I love the Russian Sages, they are very pretty and get nice and big.

How about some sundrops (yellow) and/or wine cups (magenta)? The wine cups would spread, though.

You might also consider coreposis or Gaillardia (in yellow). All of these are somewhat xeric and would work in your zone.

One of the prettiest combos, for me, is Echinacea purpurea Magnus (Coneflower) 30-36" h. or Little Magnus, 12-18" h. I love how it's sturdy Rosy purple flowers peek through the blooming stems of the Russian Sage. That with Coreopsis Creme Brulee (Tickseed) with it's fine leaved foliage and deep butter yellow daisy like blooms would make quite a show jun-sept. All of them share the same water needs. You could cut the Coneflower and Sage for a Bouquet. Don't know how well the Coreopsis cuts.
Good luck picking.
Linda

Great suggestions! I really like the look of the Coreopsis "Creme Brulee" and the echinacea purpurea "Little Magnus" The "Butterfly Bush" and blue Spirea will be too big for the area. I always like yellow and purple together. Not having much luck finding a yellow Gaillardia though. Is that a dwarf version? I think something in the 12" - 18" height and 24" width will fit best in this space.

I don't know how easy it is to find, but there's a short, all yellow Gaillardia named 'Golden Goblin'---about a foot tall. There's also the larger flowered Coreopsis with flowers about the same size as Gaillardia---any of the Coreopsis grandiflora or C. lanceolata---almost all of which are between 12 and 24" and long-blooming if deadheaded regularly. Another yellow that's a little bit taller at 24-28" is Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'. It's a reliably hardy yellow coneflower/blackeyed susan/gloriosa daisy. I like purple coneflowers with Russian sage a lot too ('Magnus' etc.). These are all xeric.

Another thing you might consider where you could get late summer/fall yellows and other colors are garden mums, but they're not xeric. If they're pinched a few times they should stay between 1 and 2' and be nice and bushy with lots of flowers.

I don't know where you are, but if you're in the Denver metro area or come into Denver, Timberline Gardens on the west side of town or Paulinos (central) would both be good places to look for any of these.

Welcome to Colorado,
Skybird

A house I drive by daily has Russian sage interplanted with something bright red (I wouldn't think it would be roses, but I don't know for sure.) The 2 colors next to each other are amazing! I'd never have thought of putting them together - so I vote for something in the red range...

If you are still looking for the yellow Gaillardia, my favorite is called 'The Sun.' It is about 18" tall and it flops a bit but is covered most of the summer with soft yellow blooms. For max bloom, keep it deadheaded. Like all the gaillardia, it isn't long lived but if you leave some spent blooms on it late in the season, it will do some minor reseeding. It isn't hard to find it at the nurseries in Colorado Springs.

I almost went with the yellow Gaillardia, but have several of the traditional type in another area of the yard. I decided to go with the Coreopsis "Creme Brulee". This will be my first time to plant Coreopsis, and my first time to mail order a plant. Usually, I start from seeds, or find the plants locally. This is kind of exciting, like waiting to open a present.

Hi there.....you might wonder with my z6MA here, why I'm poking around in Rocky Mtn gardening, lol....

I gardened there for over 20 years until I returned home to Mass last year and my fav combinations with RS is Jupiter's Beard with it's carmine red/pink tones, Autumn Joy with it's textural contrast and pale pink/everchanging tones, Blue Wonder catmint in the front and Moonshine yarrow with it's brilliant yellow. In addition, the yarrow and sedum help support the RS as it can get squashed by heavy rains.

There are 3 pictures in my Yahoo album showing how gorgeous the Jupiter's Beard colors combine with the blue/lavender of the RS and catmint.

And to boot, this was my 'unwatered' Hell Strip! VERY xeriscape.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dutchfarmhouse1/album?.dir=4f07&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dutchfarmhouse1/my_photos

What a gorgeous garden! You may to think I'm strange, but I usually don't like my plants touching one another (kind of like the food on my plate, LOL) The combinations were beautiful together though. I have another area I'm thinking of changing up. What do you think about planting Eupatorium Purpureum "Little Joe" with Sedum "Autumn Joy"?

Thanks HT....I think learning to garden in Denver prepares you for gardening ANYWHERE. Gardening in Mass is kinda like falling off a log in comparison. Plus, my "xeriscape" training sure comes in handy....we haven't had a drop of rain in over a month now, but I can't complain about perfect weather, either!

It's funny you mentioned Joe Pye, as I've fallen in LOVE with one of the newer intros, Joe Pye "Chocolate" with it's GORGEOUS plum foliage and white flowers (also dwarf like little Joe) I bought 2, planted and next week went back and cleaned them out, lol!! This plant is spectacular all season long. It can take a fair amount of shade too....keep it watered though in drought.

Here's a pix of it in my current Mass garden fronted by Lobelia.....It's starting to bud out now...we're a little late this year.

Oh, one thing I meant to mention in my first post is that the pix of the RS you're seeing is actually THREE. They don't get that wide and sometimes, just one looks a bit "gangly". I tried that once and just didn't love the look of it.....and ya gotta do the "odd number thang", right??? LOL

I put in some additional pix of my Denver gardens from years ago...maybe you'll spot some combos you like.

Well, that link didn't work....let's try this again....

Here is a link that might be useful: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dutchfarmhouse1/detail?.dir=/4f07&.dnm=e8f2.jpg&.src=ph

Thank you for sharing your garden pictures. Very inspiring!

The Joe Pye Weed looks a lot different than what I saw on an online catalog, but I definitely like that one. Your catmint looked like it tolerated the shade well.

I am south of Denver, not as much shade as you had, and a much smaller yard. There is a spot up against the back of my house, northwest corner that is shady in the afternoon. That is where I'm thinking of placing the Joe Pyeweed. I'm just not sure what would go best with that. It's between the Yarrow "Moonshine", Sedum "Autumn Joy", or the Catmint "Walker's Low".

I have mass planted annuals before, but am afraid to do that with perennials. Don't want it to look crowded or overgrown. You never know exactly how big a perennial will get over time.

(From HighCountryGardens.com):

Mirabilis multiflora
Giant Four O'clock

Description: 15-18" x 4-6' wide, (seed propagated). In its full afternoon glory, Giant Four O'clock has few rivals. A mature plant will have hundreds of magenta-pink flowers open at one time! This short grass prairie wildflower is one of our most xeric species with an enormous, deep-growing taproot. Plant it in any soil, even clay, where it will get plenty of sun and heat. Once established, it grows best when given very little extra irrigation.

(I will add that this plant looks almost strangely lush, considering that it is so drought tolerant. Very leafy-green, in addition to all the flowers.)

JANT loved the pic's! Thank you for sharing them. I saw a few combo's that I will attempt to put together.

Quick question please. I figure there is still time to get some plants in the ground and I am also looking at a RS for a hot spot on the west side of my house (still debating what to put with it, so many wonderful choices). I am in Lakewood so who can tell me the best place to get plants this time of year in the Denver area.

Thanks! Taz

Taz, If you're in Lakewood, you might try Echter's first. They are at 52nd and Garrison. I'm not sure if they continue to get new perennials in at this time of year, but never hurts to look.

Make sure you leave plenty of room around that Russian Sage! Mine are only a couple years old and they grow so big and wild that they're pressing out everything around them.

Taz,

If you're still looking for a good garden center, try Timberline Gardens at 11700 West 58th Avenue, Arvada (58th and Ward Rd.). They carry a great selection of perennials with things you won't find at most other places (Kelly, one of the owners, loves to grow unusual perennials), and his perennials are 30% off now. In spring and summer he also has some great classes on perennials and other gardening topics. Here's a link to their site.

Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Timberline Gardens

What about those of us south of Denver :) I love the selection of HighCountryGardens, but it would be nice to avoid the shipping costs. What is down here at my neck of the woods???

Hi Transplant,

Where are you on the south end? If you're east, there's Tagawa Garden Center just north of Parker on Parker Road about 2 miles south of Arapahoe Road (on the west side). I just checked their website, and they seem to have a pretty good basic collection of perennials. I was surprised, though, that their perennial list only has the genus and not the species for most of their plants which makes it pretty hard to use if you're looking for something very specific (they do list variety names for many of them). The sedum's, for instance, if you don't know the variety name, you can't tell if it's an upright sedum or a groundcover one. When shopping in person, of course, this wouldn't be a problem---and I assume the tags with their plants show the species. They will definitely be the best thing on the south end of town and unless you're looking for some of the more unusual things, I think you'll be happy with what they have and the quality--they grow many of their own plants at their wholesale location in Brighton.

However-----if you're on the southWEST side of town, I still recommend you head up to Timberline! Or if you're south-central, head straight up I25 to the 58th Avenue exit for Paulino's. Both will have a more complete selection than Tagawa's and both also grow much of their own stock on location. Paulino's, by the way, has their perennials at 40% off now, and I assume Timberline has theirs on sale too, but I don't know how much off. You should be able to find most of the things in the High Country catalog at Timberline or Paulino's. I have all the catalogs, but I don't buy mail order unless I absolutely have to. I want to be able to look at the plant--and roots--before I pay for it!

Happy shopping,
Skybird

Here's a link to Tagawa's. I forgot to put it in!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tagawa Garden Center

I like Russian sage and verbena. The electric purple glows against the mauve purple

South Seas Daylily. they do very well here.