Green giants

     I've often talked about the use of color in the garden, as well as proper plant placement for maximum impact, but it occurs to me that I haven't really touched upon the concept of scale. Of course it follows the laws of common sense to place smaller plants in tiny spaces and grander ones in vast, open areas, but most of our yards consist of a combination of the two.
    My yard--like most everyone else's-- is broken up into outdoor rooms, if you will: an array of areas arranged for specific purposes. I have a spot designated as my outdoor living room--the medium-sized patio. Potted plants of various sizes and a perennial bed of mostly small and mid-sized plants fill the non-usable areas. When the sun sets and the bugs come out, we move into the small screened porch. This space is too small to include more than a potted annual on the bistro set. The narrow front porch is the ideal place to have that first cup of coffee because the morning sun is warm and welcoming. I move my houseplants out here during the spring and summer seasons. To soothe my sense for the serene, I'll settle by the pond, on the tiny deck built over a portion of it. Here I have an array of water-loving perennials ranging from small to large.
     When I wandered outside this morning, I literally gasped at the sight of a giant hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) blooming in a new spot out near my greenhouse (pictured above). The dinner-plate dimension of the blossoms is impressive enough to stop even die-hard nature haters in their tracks. Of course the crimson hue of this Luna Red beauty is stunning, but it's the size that really gives one pause,
     I planted it in early spring in a sprawling field of pachysandra, along with five rose bushes. The area is not only spacious, but busy: a greenhouse with a porch, fountain, competing plants, and all that groundcover. I figured anything that was going to dazzle among such delightful chaos had better have an impact. The hibiscus surely does.
     If you have wide open spaces, or just want grand plants with tremendous impact, try one (or more!) of the following:

1. Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium): Loves full sun and average soil. Very easy to grow once it's established. It can not only reach heights of 6-8 feet, but feathery blooms of dusty pink can be more than a foot around

2. Smooth hydrangea (Annabelle--Hydrangea arborescens): This hydrangea can tolerate more sun than the traditional macrophylla (blue- and pink-blooming) variety. The oversized white blossoms bloom profusely and larger than life. Each "snowball" can reach an average of 6-12 inches

3. Peony (P. lactiflora): These plants reach heights of 2-4 feet with flowers that average 8-12 inches in diameter. Truly a giant among flowering plants