Plant Tall!
Don’t forget to include tall plants in your gardens!
No matter how large or small your gardens are, be sure to balance your design with some tall plants. Tall greenery, perennials and annuals can add drama and movement to the garden. You can use them to add or balance color, subdue or unify a colorful scheme, or create swaying in gentle breezes.
Create Drama
Nothing is more dramatic than towering plants behind and intermixed with plants of varying heights. Tall greenery, shrubs or simple evergreens can be lovely, but towering blooming perennials can create truly eye catching drama. Search for perennials that push blooms up to at least 3 feet tall for the best vertical impact.
Back of the Border
You quite naturally arrange your low growing plants toward the front of the garden and larger plants behind. Take that one step further and create a backdrop by arrangingt some tall plants at the back, at least 2 feet tall. Larger garden beds of course can accommodate some towering perennials or perhaps ornamental trees.
Living Fence
Tall perennials, or a mix of perennials and shrubs, can create a lovely privacy screen for a patio or property line or define functional areas of your landscape. Tall plants are a perfect way to hide any not so attractive areas or objects.
Drifts
If you are lucky enough to have a large property, masses or drifts of tall colorful blooms adds great excitement to large expanses. No matter your style, tall plants can allow you to create graceful swaying drifts of pastels or spectacular show of bold spires of deep bright blooms.
Tall Perennial Ideas
Visit your local garden center or quiz gardeners in your area for plants that thrive best in your area. Look for easy to grow, easy to care for plants. Many of these tall perennials create lovely winter interest if you wait until spring to cut them down.
Echinacea - several varieties of Echinacea Coneflower grow 3 to 4 feet tall. They are so easy to grow and care for and with many colors to choose from.
Joe Pye Weed - billowy clouds of pink bloom clusters sway in the breeze and attract monarchs. Can reach 5 to 7 feet tall and so easy to grow.
Monkshood - a perfect alternative to delphinium which are difficult to grow. 3 to 5 foot tall stalks of deep blue bells in fall and very easy to grow.
Obedient Plant - lovely stalks of abundant bells in pink or white can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall but can spread rather aggressively. Miss Manners is sterile but will only reach about 2 feet tall.
Verbascum - a strong and stately stalk packed with charming little saucer shaped blossoms can be as tall as 7 feet, but there are varieties as short as 2 feet. Verbascum are self seeding biennials and do well naturalized.
Globe Thistle - hard to find true blue spikey globes. Very unique contrasts to most blooms. Varieties 2 to 5 feet tall.
Fritillaria Imperialis - These unusual and dramatic perennials grow 3 to 4 feet tall. Be sure to place them where the unique flower heads can be appreciated.
Bugbane - perfect for large properties, Bugbane produces tall spires of blooms reaching up to 6 feet depending on the variety.
Clematis- On a trellis or a pillar, clematis scrambling up can be absolutely gorgeous. Do be sure you understand when to prune your selection, as well as the proper care. They are not necessarily carefree, but well worth minimal effort. Try a Jackmanii!
There are so many more, but be careful to select plants that suit your style and maintenance preference. Ask any neighboring gardener about their tall perennials, we love to talk about our plants!