| What are the best plants for a often windy deck that gets late morning/afternoon sun but also a lot of fog? |
| Since you are working with limited space, choose plants based on basic, efficient design schemes. Dwarf Alberta white spruce does well in a container. This cone-shaped conifer has dense gray-green needles that are soft to the touch. It's slow growing and will reach a mature height of 6 to 8 feet. Hibiscus grows to three feet tall and blooms all summer. Mandevilla is an evergreen vine that winds its way up a trellis. Bring it indoors in the winter. Caladiums make great focal points with colorful leaves that can grow up to 18 inches long. They are a tender perennial and can be replanted next year if you dig up the bulb-like tubers in fall and store them indoors. The dracaena spike adds height and texture to groupings. Its long, slender leaves provide a strong contrast to caladiums. Place it in the back of a planter. Asparagus ferns make a wispy background filler. Dig them up before the first frost and bring indoors for a houseplant. Silver licorice cascades over the edge of a planter and weaves in and out of plants, making it a nice filler. Place it at the front of a container to soften edges. Variegated vinca adds color and eye-catching, trailing vines. It grows quickly, so one vine will do in most containers. Coleus is a delicate plant that grows to two feet or more. Depending on the variety, it has pink, yellow, crimson or red foliage. Ornamental sweet potato vine sprawls over the edge of a pot and adds a light contrast to plants with darker leaves. Niermenbergia fills in like a ground cover and produces masses of colorful flowers. Feather reed grass is an ornamental grass that blooms in early summer. Its graceful, reddish-green flower spikes change throughout the growing season to a creamy white. This grass is a good focal point or background in a garden. Hope these suggestions work for you! |
