?

@Plantminded I like your idea of more Hakonachloa too. I think that might be a nice option which would be low enough to get a good view of the multistem Amelanchier trunk and provide some cohesion with H. Macra

 

There are lots of pink geraniums, though I don’t grow any, so can’t say which are good doers, in terms of length of flowering, etc. The Dorset Perennials link ^^^ has a pink section. Heucheras would be a great idea, and most stay in a neat mound. My absolute favourite is Helen Dillon, which is listed on Plantagogo, though it may be a bit early for them to have stock in. They come in all sorts of leaf colours from almost black right through to yellowy lime (more sun = lighter colour, as a general rule of thumb).

 

I grow Geranium sanguineum here @machtucker which is a deep magenta pink and goes well with purple. There are several varieties of it, all slightly different but easy to grow and tolerant of dry soil once established. It’s readily available and although it prefers sun, I have it in shade also.

 

Thanks! Yes I love Heucheras and think they are a real contender for the job. We have quite a few in the garden already so they might link in nicely too. I will have a play around and see what I can come up with. :-)

 

Fab I will take a look, sounds perfect.

 

Hi everyone,

I’ve had a play around with a few ideas for the underplanting taking on board your suggestions. See what you think, I know which one I prefer. 3 options presented here. One with different types of Hakonechloa Macra, another with Geranium Sanguineum and another with Heucheras. Let me know what you think and any other suggestions.

 

I like picture 3, with the pink contrasting with the purple.

Can I just say, @machtucker, you might not get it perfect first time … and that’s fine. Or, you might change your mind about what you want after a couple of yrs … and that’s fine too. Or you might find the plants don’t do exactly what you expect … and that is to be expected. They may grow better on one side than the other, or some may grow more than you bargained on, or you may get the symmetry perfect and then one plant dies for no reason you can fathom … or the dog digs it up, or a squirrel excavates it. And so on.

Plans are great, but reality can be messy. Go with the flow and enjoy the experience, season after season, yr after yr.

 

Thanks! Yes I completely agree. Fully expecting to chop and change things and I'm looking forward to getting a baseline design planted. It's been quite a dauting task starting from nothing but I think I can finally see the end of the hard landscaping and the beginning of actual gardening.

I liked the grasses one but like you my wife liked the one with the Geraniums.

 

Whichever option you choose, the lime green Hakonechloa definitely works better with the purples and pink. The reality of how the bed develops is exactly as @ViewAhead has said. The joy of gardening is to try, make mistakes, learn, change and try again. Plants are usually very forgiving and can be easily moved, pruned and shaped to your liking (or your wife’s liking ).

 

It is daunting starting from nothing. I did the same here. Twenty-four yrs on … and it looks different every season. I didn’t have any experience of growing things in the ground and it has been one long revelation. There are some plants widely regarded as “good doers” that I just can’t get to flourish (geranium Johnson’s Blue, for example) and others that most gardeners don’t seem to rate that have been the most gratifying success (eg Waldstenia Ternata). I’ve purchased healthy plants that have not lived long and half-dead things that have rallied and lasted two decades.

There’s no hobby with as many surprises in store as gardening.

 

My experience of gardening is less extensive (5 years) but I completely agree with what has been said

I would just like to add that, while it's good to have a plan based on good design principles and look into specific recommendations by garden designers, ultimately it is your garden. A "mistake" that you enjoy is not really a mistake.

For instance, I am sure that a garden designer would tell me that I should streamline the selection of plants further.. That in the same garden I have British roses, plants of oriental origin e.g. Chaenomeles, Mediterranean plants (e.g. lavender) and there is even a sectioned off area with tropical looking plants (my partner's project). But.. I like it this way. A very formal streamlined garden would not be right for me anyway.

Another thing I have found is not to focus only on trendy plants. For instance, influenced by the advice of garden designers, I did buy an amelanchier (canadensis) online. It wasn't a great specimen so my experience might not be reflective of all amelanchiers, but I found it rather underwhelming and susceptible to powdery mildew. The next tree I bought after that, was a weeping silver birch with a very interesting shape, that I handpicked from my local garden centre. It cost less than half the money with it not being trendy, and I like it so much more. (The growing habit wouldn't work with your plan, it is just an example)

 

I agree, @CostasK. Straight lines are not generally considered a good design, but I love them. I get the soft edge effect from the plants, not the structure. Also, early on I succumbed to the mantra “plant in 3s, 5s or 7s”, but it just didn’t work. I would buy 3 of one plant, and then find it didn’t grow as I expected, meaning I was lumbered with 3 rather than just one.

Plus, I used to believe garden centre labels! Ha! If it said “blue”, I expected blue … but invariably got a shade of purple. The biggest mislead was buying a Robinia with a label saying it grew to 1m x 1m. Perfect, I thought, and planted it near the house! Well, it wants to be 5m x 5m, though we have come to an agreement where I keep it roughly 3m x 3m and it refrains from sulking.