Heliconias would not be my first choice in an area only 2 feet wide. It'd have to be one of the really smaller non-runner types, what kind of Heliconia?

Too much shade will keep the broms(assuming Neos) from coloring up and the Heliconias will bury them.

Really? Shoot. I'm not sure what the heliconia is. It was given to me by someone who got it as a gift and split it with me. So until it puts up a flower, we're not really sure. It looks like a fairly standard variety. I liked the 2-foot bed for it because it's bounded by concrete, so the heliconias can't spread where I don't want them.

The brom I was thinking of putting there is one common in our neighborhood, spread around a bunch of yards, from decades of gardeners sharing, I suspect. It's a pretty apple-green one with pink flowers. One neighbor has it in light shade, she's probably the originator of it because she's got a bed just thick with them. And they bloom in the shade. All at once. It's pretty spectacular. I got some of them when another neighbor threw them out by leaving them on my side of the bulk pick-up pile of brush we share each Sunday.

I want some color there, but can't have anything that will get too tall, or too wide.

Might have to rethink this one.

If you don't want too all and too wide, that would rule out a Heliconia, especially when you don't know what it is. Many Heliconia grow out at more of an angle than really upright and if it is close to a path, you are going to be running into it.

The brom is probably Bilbergia pyramidalis. They can take both shade and a fair amount of sun.

Why not put a bunch of desert roses there, if the area is fairly bright or full sun. The sandy soil is fine and the rocks can remain as 'mulch'. You can place a desert rose every three or four feet depending on the size of the plants. Are you in South East Fla or on Gulf coast of Fla?

Minibim,

I think you're right. I googled Bilbergia pyramidalis and that looks like it exactly. I'd love to fill the bed with that, but it will take awahile for them to put out enough pups to fill it up.

Sounds like I might need to take the heliconia out at some point. The ones I have now are all very upright, but maybe that's because they have lots of room to spread? They don't seem to lean over until it's time to cut them when they're spent and brown.

I'm on a long-term gardening plan, nothing will look perfect anytime soon. Maybe the heliconias can fill in the site for awhile, and then I'll take them out. I'd love to see them bloom just to see what they are.

and Ben, desert rose is a great idea. I'm beginning to think I need a bunch of them. Do they propagate in an easy way? If I want several, I'd prefer to get one and just reproduce it. But no idea how.

Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions.

Susannah

Texas sage is out by my mailbox, has been thriving for months since I planted it...and I've watered it so few times, I can count on my hands! I really love it. The grey foliage is sort of the same color as dusty miller (another drought tolerant choice). In case you were looking for some grey foliage to contrast any green...and don't believe you would need to do much soil amending. Texas sage flowers profusely in summer, but I haven't seen it yet.

Susannah,
Are you anywhere near Jupiter? I have a wheelbarrow full of the Bilbergia pyramidalis that I just thinned out of a bed. I already gave a bunch to my neighbor and may use a few more of them but will have a lot left. You are welcome to them if you are local enough to come get them. Had I known, I would have brought them to the swap for you.

If you are not nearby, you should just ask your neighbor who has a thick bed full of them if she ever has extra that she is throwing out to let you know. Or just comment on how much you like them. I bet she would gladly share some with you. You would be surprised at how fast they fill in and get too crowded.

Cherie

Cherie,

Jupiter's a little far for me. I'm in Miami. And sadly, the only time I've run into this particular neighbor was when my dog got loose and she came out in a nightgown to yell at me that the dog would get run over if I wasn't more careful. She was right, and I was very contrite, but I didn't think it was the time to say, "and hey, by the way, I really love those broms you've got. Once I capture the dog, you mind if I come thin out your bed for you?"

Texas sage is a cool idea. Thanks.

that made me laugh!

Cherie

Hi Susannah,

Is that area of your house guttered or not?

Crown of thorns came to mind, but I'm not sure how they'd perform with roof dump during the rainy season.

That devilish doggie probably won't tinker with them or the broms. I have cuttings of knee high C.O.Thorns with a coral colored bloom, and some lower, smaller, C.O.Thorns. They're not fussy about soil, pretty low maintenance, and provide year round color. Want some?

I absolutely loved your other thread about your canine misadventures. A library suggestion: Anything by John C. Wright, PhD in dog psychology.

M

Cherie,

Actually, I'm a little scared of ever meeting that particular neighbor because she doesn't appear to have cats, but I happen to know, from my own silly cat, who walks with us when we walk the dogs, that cats are in a pitched battle over who can last mark a pot she has right next to her front door. It's one of those turned-on-it's-side pots, just decorative, and I can't imagine how much she hates her animal harboring neighbors each time she walks out the door and smells the most recent "I was here" signage.

And Marilyn, someone else suggested that author. Need to check him out. The area is protected by gutters, but the downspout drenches one end of the bed. I've got it diverted a little so it doesn't damage the foundation, but that area still gets wet. The other end, not at all in the winter, gets the normal drench in the summer, but no sheets off the roof dump. Can crown of thorns survive our summer downpours without protection?

Aloes would be nice. They don't take much care, they multiply, and they're pretty when they bloom in the fall.

I have a difficult space under my front picture window. It's shaded by the overhang, never gets water, and nothing seems to want to grow there, no matter how much I amend the soil. When I moved here, it was filled with aloe plants, which I dug up and gave away. I wish now I hadn't. Luckily, I saved a few, which are going back into that space, because for 10 years, I've not found anything else that will grow there.

The ones I had were not aloe very, but the kind with spikes on the leaf margins. Beautiful flowers.

LOL! "Aloe very"??? Meant aloe vera, of course.

I had a Xeriscape yard in Phoenix, never got water and survive everything.
It was covered by rocks, that is what they use as a mulch in Arizona.
There were cacti of all sorts, succulents, and other similar plants with thorns or spines.
Cactus can be very pretty when in bloom, you can also eat the pads and the fruit.
Saguaros blooming is something spectacular.

Of course, I don't know how they will do in Florida.

Comes to mind I also had hibiscus covered with stone mulch in the other area of my garden that did get water. And I know hibiscus do well in Florida because I have two very pretty variegated ones on the side of the house.

Willy

Thanks for all the ideas. I hadn't thought of aloe junkyardgirl, but I have one planted in an area that has become deep shade since I planted it. I should probably dig it and put it there. It's never bloomed, so not sure what it would look like, but it doesn't have the spikey leaves. It might be aloe vera, actually. Was given to me as such, but by a friend who knows about as much about this gardening thing as I do.

I saw coffeemom's rock garden over the weekend, and that's probably what I should do. Lots of neat succulents with a brom or two. I might actually need a dragon fruit now that I've seen hers! Willy, I lived out in the desert briefly (Bakersfield) and saw the desert bloom that year (it doesn't happen every year, at least where I was.) It was absolutely amazing.

My spanish stoppers seem happy, so I'll leave them, as they're native and not fussy. The jasmine will probably have to come out _ trying to get rid of all the volunteers near the house for my allergies. But maybe a crown of thorns would be nice in there too. I almost bought one over the weekend, but gosh, trying to put it in the ground looked dangerous! I just put a desert rose in a pot, so I'll see how it fares with my kind of negligence before I get more of them.

Thanks again for all the ideas. Y'all are so helpful.
Susannah