Need Suggestions for Perennials in Containers

[Fred4Tippys]

I don't know a great deal about gardening, and I haven't really been able to find any suggestions or ideas specifically regarding what I am looking for. I live in Baltimore MD, which I think is in Zone 6. I have a round container that sits outside of my city rowhome (maybe 2 or 3 feet across). The front of the home faces west-southwest, and gets some daytime sun. Basically I want to plant something that will flower and make the front of the home look a little more attractive. Instead of planting annual flowers like so many others in the area, I want to plant some sort of perennial flowers or flowering shrub or something along those lines. Ideally, I'd like to get something that I can plant now, rather than wait until the spring, that will be suitable to my conditions and bring some color and beauty to the front of my home.

Any suggestions?!? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Fred

[Newt]

Hi Fred,
Or should I say "Howdy neighbor"? I live in Columbia and your zone is 7. Here's a zip code zone finder.
http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

If your planter is like many I've seen made from tires or is a half whiskey barrel, you should be able to plant perennials. There are two plants that I can think of that will bloom most of or all of the summer that I planted in my daughter's garden. Daylilies, botanically known as Hemerocallis, are tough plants, though most bloom for about 3 weeks once mature. There are some that are everblooming and some that are reblooming. You could do a search at www.google.com and put in the search box
Hemerocallis + everbloom
or
Hemerocallis + rebloom

and find lots of choices. Most large nurseries carry several, though the most popular is Hemerocallis 'Stella D'Oro' and is a short plant that blooms dark gold. My favorite is slightly fragrant, a nice yellow and blooms all summer. Hemerocallis 'Big Time Happy'.
http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=1.800.170

Here's several of this variety with similar habit.
http://www.perennials.com/hea.html

Here's what a good sized clump of daylilies looks like, this one is the 'Stella D'Oro'.
http://gardendjinn.typepad.com/garde...lla%20doro.jpg

Another plant that will give you a long season of bloom and cascade over the edges of the planter would be a hardy geranium - not the annuals you see in red, white or pink in your neighbors' pots. Those aren't really geraniums, but pelargoniums. The hardy geraniums will come back every year. Geranium 'Rozanne' blooms all summer, is quite hardy and the light purple color will look lovely with the yellow daylily. Here's a picture of the flower, leaves and plant habit.
http://www.overthegardengate.net/gar...ardy+Geraniums
http://www.overthegardengate.net/gar...ardy+Geraniums
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog...ail/05111.html

With this combo, and the size of your planter, one of each should do you fine. In two or three years it will be full and lush.

You might also want to consider putting in bulbs with your perennials if you are going to plant this fall. You don't need a whole lot of them, but some early blooming crocus, daffodils and tulips that will return every year would look lovely until the perennials start to bloom in June. Some tulips don't return every year, so here's some that will and instructions on how to plant them with your perennials on top or mixed in.
http://www.bulb.com/spring/layeringbulbs.asp
http://www.bulb.com/tulips/tubsoftulips.asp
http://www.tulipworld.com/tulip.asp?...general2.shtml
http://www.bulb.com/spring/perennialize.asp#spring
http://www.theplantexpert.com/spring...Perennial.html
http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/How.html
http://www.theplantexpert.com/spring...Flowering.html

One more thing about fertilizing if you are going to plant this fall. Use either a bulb food or just rock phospate to mix into your potting soil which you can get that at any garden center, Home Depot, Lowe's or Myers Seed in the city. If you use a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen now, the plants will put out lots of green growth that will be too tender when the cold weather comes. The rock phosphate will help them grow strong roots.

Newt

[mla2ofus]

I was thinking maybe the sedum family. There's ones that will trail over the edge of your planters and upright taller ones for the center. They are easy care plants with great leaf color and flowers.