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Companion Ideas?
In article , Lilly wrote:
Just got a Weeping Pussy Willow to plant in a big barrel to go with my patio water garden (not built yet) and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about what to plant along with it? Maybe ornamental grasses? I'm not especially partial to papyrus... Thanks! (Zone 8 Pacific Northwest) ~Lilly How thick a weeping willow? Grass needs lots of sun. I'd go for a hardy epimedium. The spring flowers are striking in a wide array of colors for sundry species & hybrids, but the main thing is the leaves, some of the prettiest leaves any garden can have. And these are hardy as can be in the Northwest. Some epimediums are at least partially evergreen so even have a winter presence, albeit kind of worn-out looking in winter; others are entirely die-back varieties. Here's a page showing two of mine: http://www.paghat.com/epimedium.html Now that they're blooming again I'm going to at some point during this week divide that page into two pages with more pictures. We've added a third epimedium this year, "Lilafee" which is a bright lilac bloomer, & I managed to get one really good picture of it's first blooms this morning, so will soon have pages for three epimediums. I grow them under large rhodies & azaleas & I bet they'd be ideal under a containered willow too. The amazing leaves are on wire-thin stems, so the lightest breeze causes them to wiggle, & it's surprising how much a little "motion" adds to a garden. If you like the look of grass though, I'm partial to Douglas's blue-eyed grass, though it shoudl be in a SEPARATE container if you're mainly container-gardening -- blue-eyed grass only wants a lot of watering in spring, then less watering the rest of the year, & the amount of water willow wants the rest of the year wouldn't be good for the blue-eyed grass. Though it looks like a clump of grass it is actually a primitive lily & blooms so beautifully & in my Northwest setting it blooms for months on end. Here's mine: http://www.paghat.com/widowgrass.html If you want it right in the same pot with the willow, Ophiopogon planiscapus is a hardy lily grass that likes sun or shade & should be compatible immediately under a willow. I have the black form, he http://www.paghat.com/mondo.html It briefly flowers, but the shiny black berries last much of the year. It's 100% evergreen. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
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