Suggestions for plants in limited space, north facing

Hi all,

The front step of our front walk has rotted out. It was a railroad tie & I guess even those have a life. Anyway, as with all projects, this one got bigger. While my husband was at the big box stores getting a new landscape timber, I began "cleaning up" the area.

I have reinstalled the edging bricks so that they will hold the soil back better, and now I'd like some advice on plantings. Until now, the area has had Stella d'oro daylilies. Nice plants but they look terrible towards the end of the summer, and before they bloom in June, they are just plain boring. The area in question is small:. 1 1/2 feet by 4 feet.(.45 by 1.2 metric). It is also north facing. And gets piled up with snow in the winter. I'd like something(s) that are
1) relatively small
2) can deal with snow (if perennial)
3) can grow on a north side
4) will provide 3 season interest

Suggestions??



Oh, I forgot to add that this tiny bed is just outside our front door. So it is very visable.

 

Geranium nodosum
Lilly-of-the-valley
Asperula taurina
Arum italicum

Here are a few possibilities. Let me know how it goes.

 

If you want color.....impatiens for the Summer. nothing beats them as vivid as they are. you might need to rotate flowering plants into the space if you want Spring and Fall color too. Spring Pansies and Fall maybe just interesting foliage.

 

I just looked up arum italicum...beautiful plant. I will check out the others. I'd like to see that geranium in the flesh(leaf?). I might do a combo of the arum italicum and impatiens.
Sjoerd, I like that your suggestions are all short
Thanks folks.

 

It really is a beautiful plant and requires little attention after it is established.
The geranium is a nice thing as well. Impatiens are always a winner. Just do not let their soil dry out and they will be showy for a whole season.
Yeah Cayu--short seemed best for the little plot that you indicated in your foto's.

 

Hi @Cayuga Morning how about some young Astilbe plants in different colours as they love shade. I have a pink and purple by my fence in the shade.

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Beautiful Gail!

I have just plopped some brightly blooming mum's on top of the soil in this area. A bit of color before the freeze of winter

In the spring, I'll take you all up on some of your suggestions for the area.

 

CM what colours have you added as i'm into bright

 

Here they are @Gail-Steman I particularly like the one on the middle. A friend gave it to me. Three colors in one!
Notice our front stoop? My husband is fixing it. It has railroad ties bounding bricks. The RR ties rotted out.Husband is replacing them with pressure treated timbers. We hope to get the bricks re-layed today. BTW the piece of plywood is only there temporarily so we don't track sand in the house. E will last the bricks in sand.

 

I do like the middle plant but the deep red is stunning also, what does me i suffer from colour blindness so the eye needs colour if you get my drift. lol

Well i hope you get the pathway sorted today as it will look nice when finished

 

@Cayuga Morning i've only just noticed you love your lions the same as me i dropped on with these as the chaps was just starting out in business £25 each

 

Cute Gail! Yes I inherited those lions from my dad. They used to grace the parapits along side our front door.

I like yours BTW

 

The colourful plants in that narrow bed look so charming and the colour is attractive to see.
Very nice.

 

Thanks SJ. In spring I plan to pull out all the daylilies and plant an ever changing array of colorful annuals. And maybe the arum italicum and the geranium!

 

@Cayuga Morning did you manage to get your pathway sorted as you hoped?