Recipes are the key to any success that I have in the kitchen. Whatever I cook, regardless of how many times I have made the dish before, I always have a recipe. I view a recipe in the strictest sense as something that I simply must follow as I bake or cook. My skill set doesn’t allow for any deviation. Recipes recently allowed us to enjoy delicious baked parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes, sloppy joe sandwiches and key lime cheesecake. Our family has enjoyed scrumptious meals thanks to purpose-driven recipes.
Purpose-driven recipes can also be applied to our landscapes. Landscaping projects are often undertaken to achieve certain goals. We may want to add color to the front of our homes, attract hummingbirds, reduce the amount of maintenance needed in our yards, or add brightness to a shady area. For this column, I have developed a series of recipes to give you the best chance of success as you develop beauty that surrounds your home. These recipes feature perennial flowers, groundcovers and ornamental grasses.
A garden that receives under four hours of sun is considered full shade. Four to six hours of sun is considered part shade. A full sun garden area is one that receives seven hours of more of sun. Thankfully there are recipes for either situation. Here are just a few.
Full Shade Recipe
Ghost Fern (Athyrium x hybrida ‘Ghost’)
Wildberry Coralbells (Heuchera ‘Wildberry’)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium ‘Heaven Scent’)
Part Shade Recipe
Dwarf Goat’s Beard (Aruncus a.‘Noble Spirits’)
Alexander’s Great Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera mac. ‘Alexander’s Great)
Foamy Bells (Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’)
Full Sun Recipe
Glamour Time Cheddar Pinks (Dianthus g. ‘G19-159)
Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium a. ‘Lucerne)
Dwarf Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus h. ‘Tara’)
Native plants help to conserve water, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity. Here is one particular recipe that includes native plants.
Native Plant Combo Recipe
Decadence Pink Lemonade Baptisia (Baptisia ‘Pink Lemonade’)
Walther Funcke Yarrow (Achillea m. ‘Walther Funcke’)
Red October Big Bluestem (Andropogon g. ‘Red October’)
Birds, bees, and hummingbirds not only bring joy but are also a crucial part of our food chain. It is estimated that 35% of the food we eat is dependent upon the pollination of bees. Here are a few plant combinations that support our pollinator population.
Pollinator Friendly Recipe
Pixie Meadowbrite Coneflower (Echinacea ‘CBG Cone 2’)
Magic Show Veronica (Veronica ‘White Wands’)
Garden Phlox (Phlox pan. ‘Blue Paradise)
Attracting Hummingbirds Recipe
Color Spires Crystal Blue Salvia (Salvia n. ‘Crystal Blue’)
Dark Towers Beardtongue (Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’)
Earlybird Purple Blue Columbine (Aquilegia x h. ‘PAS1258487)
While there are no plants that are rabbit proof here is a recipe that is considered rabbit resistant.
Rabbit Resistant Recipe
Peek-A-Boo Allium (Allium MGsmmpkb13)
Carl Sedum (Sedum ‘Carl’)
Early Bird Catmint (Nepeta x f. ‘Early Bird’)
When chosen correctly plant combinations will extend the bloom time of your gardens. Here are a few recipe ideas.
Long Season Interest
Banana Cream Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum s. ‘Banana Cream II)
Russian Sage (Perovskia a. ‘Denim ‘n Lace’)
Silver Lining Sagebrush (Artemisia ‘Silver Lining’)
Reblooming Recipe
Paint the Town Magenta Dianthus (Dianthus ‘Paint the Town Magenta)
Luxuriant Bleeding Heart (Dicentra f. ‘Luxuriant)
Bowles Vinca (Vinca minor ‘La Grave’)
The bloom time of flowers can be extended by cutting them and bringing them indoors. Here are a few flowers that do well in a cut flower garden.
Cut Flower Garden Recipe
Orange Blaze Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia ‘Orange Blaze’)
White Gayfeather (Liatris s. ‘Floristan White’)
Variegated Japanese Iris (Iris ensata ‘Variegata’)
The foliage of plants also can be considered an attractive attribute. Here is a recipe that includes a combination of plants for which the foliage is attractive.
Beautiful Foliage Plants Recipe
Guacamole Hosta (Hosta ‘Guacamole’)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia x ‘Concord Grape)
Trevi Fountain Lungwort (Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountain’)
Fragrance in a garden provides a richer experience. This recipe includes plants that have fragrant flowers and foliage.
Fragrant Garden Recipe
Anise Hyssop (Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’)
Sensastional Lavender (Lavandula x int. ‘Tresseract’)
Raspberry Wine Beebalm (Monarda d. ‘Raspberry Wine)
Clay soil tends to hold onto nutrients tightly and absorbs water slowly. These plants do well in a clay soil planting area.
Clay Soil Tolerant Recipe
Blue Ice Blue Star (Amsonia t. ‘Blue Ice)
Summerific Cookies and Cream Rose Mallow (Hibiscus ‘Cookies and Cream’)
Elegant Candy Daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Elegant Candy’)
The quantity of the plants for each recipe will vary depending on how many square feet you have available in your garden. Make sure to check the mature height and width on plants before planting.
Just as my kitchen is often filled with the appetizing sights and savory smells of meals thanks to well-conceived recipes, I hope that these recipes bring color and joy to your gardens.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
