Summer Silver Garden

Earlier this summer I shared my plans for redesigning the garden between our house and the garage HERE. Originally the bed was planted with hydrangea and feather reed grass, and the hydrangeas were great, but the grade was never fully right from the concrete installation. Overall, it was just OK. From our traveling to Chanticleer and Longwood Gardens last fall, we decided to change the bed to be a seasonal display (Chanticleer) and in all silvers (Longwood). The hydrangea moved to another location next to the kids play set and the grasses were composted.

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCulloughSummer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

The garden has been in all summer and WE LOVED IT. I pulled plants we had in the greenhouse and bought some extra flats of dusty miller to fill the empty spaces for early fullness. Comparing the garden from when we planted to where it is today, you see  how much the plants thrived over the summer. When I look back at spring photos it looks small, but even then we loved it. (the above image is from late September)

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

The above two photos are from when we planted the garden. You can see how immature the plants were and you can also see how we segmented the bed into angled shapes and planted each plant in mass within those shapes. I really tried to emulate the textural design of the silver gardens in Longwood. It did not take long for the annuals to start really taking over. The Blue Chalksticks (Senecio serpens)  and Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) slowly were covered by the Senecio Angel Wings and Plectranthus argentatus ‘Silver Shield’.  The dusty miller was an economical filler that I could cut back and it would flush right back.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

I originally thought about placing the Restoration Hardware container with the very large Agave americana but changed to using a vintage Kramer Brothers Athens Junior urn with an agave. Early in the season it was a focal point, but slowly it was engulfed by the surrounding plants.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

This summer we had a major drought, but the silver plants all thrived. We don’t have an irrigation system so it was just random watering when we were watering the containers. This was very low maintenance during the summer. The design was laid out in an angular fashion with on species per mass to create an “intersecting pattern’. If we had planted in a more linear design it would not have been as impact-full. This planting technique helped to create an evolving wave of texture as things grew and over took other plants. 

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

The plants were selected for a mix of textures predominately with a stair step heights.  Lower / delicate texture in the front and more vigorous growers in the back.  It took about a month in the ground before all the mulch was covered.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

You can see how striking the silvers looked against the black portion of the house. It was a pure textural tapestry.  I lost the strong angular shape of the plantings over time. I could have corrected with cutting back more to keep the shapes.  I am on the fence if I will use the Senecio Angel Wings again next year. I love the strong white foliage, but after awhile they got leggy. Looked best in the ground, but the Angel Wings I used in containers got REALLY LEGGY, and I pulled most of those out by August. All the other plants I would most definitely use again. I don’t regret using the Angel Wings, you never know until you try something. And I try both containers and in the ground since there were two different performances.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

The faux bois container next to the back door was planted in a similar silver palate, however with the addition of some ferns. This was where the angle wings were just not working. Maybe too little light….? This spot gets morning / first half of the day direct light and shade / in direct light in the afternoon.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

When we planted we knew there would be work in removing all the annuals. The chalk sticks, mother-in-law tongue, and a few other plants will all be dug up and wintered over for next year. The others with go into the compost to be soil amendments for next year too.  The next problem (or opportunity) for the area will be what we do with the space over the winter. I am excited about having a clean space for a few weeks, but will need to do something eventually for winter interest.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

 

As a reminder here is the silver garden from Longwood Gardens. They had larger sections of plants and had mounding to create some height. I wish I could do as large of a statement of Mother in law’s tongue (Sansevieria zeylanica), maybe next year I will be able to get a few more plants to make a larger swath.

Swapping Perennials for Annual Color - taking Inspiration from the Silver Garden at Longwood Gardens. Thinking Outisde the Boxwood

 

 

For next year I am thinking of expanding the grey garden to some of the surrounding driveway beds. I already have lambs ear planted, but will need to transplant the grasses currently in the area. I need to make a decision soon so I can get the plants are on the order list.

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

 

 

Here is a breakdown of the plants within the garden. I did not realize we planted this many varieties, you could get away with fewer varieties and larger swaths. The succulents are the more expensive plants, I would start with editing some of those out. But the main goal is to do mass plantings in strong linear shapes.

 

Summer Silver Garden | Thinking Outside the Boxwood | Design by Nick McCullough

 

Here are all the plants listed again that you can copy for making your plant list

  • Plectranthus argentatus – silver spurflower
  • Senecio cineraria – dusty miller
  • Senecio candicans ‘Senaw’ PP #28,830 – Angel Wings® senecio
  • Graptopetalum mendozae – leatherpetal
  • Senecio serpens – blue chalk sticks
  • Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’ – silver mound wormwood
  • Agave americana – century plant
  • Sansevieria zeylanica – mother in law’s tongue
  • Helichrysum petiolare ‘Petite Licorice’ – licorice plant
  • Echeveria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’ – topsy turvy echeveria

 

If you have any questions please let me know. Everything has finally received the killer frost. The agave is still ok, but not really sure how we are going to move it out of there. Moving the cast iron container without the killer agave inside was difficult enough.

 

8 thoughts on “Summer Silver Garden

  1. Thank you for such a detailed post. I just found your blog and as a beginner gardener am finding it very informative. Not to mention your home’s garden is beautiful. Lovely work.

  2. I looove your silver garden. I’m going to replicate it. Do you think convolvulus cneorum would work with the other plants you selected? I bought some before I saw your pics.

  3. Lychnis coronaria, or rose campion, is a short-lived perennial, with clumps of silver felty leaves and long-lasting magenta flowers, popular with pollinators, in late summer. It does well in most well-drained soils but produces the best leaf colour in dry soil.

  4. Many plants with silver foliage are drought tolerant, making them useful in areas of low rainfall or borders with very well drained soil. Most do best in full sun. Some leaves are completely silver or grey; others are more mottled.

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