Cleveland inspiration

Whenever we drive out east to visit my family, we always make an overnight stop in Cleveland, Ohio. We make our base at a perfect small hotel in an old mansion. It's across the street from the botanic garden and around the corner from the art museum. 

Last June we spent a day at the Cleveland Museum of Art. But I snapped these photos in the driveway and along the street at the Cleveland Botanical Garden when we strolled past it on our way to the museum. Since these plantings were not inside the garden proper, I didn't get ids.

I love these curbside plantings as they use swaths of tough plants and always give me ideas to try at home. These Alliums seedheads are the perfect counterpoint to the blossoms on the dark Ninebark behind them. I think the brown tones look even better with the Ninebark than the Alliums in bloom.

Lamb's Ears always seem to be used as an accent plant. This hot, dry driveway is the perfect situation to spread them out and let the velvet foliage contrast with the concrete.

This is a very unusual and quirky combination. The purple-leafed Redbud tree has so little trunk height that it's branches make it a ground cover plant; a rather fascinating sight. But I am not keen on the yellow Yews; I'd use a blue conifer instead.

Add a row of one plant — Alliums again — for contrast in a bed of large trees and shrubs. Then put a different plant with similar color flowers dow low at the front of the border. What an effect those two plants make in the midst of their much larger companions.

Alliums again! But the real star of this bed is Itea virginica aka sweetspire. It adds a lot of drama to the rest of the plantings; much more so than the dwarf varieties of it would do.

Comments

[Kris P]

Great shots, Linda. I was impressed by the large expanse of lamb's ear, which I've tried and repeatedly failed to establish in my current garden. Using a redbud as a groundcover is something I've never even conceived of but it's very effective in that space.

[Beth@PlantPostings]

Great photos, and you have me hankering for travel and the growing season ahead. :)

[Christine]

Alliums are one of my favorites, so I am now inspired to plant more!

[danger garden]

I would love a groundcover Redbud tree! You're right of course, about the blue conifer.

[Barbara H.]

Lots of good inspiration and clearly someone knows what they are doing in planning and planting these beds. Like Kris, I haven't had a lot of luck with Lamb's Ears, though I like it a lot.

[Frank]

I wish our part of the country were better at public plantings. In a gritty ex-coal town there's little in the way of a public garden tradition. Maybe some day.