More Inspired Designs~

1. Got Shade? No problem! Pink Perennial Japanese Anenome (also called windflowers...below on left) bloom from August to November in the shade. Caladium (annuals) and perennial hosta (right photo) add color & texture. Notice that the maple tree has been "limbed up" to add a little more sun to the bed.

Beautiful Begonias brighten shade!

When planted with design in mind, classic shade plants can be dramatic. "Blocks" of color (left) can be as attractive as flowers!

'Empress Wu' hostas get huge. And a classical urn planted with annual begonias( or left unplanted )adds year-round focus.

Problems solved: A climbing Sally Holmes rose

tolerates shade and a classic English willow wood fence (upper right side)

masks an old chain-link fence behind it.

A faux stone urn, which illuminates from its solar base at night, provides a focal point for year round interest when planted with colorful, seasonal flowers; an interesting, easy care shrub; or a geometric/sculptural element such as a mirrored gazing ball. Curved beds soften the straight lines of the sidewalk and road.

For the "wow" factor nothing beats a combination of native plants for easy care combined with the dramatic height and bright colors of annuals which flower from May through October.

A profusion of pink roses bending ragged in the rain speaks to me of all gentleness and its enduring.

~The Collected Later Poems of William Carlos Williams