A group of very useful plants in the garden is the plantain lilies. There are so many sizes in this genus that the plants can be used in a great variety of locations and for many different horticultural effects.
They are especially desirable from a horticultural point of view for massive accents in the flower bed, for wide edgings along a path or drive, and for smaller groupings with more dainty plants.
Lilies in Partial Shade
The plants grow better and look happier in partial shade. They respond amazingly to heavy feeding and enjoy rich, moist soil, though they will grow if neglected and do stand in hard conditions.
Some species grow to form plants surprisingly larger than other species.
Some grow to become mounds of large leaves, forming spectacular plants, with their arching leaves of very handsome shape, often in gray, green, white, or lemon-yellow colors.
And this is important; the plants are given enough space, food, and time to do so. In 6 or 8 years, one plant of the larger species will need a four-foot circle of space to show its beauty.
The larger kinds can be planted as backgrounds that add balance and stability to the garden’s appearance through the simplicity and strength of the broad planes of the many overlapping leaves.
They emphasize architectural features, such as an entrance or a flight of steps, by supplementing the feeling of the structure itself.
The medium and small species are suited to beds in smaller gardens, grouped with other types of plants, at the end of a bed, or along a path.
Pleasant Contrast For Plantain Lilies
It makes a pleasant contrast and brings out the beauty of the leaves to use with plantain-lilies leaves of more finely cut foliage.
Such plants may be ferns of many kinds, astilbe, celandine, lilies, feverfew, bleeding-heart, mints, sweet mugwort, queen-of-the-meadow, variegated gout-weed, and Oregon grape.
Many of the groundcovers do well around plantain lilies, as several varieties of the bugle and of dead nettle, myrtle in variety, moneywort, violets, some stonecrops, ginger, and variegated gill-over-the-ground.
Early spring bulbs, planted in quantity, grow very well and are a desirable addition to the beds, for the shoots of plantain lilies are slow to appear in the spring.
The color of the plantain-lily leaves produces a good contrast of grays, green and white, yellow (only in the spring), and dark green among the other plants.
This is to be noticed under the shade of trees, where the variegated leaves of some of the species give the impression of sunlight glinting through, even on a cloudy day.
The very gray leaves of the short-cluster plantain lily, grayer in the first part of the Summer, go well with the apple-green leaves of the fragrant plantain lily or of giant bell wort, and if nearby, is added the gray of some kind of artemisia, the result is still more pleasing.
Another satisfying grouping of the gray leaves in the shade is with the very fine gray foliage of Roman wormwood and the bronzy purple of perilla.
Blue Plantain Lily’s Characteristics
A particularly handsome mound of leaves is that of an old plant of Hosta fortunei var. marginals-alba, with large pointed leaves, dark green, edged with a half inch of white.
The blue plantain lily of large growth with shiny, dark green leaves has a clean appearance and makes a sturdy border. The green is much darker if the plant is in some shade.
A row half in the sun and half in the shade shows in the plant’s growth what a difference location makes.
In the sun, the leaves turn a faded green, which is a dull color. Plantain lilies do not bloom in very heavy shade as well as in part shade.
The rosette of green and white leaves of the blunt plantain-lily forms an excellent end for a flower bed beside a lawn. The leaf blade of this species is a clear green, bluntly oval, with a white margin.
Another way to use this plantain lily, with its delightful leaves, is along a walk, under the shade of willow trees.
In the spring, variegated myrtle and bugle, with yellow violets and dark blue grape-hyacinths, combine well with the fresh variegated leaves.
In August, the purple flowers of this species make a good show of color with double tawny day-lily and the white spires of culver’s-root. Seedlings of this and generally other variegated species have plain green leaves.
The narrow-leaved plantain lily with a white line along the edge of the leaf is a plant of medium dimensions. It is a profuse bloomer and a good plant along the side of a bed. This species seems to stand more sun than some others.
Hostas
For select locations where they can be babied a bit, Hosta minor alba (trade name) and Hosta lancifolia var. tardiflora are desirable.
The first has white flowers in late August, and the second blooms in October. They are cheerful plants when in bloom and add an unexpected welcome to the garden.
The narrow-leaved plantain lily, Hosta lancifolia var. Fortis will fill many needs and take a lot of abuse. It is of medium size.
As a long row along both sides of a driveway or a long path, its dark green, stiff leaves are effective all summer, and its early fall bloom of lavender flowers is very striking. This can also be tucked into some almost dark corners and still be a good group and pattern of green leaves.
It can be used to fill a city area between the house and sidewalk, even in much shade. If it is placed in front of the huge-leaved short-cluster plantain lily, the combination is very satisfactory and brings out the beauty and size of the leaves of each species.
Treat these plants well, give them space, shade, feed, and plan contrasts with plants with finely divided leaves.
Your garden beds often will assume character before your eyes, changing from a set of plants monotonous because of too much similarity in manner of growth to a delightful group of leaves and grouping of foliage that are a joy to watch.
44659 by Mrs. Frances R. Williams