Cannot recommend without your location.

7a NJ

Have you considered filling that space with Rozanne geraniums?

So fill the rest with the same geraniums? Only 2 kinds of plants for that whole bed would look fine?

I think a massed planting of Rozanne would be lovely. Of course that may not be your style. You could fill the space with impatiens this year to see if you prefer a color contrast.

I am trying to do all perennials there. I agree a mass of Rozannes would look lovely but from a landscape design perspective would having only 2 flowering plants be acceptable?

Heruga, how deep is the bed? From front to back? I don't know the cultivars you have - or how old they are - but those spirea will get fairly large, won't they? Is that space consideration something to keep in mind?

They look like they are a lighter colored spirea. Perhaps you would like some purple or orange-foliaged heuchera in front? Not sure how that would go with the geraniums (bloom color-wise) although honestly I - and I'm sure most people - grow heuchera for the foliage anyway, not the blooms.

Perhaps you want to do more of a foliage/texture contrast - perhaps a carex planting in front of the spireas? Or maybe some small thujas like tater tot, or some of the new smaller hollies (is it Gem Box I'm thinking of?) Not sure if there is enough sun for the thuja but the hollies should do well here and give winter interest. Although again, not sure what kind of spireas you have so perhaps either of these options would be too big in front of the spireas, but I'm thinking they won't be.

How about those low-growing azaleas, like ... what is it? Perfecto Mundo or something like that? I have two that aren't doing too well for me but I've always had issues with azaleas, and you are a zone warmer. Along the same lines, perhaps a couple of those very-low growing rhodies, that only get about 2-3 feet tall. Spring bloom, winter interest. Again, not sure of height compared to spireas.

Or maybe go in the opposite direction and plant something tall there. Maybe a larger rhodie, a small(er-ish) viburnum, symphoricarpus, smaller/mid-size deciduous or evergreen holly, pieris, physocarpus, diervilla, callicarpa (although these may need more sun). I'm thinking either a mid-sized shrub with great seasonal interest that will wow in spring/summer/fall, or a more substantial evergreen that will anchor the whole thing year round, like a 6-8 foot holly, rhodie, etc.

Maybe some small spring bulbs for early interest? Hydrangeas? Giant hosta? Wu-lal-la is a fave or mine.

And if you like the geraniums, then they are acceptable! Who cares what others think if your garden brings you joy!

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

:)

Dee

P.S. What is behind the spireas? I can't figure out what it is. It looks like a euonymus of some sort but I can tell - I think they are too short for that!

The beds are about 9ftx27ft. I don't remember the cultivar of the spirea, it has fiery red foliage in early Spring. Coral bells sound nice actually. I just feel like they are rather short lived. But its a perfect fit in terms on color, sun exposure, and size for that area so I may consider those. It's not my garden, its a public area I need to plant up and I've been stuck on this task since winter. Originally I thought of massing brunnera macrophylla but they don't seem to be the most reliable plants here. There are critters here too so I can't use anything like hostas or azaleas. I also want it to be colorful and smaller than the spirea, so maybe I'll try out coral bells. The groundcover behind the spireas are euonymus fortunei.

There's a new series of ajuga called Feathered Friends that has bright foliage... tough low maintenance plant that fills in.

Way too much geranium if you fill in the area with the Rozanne. I would like to see something with a completely different texture or growth habit. Something spiky or upright, like a ornamental grass.....or iris......or crocosmia.

What type of “critters“ do you have that eat your plants & bushes?

What about one of the Hakonechloa

Critters as in deer, rabbits, and some groundhogs.

Thanks all, I’ll think about all your suggestions. I even thought of planting annuals there like a mass of begonia… just dont want to have to do it every year if I don’t have to.

I thought of hakonechloa also but I wasn't sure if there was enough sun for that. Hence my suggestion of carex. In my garden carex seems to take some shade better than hakonechloa - although in my yard EVERYTHING is in some shade lol. I LOVE hakonechloa and I believe it is supposed to do well in part shade but in my experience it's not as reliable or hearty (and I do mean hearty as well as hardy lol!) as carex. But again, Heruga is a zone warmer so perhaps that may make a difference. But I also hesitated because I thought the hakone might be too similar in color to the spireas...

That ajuga is quite lovely. And ajuga is indeed quite a tough plant so maybe a good choice for a public area. But sorry, once again I have to call color on this lol. I wonder if one of the bronze-y ajugas would look better, having more contrast.

The more I think about this, I just feel like this planting needs something bigger in the middle. Of course, it does depend on the mature size of the spireas, but it seems as of now everything is too similar in height. Doesn't have to be super tall. I think even a nice flowering shrub, or evergreen, maybe five feet high or so, 3-4 feet wide, would like nice centered here. (Or perhaps something narrower if those spireas will fill out a lot - narrow shorter holly??) Or maybe even a tall grass? I don't grow the bigger grasses but maybe like a muhly grass, panicum, calamagrostis, or pennisetum? (I don't know anything about invasiveness etc., since I don't grow them, so perhaps not a good choice; I'm just trying to think in terms of form, height and wow factor. Please ignore if they are invasive!) Then you could fill in underneath with more geraniums.

One of the shorter, upright mock oranges like Tower or Sparks.... perhaps I already mentioned this above but one of the smaller deciduous hollies.... Hydrangea, or for more winter interest, a smaller rhodie... pieris.... (by shorter/smaller here I'm thinking 4-6 feet, as opposed to some of the 12ft and higher cultivars). Did I mention callicarpa or diervilla? Weigela? Smaller viburnum? Aralia Sun King (might be too similar in color to spirea...) Smaller buddleia, like Miss Molly?

Or how about a rose? There are some roses that do quite well in part shade. Darlow's Enigma, or one of my faves, Lyda Rose

Then I guess there some easy perennials that may work. Perhaps sun may be an issue in this spot but again, my yard is fairly shady - at least half shade, mostly morning sun, and I grow all of these below (although perhaps not as nicely as someone with full sun lol!):

*Daylilies?... again imo I think you need more height, but if you were to get some of the lovely taller-stemmed daylilies, chosen for different blooms times, they would be a good tough choice for a public area. And this would definitely be more work, but if I were to go with daylilies, I might consider a small border of annuals along that curb, just to give some interest when blooms are gone. I suppose the daylily buds may be too tempting to any wandering deer - are you able to (or desire to, lol) get there once a week or so beforehand to spray deterrent?

*Shasta daisies? They are easy and hardy and fill in nicely. I do have issues with oriental beetles with them most years, so perhaps not a great choice if you have that pest there too. They can get ratty looking thanks to those darn pests. For some reason the last two years both mine and the ones I shared with my daughter were not bothered by the beetles and they were spectacular. Bloomed for WEEKS!

*Tall garden phlox - long bloom time, especially if you plant a few cultivars, lovely fragrance, height. Mildew can be a problem though.

*Irises - nice spikey foliage for contrast, lovely blooms, but short season early in the year. Although again, you can mix early, mid, late season, and some rebloomers.

*Echinacea - tough, hardy, many beautiful new cultivars

*digitalis grandiflora - in my garden, this is one of my most reliable perennials. EXTREMELY easy, lovely soft yellow, long-lasting blooms and they grow very well in even full shade. Not as tall or showy as biennial foxglove, but really an amazingly easy plant that fills in nicely.

*Astilbe - the blooms give some height; they do well in part shade; may need more moisture than is in this bed??

Another option - annual reseeders? Might be too "messy" or informal of a look for you here, and perhaps you don't want to rely on reseeding. Again, sun may be an issue but I do grow these as well:

*larkspur - love this color! When grown in masses, I think it's quite lovely. Perhaps a shorter bloom time than some annuals though. Wow, can't believe I don't have a picture of this lol. I thought I had dozens. I grow mostly a lovely deep blue/purple one. Some of mine have gotten to 4-5 feet tall! Average is more like 3 feet. Very reliable reseeder. Oh, here's a picture of the color at least - larkspur in front of apricot daylilies:

*nigella - reseeds nicely, long season of interest, with lovely ferny foliage, sweet little blooms, and eye-catching seed pods. Rather low though, at about 18-24 inches. Extremely reliable reseeder.

*Rudbeckia - I like Prairie Sun best, but possibly not the best reseeder. For the best reseeder, I would recommend triloba. Again, the triloba might be too informal but if grown in a mass, it's quite spectacular, IMO.

Prairie Sun

triloba - about 4-5 feet tall last year

Again, some small spring blooms or even a few clumps of daffodils might be a nice addition too.

Heruga, is this area sloped, from the wall down to the curb? Or am I looking at the picture incorrectly?

:)

Dee

P.S. I knew I was forgetting one lol. Lobelia siphilitica. Bloom spikes can get up to about 3-4 feet tall, nice blue blooms. I had this planted in a bog garden and I will admit it was somewhat aggressive. But perhaps in drier soil, surrounded but the wall and curb, etc, it will be more well-behaved. While normally not a red-flower lover, I do love the lobelia cardinalis MUCH more, but think it would be too dry here for that.

Ok guess I rambled enough for now! :)

Okay, okay, just one more thought lol.... If you go with a single, centered shrub option, perhaps consider moving the geraniums to the center, under/closer to the shrub, and then maybe putting something for fall interest where the geraniums are now. Mums, asters, montauk daisies. Maybe some goldenrod but it's amazing how many people think it's ragweed and get upset lol. Sedum, although it may need more sun.

Thanks Dee. I’ll consider all those options. The slope is from wall down to sidewalk. For some reason I’m still stuck on your very first suggestion with coral bells. But I’m also thinking, callicarpa or hydrangea might be a nice fit for color and maybe the extra height would look good too. I just don’t want it getting too tall and blocking the spirea behind, but neither hydrangeas nor callicarpa should do that especially being more downhill, I don’t think. Astilbes sound nice too but I feel like their bloomtime is way too short. But yea, in the fall I plan on stuffing that bed with many different bulbs-daffodils, alliums, muscari, hyacinths.

I would put in something with a different texture and height like bergenia.

Problem is, y’all are talking about dozens of types of plants, many of which need different growing conditions— high moisture like hydrangeas, poorer/ dryer like Rudbeckias, different sun requirements . It seems OP needs to identify further the hours of sun and what reliable supplemental water is available. Plus I’m not seeing plan for some evergreens for structure & year-round interest if bed is 27’ long.

It gets morning sun afternoon shade, couple hours at the most. There is an irrigation system there and it waters it 4 days a week. The euonymus around the bed is evergreen.