You are right debra, woody's suggestion with peren concurring is definitely a logical one.

Another vote for keeping one goatsbeard and swapping out one for the hydrangea! That was my very first thought. The goatsbeard is lovely in bloom and a very nice backdrop when not in bloom. But the hydrangea will bloom longer and give more foliage variation. And what a beautiful hydrangea - such gorgeous blooms!

Is that your beautiful Liberty hosta in the photo too?

:)

Dee

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), I think an area that's suitable for Goatsbeard will be suitable for Hydrangea arborescens. I'm growing 2 plants of the straight species arorescens. I've seen them in the wild growing near woodland openings where they get a couple/few hours of direct sun and dappled to almost full shade the rest of the time.

Is that your beautiful Liberty hosta in the photo too?

Nothing wrong with your eyesight Dee :).

Thanks for the confirmation Jay :).

Is that yellow corydalis with the 'Liberty' hosta? Whatever it is, the two make a good combination. That's the sort or combination I'm always looking for - where the foliage color on one plant reflects the flower color on a different/nearby one....

I believe both 'Haas Halo' and the similar 'Mary Nell' are known to have a bit more sun tolerance the wild H. arborescens. I have both of those cultivars growing in nearly all-day sun, and they're quite happy and blooming profusely (and totally abuzz with pollinators) at the moment. The soil does stay consistently moist in both spots, so I probably wouldn't put them in so much sun in a drier/better-draining spot.

I do have the straight species H. arborescens too, which only gets about 2-3 hours of direct sun, and it still wilts a bit on the hottest days and during dry spells, so it definitely seems to need quite a bit more shade.

Is that yellow corydalis with the 'Liberty' hosta? Whatever it is, the two make a good combination.

You are correct @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada. (And thank you.)

So after careful consideration of the many posts I see here I have taken to heart the suggestion to remove *one* of the GB and replace it with a Haas Halo. Definitely a reasonable proposal. (Thanks for that @KW PNW Z8 and others).

I will pick up the HH this coming weekend (HH is not readily available where I am) but the hard part will be to keep it healthy for 3 months or more before I will plant it in the ground.

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) Yippee!! I’m happy to hear your plan. Don’t know about you & everyone else but I think it’s really fun to read that person who posted the question found some value in the myriad of suggestions & proceeds with a plan generated from those suggestions. And, the best part? When the person who posed the question comes back with pics of the result…..so, rouge21, we’ll all be waiting for your update in @ 3 months!

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), my little Hydrangea arborescens

In my kind of garden I’d keep everything that’s there AND plant the Hydrangea. After all I can still see the fence. 😉

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK I would bet that AND apples to 99% of contributors to this forum. Id love for you to come visit to verify that I have zero space for new plants ;). Its not that I am being fickle as this Goats Beard has been in our garden for 10 years.

(And when you think about it, I am not losing any plant (variety) as I am only removing one of two of the same GB.)

It would bug me to plant the hydrangea beside the goats beard. I would likely break the goats beard up into two plants and plant the hydrangea in the middle. Of course I would even more likely start a whole new garden bed..

Damn it @yeonassky, you seem to know my "need" for symmetry in garden beds (as described in an earlier post above.)

But even so, I actually think that these two woodland plants go well together.

Of course I would even more likely start a whole new garden bed

Good if you can do it as it is not at all possible for me. (If I had that kind of space there would likely be no need for this thread.)

ooh, yeonassky, that's a good idea! I seem to have a need for symmetry as well....

:)

Dee

I would likely break the goats beard up into two plants and plant the hydrangea in the middle.

This would be something to consider if there was just one GB in the picture but there are actually two large ones in that back corner. Each is a quite large plant and there is no room to squeeze in another equally large perennial plant ie the hydrangea Haas Halo.

Picked up HH today (1 for me; 2 for a friend)

Wow rouge21, you don’t waste any time! Anything else hitch a ride home with you from the nursery? 😉

Hey KW, I had to do lots of searching to source Haas Halo and so I didnt want to be forced to "leave well enough alone" only because I couldnt find it.

(Yup, I came home with a kniphofia (after seeing @a2zmom_Z6_NJ wonderful stand))

Had to look up kniphofia - Red Hot Poker! Or several other great colors it seems. I know what those are & have seen many of them here in my Vancouver, WA . I have seen only the red color. A neighbor has this plant in her entry area but I have seen them also in huge displays lining the street side of long fences along several residential blocks. Quite striking!

I love my red hot pokers! Although I am only interested in the tall varieties.

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), you could put the Haas Halo in a large container.

It would be tres large!

True. LOL!

(I already have 4 hydrangeas permanently in containers and I like it i.e. they look good but it is tough moving them in and out of the garage and around the garden 🥵).

Planting done this afternoon. (I did remove one of the two Goat's Beard perennials)

You're supposed to be like the rest of us and order the plant for September delivery, not plant it for two months, oops, it's too late so it winters in the garage, and then you'll be too busy in spring with other things to get it planted till at least the next September.

Very funny @diggerdee zone 6 CT

(Dee, you are always positive and supportive. Thank you.)

May I ask, rouge21_gw (CDN Z6a), where you were able to source these three? Did they have many more? I'd love to try them in a drift, so would need several if they had them. Thanks!

You're welcome rouge! I truly am impressed (and a bit ashamed as I look out my window at all my pots that were supposed to have been planted by now lol!) But I'm always impressed by your garden. You do a wonderful job and are always so willing to share your process and photos with us.

So what did you do with the other goatsbeard? Do you incorporate it into some other bed, or will you be putting in a new bed around it somewhere?

:)

Dee

Dee, if you look very carefully, just to the left of that HH, *behind* the chain link fence you might be able to "I spy" a GB that has been severely pruned down.

Sorry @lowville5 zone5b/6 ON, Canada I won't be able to help with your request as I reside in Canada, as do these HHs ;).

Yes, I know. I'm in Burlington but happy to drive to York region.

(Yup, I came home with a kniphofia (after seeing @a2zmom_Z6_NJ wonderful stand))

I was poking around the garden today and spied the kniphofia I had planted back in late July. Its first flowering this season.

I also added a Kniphfia to my yard this summer, Orange Blaze.
debra

So take a look at this division of a HH I picked up just yesterday. It is alive as one can see a couple of 'nibs' of growth. (I bought it as a bit of an experiment....if I can overwinter it I am curious as to how how long (how many seasons?) it will take to morph into say a...3 foot by 3 foot shrub?)

Found 2 more just today. As I have no idea where they will go I will put them as is into our unheated garage and muse on the non existent options over the winter.

Rouge, where did you purchase your HH from?

Hello 'bella', I got them late in the season at a brick and mortar store in Ontario Canada.

Dee, if you look very carefully, just to the left of that HH, *behind* the chain link fence you might be able to "I spy" a GB that has been severely pruned down.

@diggerdee zone 6 CT, I spotted the transplanted GBeard earlier this week, alive and well. (Its always a good feeling when a moved plant makes it through the winter).

I love goatsbeard! Not sure I have the room or the sun to sustain one….

debra

Not sure I have the room or the sun to sustain one….

Hello @djacob Z6a SE WI, I encourage you to give it a go as I think you might be surprised as to its ability to do well in shadier conditions.

(The two shown in the first post above do not get much full on direct sunlight at all)

Ah, nice rouge! It's looking good! Vigorous and no worse for being transplanted. You'll hve to show us a picture of this garden as the season progresses!

:)

Dee

rouge your Goat's Beard looks like it did not miss a beat.

Debra when space is an issue you could try Aruncus aethusifolius - Dwarf Goat's Beard. It is approx. 1'x1' tall & wide. I adore this little gem.

In a fairly sunny spot.

In shade later in the season.

peren.all thanks for that recommendation! I've been contemplating Goats Beard for a few years and this little guy may fit better into my garden area. I'm sure I can squeeze him in somewhere!

:)

Dee

Dwarf Goat's Beard

Every time I see the dwarf version at a nursery I think of you 'peren' and your encouragement to myself and others to plant one!

You'll have to show us a picture of this garden as the season

@diggerdee zone 6 CT, with no room in our own garden I planted it just beyond our back fence in the park and so it will have to fend for itself :).

You are most welcome diggerdee! Always happy to enable and I am sure you can fit in one (or more) lol.

rouge will do!

rouge, yes I got that, lol, - I remember it being behind the chain link fence! (although I did think it was a neighbors yard, not a park) - but I'd still love to see photos of this garden as it fills in!

How well-maintained is that park? You don't think someone will come along and weed-whack the goats beard, do you? Sure hope not!

:)

Dee

you're so lucky to have found HH! I have never seen that offered at our local nurseries..