Landscape designer Mike Walsh uses perennials to enhance a historic home--although perennials can add beauty to any home and landscape. A great many 1-gallon plants are needed to complete this major redesign (figure A)--both blooming plants and ornamental grasses, which will add texture and interest. Carex (figure B), or sedge, requires afternoon shade in hot climates. For best results, the soil should be consistently moist. A clump-forming grasslike perennial, carex is valued for its yellow-green leaves, which contrast well with other foliage plants. More than color, texture creates landscape interest. Mix plants with round leaves and those with strappy leaves for an appealing contrast. Plants such as hostas combined with coreopsis make a dramatic statement. To determine whether a plant grouping works well, step back 20'. Keep in mind too that landscapes are viewed from the street. Don't be afraid to mass a single plant: Mark often uses as many as 25 to 50 daylilies in a group to achieve a desired effect. Mark groups trailing plants over a stone wall to act as a groundcover. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) (figure C), a creeping evergreen shrub, prefers woodland soil and partial shade. Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) (figure D) requires partial shade.
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