Grow Tall Perennials for Vertical Interest

Change your garden perspective.  Include a few tall plants in the landscape and start looking skyward.

This large castor bean (Ricinus communis) provides bold texture in the garden.  The leaves can grow up to 3 feet across and the plant grows 5 to 10 feet tall in one season and up to 40 feet in height in its native environment.  The decorative seedpods are highly poisonous so keep them out of reach of children.

Growing tall plants next to much shorter plants can also give the illusion of depth in a narrow bed.

This planting provides a nice backdrop for the nearby garden.  But as the season draws to an end, the colorful Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium) begins to steal the show and is complemented by the even taller Miscanthus.

And don’t forget to add a few sunflowers.  A favorite of gardeners of all ages, these tall beauties will have you looking skyward in amazement of their height.

A bit more information: Native Americans’ Three Sisters planting strategies took advantage the varied growing habits and characteristics of plants.  Nitrogen fixing pole beans were trained up the tall heavy feeding corn plants.  And vining squash covered the soil surrounding these two.

Tags

squash garden-landscape-design vegetables-herbs-fruits design sunflower corn pole-beans castor-bean joe-pye-weed summer-squash winter-squash

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