Twilight Garden Walk

Shaded Perennial Garden

Dallas is and always has been a gardening town though it is not always easy to garden here. You must fight drought which is the standard Texas condition from July through September, poor soil, and the scorching sun. The old adage that it is going to take either time or money to solve a problem was never truer than gardening in Texas and sometimes, it’s both.

Above is a perennial shade garden with a Chippendale bench providing the visual anchor point. Soft creamy colors with greens and purples create a harmonious shaded garden. Included are limelight hydrangea, Persian Sword, variegated iris, hostas, an althea tree and a snowball viburnum shrub.

Altheas and viburnums are generally treated as shrubs but often shaped into trees. You can purchase them already shaped or shape your own. Making an althea from a single trunk can be a little trickier but in my experience a single trunked althea is not a lot more appealing than an althea bush with several trunks trained into a tree.

A contained gravel path with concrete blocks contrast the purple perennial colors.

Limelight hydrangeas come in full sizes and miniatures. These typically begin blooming in late May and early June in Texas, just after Oak Leaf hydrangeas.

http://leeanntorrans.com/perfect-perennial-shade-garden/

Persian Shield is a popular perennial and often used with hostas.

Althea trees are trained althea bushes. They come in a multitude of colors including cream, white, purple, pink and magenta.

Variegated iris compliment the cream colors of the garden. When planted in shade iris may not bloom as prolifically but typically you will get s few blooms. They leaf color, however, is spectacular and more than makes up for reticent shade blooms.

Shade perennial garden with Limelight hydrangea, Persian Shield, hostas, variegated iris, and althea tree.

A weeping cedar in a gray tone complements the cream and purple perennial colors.

Trees the Most Important Gardening Decision

I can still drive down a street and say, oh, yes, that is classic Lamberts. As the architecture has been influenced by south Texas, Austin in particular, so has the landscape.

The number one illustration of this neighborhood slide show is to PLANT THOSE TREES. There is no ONE investment you can make to your garden’s landscape than a decision on TREES.

Most Dallas neighborhoods began without trees but with time (and a bit of money but not much) trees have added value to the property.