Expert: Long Island Gardener - 3/11/2008

Question
zone 6 - have a large berm with Mt Hoods - used to have hostas and ferns that came up as they were fading out but lost a tree and those plants do not do well with the additional sun - it's in front yard and I want something either evergreen that wouldn't choke out daffodils or perennial that would look pretty throughout summer...thank you for any ideas you may have.

Answer
The challenge here is to get a Sun-loving groundcover, preferably with blooms, with solid drought tolerance.  Reason being, Daffodils do not like to be watered in the Summer while dormant.  Summer moisture encourages Fungal attacks, which is a great way to delete your naturalized Mt Hood collection in a few short years.

So we head to the Bluestone Perennials website:

www.bluestoneperennials.com/

and we plug into the Custom Plant Search those spects, and we come up with a whole collection of possible plants.  My favorite:  Sedum Kamtschaticum.   I can tell you from personal experience, Sedum is like most succulents in its proclivity toward the hot, the dry and the unbearable mid-Summer weather.  The kind that's so hot you can't even step outside to water things.  It's pretty, too -- bright Yellow, perfect to brighten up your Garden:

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/SEKAS.html

There are others, as you'll find.  I recommend against Dianthus; it is a Weed magnet and unless you love the idea of sitting in the middle of your Daffodil patch in late July yanking out Weeds from between the Dianthus, you'll be better off with a lush, plush Sedum.

Thanks for writing.  Keep in touch.