Not-so-mellow yellow

I'm in the middle of re-thinking the plantings in the traffic island which is in the center of the road directly in front of our house. We have to make a left turn to enter our drive which is just before the island; just beyond the island the road dips down. The problem is that almost every plant I've tried in this sunny site has been so wildly successful that they're obscuring the view of oncoming traffic. 

So I pulled out huge clumps of German iris (taller and more floriferous than in any other spot in the garden), Siberian iris and Nepeta 'Walker's Low.' I've replaced them with Bergenia, an unknown purple-flowered Geranium, Sempervivium 'Edge of Night,' Heuchera 'Marmalade' and a small piece of the Nepeta. I've left the lilies — test bulbs of 'Golden Tycoon' from Brent and Becky's bulbs — because you can see through the stems and they are simply too glorious to remove. 

 

 

Comments

[Altoon]

The lilies are beautiful in that spot. I admire your continued work in this public space, understanding that it's for your pleasure too. The story of obscured sight lines on the road reminds me of a rose bush at the corner of a house in the village that hides some of the road when you're making a left turn. When I mentioned this problem to the road commissioner, he was aware of it but said "oh, Ellen loves her flowers; I couldn't ask her to cut it down". So I'm extra careful there.

[Barbara H.]

Too much success - who'd a thunk it in such an inhospitable spot! Hope you found a new wonderful spot for the outcasts to live.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

Those lilies are better than a caution sign.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

That really tall lily in the center is almost twice the listed height, so sun seems more critical to success than soil in this case.

And Altoon is right, I do take advantage of this sunny spot for my own purposes. The city does set some rules and one of them is plant height. Mine are definitely reaching the max. The city actually discovered that most folks tending these islands had plants that grew too well.

As for the Ellen's roses in Vt., I love the idea of that small town attitude of leaving plants alone for the sake of the gardener. But safety needs to be a consideration, too. Hope drivers coming the other way know to be careful and watch for the hidden cars!