Thanks so much Skybird. . . lots n lots of eye candy. . . it helped a lot !

~Debi

Have you looked at wiegelas?

I have looked at weigelas, I have bought several as a matter of fact. . . they were pretty good sized when I bought them and then their fist spring they died off and sent new shoots from the ground, I gave them a few more years and the same thing kept happening. It could very well have been me and not the bush itself, but I finally gave up on them. Now the same thing is happening with a spirea bridal veil ????

heres what I picked up today. . .

Aquilegia clementine Salmon Rose Granny's bonnet. A very pretty columbine. 14"-20" tall

Digitalis x mertonensis foxglove 24"-36" tall

Adenophora Lilyleaf Ladybells 24"-36" tall

Campanula Bellflower Cherry Bells 16"-18"

They are all fairly common, but I have never grown them, except for columbine.

I'm still on the hunt for some of the ones you shared Skybird, they aren't very easy to find.

is there anything I need to know about these new pretties? Pests? disease? prolific self seeders? etc. I'd love to hear the good the bad and the ugly. . .

~Debi

How about a bleeding heart? They are only exciting in the early Spring though. Also, I have some daylillies that do pretty well in morning sun, then mostly shade.

There is one thing you most definitely need to know! 'Cherry Bells', Campanula punctata, is very pretty--and VERY invasive. Be really careful where you plant it and/or hover over it and be ready to POUNCE and get rid of it if you find it going everywhere in a couple years. Based on my experience, I'd also be very surprised if it got more than 16" tall--and I think even that is pushing it. (Your Astilbe, if they bloom for you, should be taller than that.)

I haven't grown Adenophora lilifolia, but I believe that one can be invasive too, and I'd also be very surprised if it got much more than 24". But individual growing conditions affect things like that, so you never know.

The Digitalis mertonensis should be very pretty. Will be interested to see if it gets to three feet for you. Not invasive at least! ;-)

You found some very pretty things--but be careful they don't eat you. When you said you were looking for some "tall" things, I assumed you wanted AT LEAST 3', so the things I suggested are that--mostly 3-4'. You probably won't find any of the things I suggested anywhere but a "real" garden center--definitely not places like big box stores. Too bad you can't come to one of our swaps! Kinda long drive, I think! But my "purple fluff" Thalictrum has started to self seed a little bit, so I've given a few of the plants away at our last couple swaps. You might need to look for some of them mail order if you decide you want any of those things. Or, if Billings has a good garden center somewhere, it might be worth a drive if it's not close to you.

A yellow columbine I have that's fragrant gets "about" 3' tall if you can find it. It's Aquilegia chrysantha. 'Denver Gold' is one named variety, or you can find it as an unnamed, straight species plant too. The drawback--it self seeds insanely! But it's one I consider "worth it" to put up with pulling the seedlings out.

I second the bleeding heart! The Old Fashioned ones are the tallest, Dicentra spectabilis, but they probably won't get up to 3' either--but they ARE very pretty when they bloom! Mine is blooming right now! (But one thing I just thought of, the bleeding hearts usually go dormant over summer when it gets hot.)

Skybird

If you want something that doesn't "die" back to the ground at winter you need to look at conifers and junipers those are really you only two options here.

I also have a variegated dogwood bush that does pretty well in the morning sun, mostly shade garden. It has pretty variegated foliage and interesting red branches when the leaves fall.

Thanks for all the suggestions. . . and yes Skybird, you read it right. . . I do want 3' and taller. Its a pretty good sized area and can handle a good amount of plants. I figured these medium sized ones will be a nice transition between the ground cover and the taller ones (If I find them) I would NEVER attempt to buy one from the big box stores. . . LOL. . . way out of their league. . . I have been trying to find a place to buy them on line. We do have a lot of nurseries/greenhouses here but from what I remember they also carry the common ordinary plants. But then again. . . I was not looking for these in the past years so I should take another look, I might be surprised.

WOW. . . .the Cherry Bells might not have been such a good idea. . . and to make it worse, I divided the plant into 3 before I planted it. . . I think I may dig them up and give them their own space in a different location same fence line. . .

I would love to come back to CO and go to the plant swap. . . I would love to find out if there is one here and if not maybe start one, just for the fun of it.

I love bleeding hearts, so delicate and pretty but they die back after they bloom, I don't like that. I bought 1 columbine a few years ago for a different bed and I now have 4 big bushy ones and several smaller ones, I just let them go, I guess if they start taking over I will thin them out.

Again, I really do appreciate all your expert advise and suggestions from all . . .

Happy rainy Saturday here. . . how refreshing. . .

~Debi

since I just figured out how to upload pix, I thought I would share this one. I took it for another thread showing the lilac bush, but the bed along the fence is the one I am looking to fill. . . it can easily be expanded in either direction. . .

maidinmontana's ideas · More Info

The shape of your lilac bush is perfection. I'm not sure what you can grow in that very shady spot other than things like hostas. I also read that flowering quince, some varieties of cranesbill, lady's mantle, viburnum, hellebores may thrive in shade like that.

we have two black lace elderberries in a tough spot (morning shade, hot hot late afternoon sun). they do beautifully and grow like the dickens. we have to chop them in half each year:

https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/sambucus/black-lace-elderberry-sambucus-nigra

popmama. . . thanks on the lilac bush. . . it improved ten fold this season. . . I think the pix maybe misleading. . . the shade really isn't that *deep* . . . it's on the North side of the fence but it is very bright shade, as a matter of fact when I hold my hand over the bed it's in full sun about 3' up. Also as the days get longer and the sun higher there is quite a bit longer durations of direct sunlight. Oh. . . and I do have viburnum at the other end of this bed.

celestial. . . thanks for the link. It is beautiful. . . I just don't think have enough sun to ake it happy. . . in this bed anyway. . .

~Debi