I’m getting to the point of actually organizing all the plants I’ve been researching and making a real concrete plan for the front yard. For those who aren’t aware, we’re undertaking a project of completely re-landscaping the front yard, with the intent to have no lawn at all. I have a vague outline of the shapes the beds will take (post on that soon) and my next step is to categorize the plants I think I want to use so I can see what might fit where. This post will be about low plants, things that grow to be no more than a foot tall. At this point I’m only including perennials. I’ll probably end up putting in some annuals, too, but I want to get down the basics first, the plants that will stay there for the long haul. I’ll think about bulbs later, too.
White : Snow in Summer (Cerastium tomentosum ‘Yo Yo’): 3-6″ : full sun : spreads quickly : blooms late spring
from Michigan Bulb, Four Seasons Nursery, Spring Hill Nursery
Silver : Blue Festuca Grass (Festuca ovina glauca Elijah Blue): 8-12″ : full sun : clumps : blooms summer
from Michigan Bulb, Jung Seed, Four Seasons Nursery
Black : Bugleweed ‘Black Scallop’ (Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’) : 3-6″ : darkest color in full sun : spreads to 3′ wide : blooms late spring to early summer
from Park Seed
Purple : Dark Lord Geranium (Geranium pratense ‘Dark Reiter’): 8-10″ : full sun to part shade : compact growth habit : blooms early to late summer
from Michigan Bulb, Spring Hill Nursery
Silver: Silver Mound Artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’) : 8-10″ : full sun to part shade : mounds
from Jung Seed
White : Snow White Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) : 4-6″ : full sun to part shade : spreads up to 30″ : blooms in spring
from Jung Seed, Four Seasons Nursery, Michigan Bulb, Spring Hill Nursery
Purple: Dalmation Bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) : 6-9″ : full sun to part shade : spreads 12″ : blooms late spring through summer
from Four Seasons Nursery
White: Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) : 6-8″ : sun or part shade : blooms in May
from Four Seasons Nursery
White: Snowdrift Aster (Aster ericoides ‘Snowdrift’) : 4-6″ : full sun : blooms late summer to fall
from Michigan Bulb, Spring Hill Nursery
Purple: Red Hens & Chicks (Sempervivum) : 2-5″ : full sun : blooms midsummer
from Michigan Bulb, Spring Hill Nursery
Purple: Mouse Tail Plant (Arisarum proboscideum) : 6-8″ : part to full shade: blooms early to mid spring, reblooms late summer
from Spring Hill Nursery
I’m also still looking for further suggestions, so if you know of any neat plants that are black, white, silver, or purple; thrive in zone 6, and don’t require a ton of attention, I’m all ears.
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