The end of May is still the start of the planting season so keep weeding, loosening the soil and adding compost before filling your landscape with more beautiful blooming plants.
Perennial flowers are those that you plant once, they flower than survive the winter and return to bloom again the following year. Examples of perennial plants that do best in Western Washington are peonies, hosta, iris, and hellebores.
Annual flowers are sometimes called bedding plants, and these are most used in container gardens or patio pots because even though they only live a year and must be replaced annually they have a much longer bloom time than perennials. Annuals such as petunias, geraniums, marigolds and begonias are in flower now and will continue to pump out the blooms until killed by a hard frost in the fall.
Q. Please recommend perennials for the north side of my house. The bed is only about 3 feet deep and shaded all day. I want plants that bloom but that also return each year without replanting. Tacoma S.L.
A. The prince of darkness in the shade has got to be hosta as these foliage plants are tough but beautiful with varieties that range from four feet to four inches. Use these toward the back of the bed and add astilbe with pointed pink or white blooms near the front. The fine foliage of the astilbe is a nice contrast to the broad hosta leaves. Finally add some winter and spring color with hellebores and dwarf daffodils and you have it made in the shade with color almost year round.
Q. What flowers that bloom white will do well near my patio that is partially shaded? We have a wedding planned here this summer. I want to plant in both pots and in the grounds. I also want to use just one type of bedding plant for a uniform and elegant look that will have color August. B., Email
A. Here come the white impatients for a pristine look on low growing plants that never need dead heading. A tip for growing this annual is to work plenty of compost into the soil as well as slow release plant food at planting time. Another suggestion is not to plant out impatiens until the end of May as these tropical plants shiver during cold nights. Try not to wet the foliage when you water as wet leaves encourage fungal infections on impatient plants. One last thing to think about is how tall you want the plants. Impatiens come in sizes from six inches to one and half feet tall.
Q. I was given some dahlia tubers by my neighbor. Then she died. I really want them to grow in my garden. When do I plant dahlias? I live in Tacoma. T.T. , Tacoma
A. May your neighbor live on in your new dahlia planting. May is a great month to plant dahlia tubers. First find a sunny spot and work the soil by digging so it is loose down to a depth of one foot. Add slow-release plant food and also a stake for each dahlia you plant. Now bury the tuber close to the plant stake, lying the tuber on its side and covering with 4 to six inches of soil. Keep the soil moist at all times and bait for slugs as soon as you see the green tips emerge from the soil. You will want to fertilize dahlias again when they are about a foot tall. Tie the stem to the garden stake as it grows and you can expect dahlias to grow as short as one foot to as tall at 8 feet depending on the variety. Not knowing what to expect is part of the fun but be patient. In Western Washington dahlias planted directly in the ground may not bloom until late August but then produce blooms until a hard frost in October if you keep harvesting the flowers.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
