You might consider Bishop's Weed. They don't flower but I personally love the foliage. It IS invasive so be careful in planting. If you are backed up next to a woodland area or meadow that has many natives I would think carefully before planting this guy.

Hope that helps.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum'

Hi,
Herbs often grow well in your backyard situation - believe it or not.
Lavender for example.
You can also grow some ornamental grasses like Pampass grass. It does grow into a HUGE clump of about 4-5 feet over time and is beautiful. The birds love the seeds in the fall.
Amaranthus ponytails (love-lies-bleeding) also thrives in this condition - (email me and I can send you seeds which will grow quickly). This plant also gives abundant seeds which grow quickly.
Coneflowers - such as purple coneflowers. (I may have some of these seeds left but not sure.) They grow about 3-4 feet tall and the monarch butterflies love these. I grow mine in the same conditions you described in a front garden HOT area and they thrive every year.
Brown-eyed Susans also grow along with the purple coneflowers in the hot garden bed.

There is also a product you can order from the US for this type of soil problem from ZEBA called Quench. (They ship from Vancouver.) This product looks like tiny granules, which when watered down absort about 400 times their weight. They are environmentally friendly. You don't need to use much. I just added this to my front hot garden and the rain this week is being absorbed. This product is used in golf courses throughout the US. I have provided a link for it below. (www.zeba.com) This product is better than other water crystals (which are derived from petroleum) as the Quench product is made from cornstarch!

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
McPeg

Here is a link that might be useful: Search site for

Correction on site title.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quench Product

Hi,
I could send some of this to you in a padded envelope with the plant wrapped in wet paper towels in a ziplock baggie.
Please note NOT to plant this anywhere near a neighbors yard.
This plant is now on the Ontario list for invasive plants.
I still think it is very, very pretty for areas where nothing else will grow.
Let me know if you want this too.

Howzabout Solidago (also known at Goldenrod). Hard to beat.
I second the ornemental grasses. You want something zero maintenance.

Also you might try Crown Vetch - it's a member of the pea family, has pretty pink & white flowers, sends runners all summer long. It's only my 2nd year, but the plant doesn't seem to be too invasive. Before trying it I'd amend your soil first with some compost or fresh top soil.
Good luck.

Achillea. It comes in lots of colors and heights and spreads.

Jerusalem Artichoke? Also known as false sunflower. A wonderfully invasive plant that used to be planted in the thirties for erosion control. It's TALL, four to five feet, and spreads by root system. The flowers bright yellow, look like smaller sunflowers. It doesn't like shade, so wouldn't be a problem if your yard backs up on woods.

Caveat: The flowers arrive in late July, early August, so there's a lot of green stalk to put up with in early summer.

Plus: The roots are edible, if you like one-inch wide tubers.

How tall did you want the flowers to be? Here are a few suggestions. Personally if you want a flower bed I would plant a mixture.
- anise hyssop. It has lilac/purple 'candles' on top in mid summer and smells like licorice after a rain
- I agree with yarrow for late summer fall flowers
- Monarda/Bee Balm
- Evening Primrose
- Maltese Cross
- Daylilies
These are just a few suggestions. If you want to make a flower bed out there I would suggest planting shorter plants in front. Some would be lavender (as suggested), perennial geraniums, campanula, liatris. I have these in my butterfly/hummingbird garden. A plant that I almost forgot to mention was Sedum. I have 'Luxuriant' and a variegated form of it. They are fall flowering with flat, pink, fuzzy flowers that butterflies love. I also have sedum acre which a lot of gardeners find very invasive. I have it growing around various perennial and using it as a mulch. Hope this gives you some more ideas. Marg

I agree, bee balm is great - how about ferns? They don't flower, but are basically maintenance free and are clean looking.