Native Perennials for the Front Foundation

As a designer, I go through a fairly extensive process of developing the structure of the landscape before choosing the plants. With lawn, beds and transitions in place, I pick the combinations of plants for the different beds, focusing on the leaves of the specimen plants and shrub masses. They are  the bones of each design.  As I step the beds down to walkway or lawn space, the perennials begin to come into play.  They are, perhaps, the icing on the cake. Although the native perennial category is large, I am laser-focused on perennials that perform well in all seasons and, for the most part, take care of themselves.

I like to mix Heuchera, creating a kaleidoscope of at least three leaf colors, especially where I've settled on too many medium-green shrubs due to existing environmental conditions. This can be difficult to do given the exposure requirements of dark- versus light-colored Heuchera. Although Heuchera is considered a shade plant, keep in mind, the darker colors require several hours of morning sun. Planted in full shade, dark-leaved Heuchera simply melt away. On the other hand, the yellow- and chartreuse-colored Heuchera prefer more shade than sun to prevent leaf-burn. All perform well in dry to moist soil conditions. In containers, Heuchera also provide great, all-season-long, filler color and almost always outperform their peers in the ground.

Heuchera x villosa 'Georgia Peach'

A tremendous number of Heuchera villosa offspring have taken the nursery market by storm in recent years, many trying unsuccessfully to bust onto the tried-and-true stage. For now, I recommend sticking with the slightly older Heuchera that have consistently outperformed the newbies. In my journal, they are Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride', Heuchera x villosa 'Caramel', 'Georgia Peach', 'Berry Smoothie' and 'Pistache'. I may be adding 'Georgia Plum' this season as well.

Heuchera x v. 'Georgia Plum'

Heuchera x v. 'Pistache'

Heuchera x v. 'Caramel'

Next week, we'll continue with native perennials for the foundation. Have a great week!