Next is Large Screen Shots.

Paula I love the picture of the cat and little boy... so cute and typical.

Here are a few companion plants

Lamium "Orchid Frost" grows like a weed, but simple pulling it out of where it doesn't belong works

On the right, Aralia "Sun King" comes up late from the ground every year

Chinese Astilbe - blooms for a longer season than my other Astilbes

Fern "Ostrich" also multiplies fast. It looks pretty in the spring but by August it is looking tired.

I plant Coral Bells at the base of the trees, which is too dry or the hostas. Here Peach Parfait, Lava Lamp and Caramel

Heucherella - Alabama Sunrise right bottom

Paula that owl is too much! The boy & cat is priceless.

Just beautiful Beth!

Aconitum carmichaelii starts blooming when everything else is pretty much done for the season.

Actaea j. Cheju-Do

Actaea rubra

Alchemilla mollis

Aralia Sun King is young but I am so glad I got it.

Aruncus aethusifolius. I wish I had got a pic of it earlier.

Aruncus dioicus

Aruncus Horatio

Dicentra Luxurient & Campanula Sarastro. Heuchera on the right.

Dicentra s. Alba. I am still ticked that they changed the old fashioned bleeding heart to Lamprocapnos.

I only took a pic of this seedling.

Digitalis

My favorite fern Adiantum pedatum, plus it is native.

Athyrium n. Pictum

Osmunda regalis

Gillenia trifoliata with a seedling of Actaea.

Hepatica acutiloba

I'm not known for making good decisions. Usually, I see something I like and try to wedge it in somewhere. So, I end up with these questionable combinations:

Wingle's Weeper Spruce?

I had planned for this sunny space to be a temporary home for these Hosta, but the ship may have sailed on moving them. I think I'll let them duke it out for a while. The Weeper leader is moving down the terrace away from this area so it may work out.

I have a lot of Japanese Maples in my gardens so those nearby Hosta will need to stay put lest the JM roots get disturbed.

(with a Viburnum)

and speaking of flowers. How about some Irises

Martagon Lily

and Clematis

Steve interesting. I don't normally expect to see Iris & Hosta together. I do utilize tall plants like Persicaria polymorpha to create shade.

Some more. Am I a plant nerd? Yes I am!

Asarum canadense

Asarum europaeum

Brunnera Jack Frost

Brunnera macrophylla

Epimedium NOID

Epimedium Sulphureum

Heuchera Marmalade

H. Venus. Missed getting pics of most.

Heucherella Rosalie

Kirengeshoma koreana

Ligularia The Rocket.

Lobelia cardinalis

Cypripedium reginae

Polygonatum - Debra this is the one you asked mbug about. Don't think you got a reply.

Primula mistassinica & FMN.

Last few.

Pulmonaria Mrs. Moon

Rodgersia aescuifolia

Rodgersia pinnata Elegans

Trollius

OMG Laurie!!! Now I know why your handle is peren! I will definitely save this post to look back on….. you have such a large area to plant (I think) and it’s amazing you are able to keep up with it and display such a wide variety of plants!!

Beth, you have mixed such a nice variety of plants into your garden! I did not know about the longer bloom on Chinese Astilbes…..are they hard to find? I have the same ferns and am trying to relocate them to shady areas. They sure have a tough tap root to remove the plant!

Steve, I love your JPs. I just love how they compliment everything in your garden. It looks like they are in sun, are they? I would love to plant one where I had my Sagae that was moved due to sun burn. It would provide a bit of shade for other hostas in the sun bed. Any recommendations??

debra

Ok, try again…..here are my companions:

Modesta Peony

Monsieur Jules Elie Peony

debra

I have more than I thought, but didn’t get pics of all.

Dwarf Weeping Pussy Willow, I love this tree.

Varigated Jacob’s Ladder

Lupine first year

Yarrow

debra

More:

This one is struggling

This was planted in September

debra

I have lots of others: heuchera Heuchera, astilbes, bee balm, lavender, coral bells, Baptista Australis, 1 epidemium, a new cardinal flower….but many are not worth showing or I can’t find a pic of. So, I will post my Asiatic Lilies and I’ll thank you daylily experts not to look down on me….lol

debra

Couple more:

These are tall, 4-5 feet, noid

debra

Debra, i suspect your yellow lily is one if the ’orienpet’ hybrids. Just guessing but thats what the form reminds me of.

Laurie, I’m glad you are letting the nerd fly 👍🏻😃🤣

Corydalis with Brother Stephan

Epimedium

Lot of heuchera

Sherry

Thanks gardengal…. I bought it long ago from a farmer’s market! It’s very very fragrant!!

I looked it up and it seems likely to be “Golden Star Lily“ as the petals curve back and they actually can reach 4 feet tall.
debra

What wonderful perennials everyone.  Pren your garden is a showpiece!

Debra I picked up Chinese astilbe at a local perennial swap so I am not sure where it can be purchased.

Thanks, Debra, so kind (as usual). Most of my JMs are in partial shade. Some of them do take more sun. There's a great reference here and Micah is a gem of a person to deal with. I'm so lucky to only live two hours from here.

JM Reference

One of my new favorites is Bronze Age which is in full sun for me after about 10:30.

Pictures don't do it justice. The leaves emerge a reddish/pink with bright yellow/green veins that mature into a bronzy/purple with dark green veins. New leaves continue to grow throughout the season giving it a multi-hued effect. And its upright which would be good for you.

But with more shade you can get stuff like this Ikandi (or Higasayama or Squitty that I also grow).

Better stop before I turn this into a JM thread.

Debra yes it keeps me busy and out of trouble lol! I hope you get some ideas. Astilbe chinensis named varieties should be widely available. They are quite wonderful as they can handle relatively drier and sunnier sites better than others. Not dry and sunny though. Superba can reach 4 ft. Pumila is a spreadind ground cover but never aggressive. It is about 16" tall.

Nice lilies! You are so lucky that the lily beetle does not seem to be an issue for you. It is a problem here. Lovely Hellebores. I only have a white with speckles. Love the Hakonechloa.

Sherry lol! BS with Corydalis is a great combo. Looks like we both have E. Sulphureum, it is such a wonderful plant. The Heuchera are terrific.

Aww thank you Beth! You have a wonderful spot with plenty of room for expansion. Your garden & plants are beautiful! You will have so much fun when Ken & Gary visit

Sweet Williams

Astilbe

Lilies

Regal Red Japanese painted Fern

Steve, thanks for your info on your JPs……now you’ve got me looking……. Lol

Shadow, your white/ pink astilbe is very pretty….. I like the lilies too!

debra

So many nice companion plants here, I don't do well with planting companions mixed in with the hostas. I should take some lessons from here. I do interplant a few Astilbe and Heuchera but they don't seem to do real well for me, especially the Heuchera.

I do however like to have backdrops and some edging plants. I have a few separate beds for other perennials.

Some astilbe and European Wild Ginger alon the edges.

Rhododendron as a back drop and a few ferns

Colombine - trying to establish a grouping of them behind a bed of hosta

Bleeding Hearts gone wild at the entrance.

I also put in about eight flats of annuals for color every year.

Wonderful companion plants everyone!

Love the owl and the broomstick photo!

White corydalis plant. You can see the little seedlings in front of it.

Corydalis flower

Bloodroot

Colchicum

Creeping Jenny

Epimedium flowering. Not sure of the name.

Epimedium rubrum

The irises hang out in front of the Hosta beds in a sunnier, drier spot, except for the Immortality that refused to bloom for 3 years so I dug it up and plopped it on top of the ground by the Hosta but I was too lazy to dispose of it. Guess it liked the shadier spot (and neglect) better.

Laurie what an amazing garden you have! How fun to have all of those perennials growing there. You've reminded me to take a look in my other plant pics folder. These are all growing among my Hosta beds.

I have a few Arisaema species around.

candidissimum

I lost track of what this is after the dogs moved it and I lost it for a couple years.

Clematis

I also have the more typical heuchera

azalea

and peonies

as well as some asiatic lilies and these Martagons.

Continuing . . .

I love heuchera and am trying to grow them. I purchased several this last season and hope they survive this winter!

This is Berry Smoothie

Photo taken in August

Unknown variety of heuchera

Heuchera Tiramisu

Pumpkin Spice picture taken in November after planting in the garden

Shadow lovely shots. The Sweet Williams add a real zing. That is a beautiful lily!

old_dirt those Rhodos are incredible! Love the Columbine, especially the blue. No doubt they will seed around the way your BH has. Very nice!

nhl The Corydalis, Bloodroot & Epimedium are terrific! What a great variety of Heuchera you have. That shot with Berry Smoothie against the backdrop of Birch & is fabulous!

Steve thanks so much! So happy this prompted you to look in your other folder. I am a fan of Arisaema and yours is lovely. Wow nice Clematis and that Azalea is so beautiful. Is your Peony Bartzella? Regardless it is fabulous. I put one in and hope I get at least one bloom this year. Love those Martagon lilies.

I freely confess to having JM envy - big time. You (and others) have so many drool worthy specimens. There are some that will grow here but they need protection in winter. If I have to take extra measures I don't. I will live vicariously lol! (It is making me crazy that I can't recall the name of the plant your dog moved)

Newhostalady, if you want a few more heauchera, if you can find Green Spice or Grape Expectation heuchera give them a try. I have had great success with them.

Sherry

Sherry, good to know about Purple Expectations and Green Spice! Some heuchera do seem to just fade away.

I actually went heuchera crazy this summer. And then, I just about lost one beautiful heuchera, but tried to save some shoots from it. Only one tiny one survived. I bought a Cherry Truffles that was a decent size and began worrying that I would lose it over the winter so I took a couple of shoots from it. Guess where these three heuchera are that I propagated? On my kitchen window ledge! Just call me crazy!

Years ago I had Fire Alarm and lost it. One more try for me. One of my favorites:

Peren.all, the amount of variety in perennials you have is amazing! And they all look so good!

NHL, I have Epidemium ’Orange Queen’ and it looks a lot like your picture. I’ll try to take some foliage and flower closeups this spring.

Hi indianagardengirl. I checked my notes and found that I had written that my epimedium was possibly Epimedium × warleyense 'Orangekönigin'. I also see now that it is also called 'Orange Queen'. So I think you are spot on about what I have! Thanks!

I missed the start of this post (husband had surgery/doing well)..

the companion plants photos are beautiful..❤️

Laurie..I love that you’re a plant nerd..don’t tell anyone..I think everyone here is a plant nerd! 😂..while walking my husband in the hospital I stopped to look at an enormous bird of paradise 😂..the variety and quantity in your garden is mind boggling..just beautiful..

steve..ever heard of Nichols Brothers Japanese Maples?..never bought from them..saw them on a garden show years ago..no relation but I have the same name so I know that’s the spelling..when I looked for them just now I saw them also as MrMaple.com..(debra..look for them)..you made me laugh saying ”I’m not known for making good decisions”..says who?..Lol

on a garden show I heard a gardener in the UK say he considers heuchera as annuals..I lost Creme Brulee and Key Lime Pie and wondered why..his comment made me feel better..I do have some that are reliable..

I love seeing the companion plants I grow growing in your gardens..I saw mine (and many more!) pictured in your gardens..

does anyone else think all plants look good with hosta?..😂

I love tropicals with hosta..

Yes Laurie, that is Bartzella. I found one on sale in the fall. I couldn't grow Peony in So. Cal. so when I moved to Ohio, it was near the top of the list of things to plant. Over a dozen Peonies later and I may be out of room. Although, when I find one on sale, I can't resist it and I managed to wedge two more into my garden last year (Casper and Cora Louise). Although I'd be better served being more selective. I've been thinking about removing the first one I planted - Dr. Alexander Fleming.

This pic shows my first tree Peony (Houki) and JM Geisha Gone Crazy.

I also found a Mountain Laurel (Kalmia) last year on sale which promptly went into a Hosta bed and even managed to bloom for me.

and these Dodecatheon manage to survive under my large Maple trees.

I've bought from Mr. Maple before. Strange packing for 2 trees. Maplestone had better packing the one year I couldn't find time to drive there.

I have trouble keeping Heuchera alive, so I consider them multi-annuals. I also lost a Fire Alarm after only one year. I think it's a finicky one. I've had much better luck with Carnival Watermelon, so I've gotten a couple more of those. I've bought around 30 different ones, and I couldn't tell you how many I've lost, but they stick around long enough to keep me happy. Lucky for me there's a place here that sells 4" pots for ~$4.

Electric Plum and Carnival Rose Granita

I loved Sweet Princess while she was here.

Silver Scrolls (shown in my previous post) is a survivor. And Caramel and Blondie have been with me for 5 years now.

(In their 1st year)

steve..not surprised that you knew of the Nichols Brothers..I’m a little surprised that their packing wasn’t top notch..it was obvious in the show they truly love Japanese maples..

good to know I’m not alone losing a heuchera..

my first heuchera (Palace Purple) are still here and have given me quite a few seedlings..

see the heuchera (left side of the pic) that popped up in the path..

fyi..there’s less rock now than in this pic..I’ve been bagging the rock and giving it to a neighbor..I didn’t buy it..was here in back..I used some in this front path..a decision I regret..but I can remove it..

Ann the tropicals do look good with. I admire you bringing them in over the winter. It is a lot of work hauling them back and forth not to mention keeping them going through winter. Kudos!

Steve you are fortunate to have gardened in both in So Cal & Ohio, almost opposite ends of the spectrum. It seems no matter our zone is difficult to avoid envy. Peonies are a saving grace to enduring winter! That is a lovely Kalmia. Yep I have had Heuchera that have lasted for decades and others that fizzle out in no time. I look for ones with villosa heritage.

Sherry I will look out for Grape Expectations & Green Spice. I am quite sure we both got H. Magnum. Is yours still around? It looked great in the pot with those huge leaves but once I planted it it was downhill from there. I still have it but I am not impressed.

Not only do I love 😍 the fact that we love our Hosta, but now I know we have so much in common...... I too can not grow Heuchera !. Every now and then I buy one only because I tell myself I will do better with this one. If they were only $4-$5 I would buy them for sure. Steve , I want to shop where you shop.

I started as a perennial gardener with lots of Iris, Lilies and peonies at the beginning. But as the years went on, so did my shade with the trees we planted. Thus, my love for the Hosta was born.

Seeing so many different combos here, now I am thinking of incorporating more. I retire in 2 more years so I need to start planning what I want to do with all my spare time in the garden.

Peren.all- I am going to try and get a Rodgersia and slowly get rid of my Lilac trees.

Shadow yay! You would never regret getting any Rodgersia you may be able to purchase.

Epimedium today for first two, Camellia Gay Baby today, and Hellebore niger Nell Lewis with daffodils and dormant (waking up!) potted hostas 2 days ago.

Laurie, I still have H Magnum, it has been a disappointment here. It is still alive but so small.

Sherry