So we had our front walkway redone. Took down a spruce tree that gave this area shade for a lot of the day. Now it’s full sun.
We have this small garden and want to plant some perennials. Give me some suggestions.
We don’t love gardening. Must be fairly low maintenance plants.
Ignore the lilies, they are for my Mom.
You are probably a zone 6a, but with that elevated bed, going with zone 5 would be playing it safe. I would suggest keeping things small and/ or vertical to not overwhelm that space.
Lilies - nice leaves, lots of varieties, easy care, only bloom once per year. mix in some daffodils for early season color
roses - fair bit of upkeep, can bloom all year, probably more work than you want
a hedge like boxwood would define that area nicely. can be easily maintained and shaped
Salvia - brings bees, which we like
Trillium - your provincial flower
tulips for early season. Like daffodils, they die back in summer, but come back the next year.
You are probably a zone 6a, but with that elevated bed, going with zone 5 would be playing it safe. I would suggest keeping things small and/ or vertical to not overwhelm that space.
Lilies - nice leaves, lots of varieties, easy care, only bloom once per year. mix in some daffodils for early season color
roses - fair bit of upkeep, can bloom all year, probably more work than you want
a hedge like boxwood would define that area nicely. can be easily maintained and shaped
Salvia - brings bees, which we like
Trillium - your provincial flower
tulips for early season. Like daffodils, they die back in summer, but come back the next year.
Trillium like full sun? The only places I ever see them is in woods under the canopy of branches.
I’m partial to roses but different strokes for different folks. Depending on your zone, you could try some of the knockout collection of roses or something from Baileys. Probably best to go ownroot due to lower temps in winter. Good luck and whatever you pick, enjoy.
Plant something tall in front of them, then you get part shade.
Coneflowers are fairly low maintenance. Bee balm maybe but they can get some powdery mildew and maybe too big. It is a pretty small space just popping in some annuals every year might be just as good. Likely longer bloom times too.
Salvia, Russian Sage, phenomenal lavender or double knockout roses. Drought tolerant and low maintenance.
I have gone with Ontario Native Plants this year in the hope that since they are supposed to grow here, I won’t have to do much. It remains to be seen whether that will work out, but here’s where I bought them from - you can filter as appropriate for daylight and soil conditions https://onplants.ca/
Coneflowers are fairly low maintenance. Bee balm maybe but they can get some powdery mildew and maybe too big. It is a pretty small space just popping in some annuals every year might be just as good. Likely longer bloom times too.
Second the coneflower for you. They will also self-seed and get thicker.
You can also go with hardy succulents. Wide variety. They can be almost impossible to kill. You can add in some things like aloe and agaves (Century Plant is one variety) that you have to bring in during the winter but other than cold are hardier than vampires.
Sedum is also a nice choice, mid height, cool fall flowers. Loves the sun and heat.
Go for daffodils over tulips, I am partial to all the lily varieties.
We are in the nearly frozen tundra, you probably have a few more options than we do.
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Get some perennial poppies. Hard to kill, will bloom all summer.