Its winter and time to work on the garden ideas for 2013.
I am looking for ideas for filler or footprint plants to plant around taller plants to keep weeds down and camouflage the feet of same.

Jo Ann--this is a tough question, especially since it comes from you; such a diversified knowledgable gardener as you. I've read the posts in the other forum, most all of which I use or have tried at one time or another, but the best thing I've found for 'filling a spot' around lilies comes down to the plain old gladiolus planted in groups of 3, 4 or 5. Their bright green spikes seem to camouflage by distraction rather than actually hide any unsightly foliage around and behind them. And besides being dirt cheap, they're low maintainance--I don't save them; just cut the tops and let the bulbs freeze. I plant around over a span of 6 weeks or so just so I have different sizes and a spread out blooming time.

Here's an 'in house' specialty I also use quite a bit. I don't even know what it is but have been told it's some sort of Siberian Daisy. It's an annual and I have to save seeds but it sure fills a hole quickly. I usually plant some in mid August too--just for very, very late flower. These pictures were taken on Oct 24th, and it will continue look good and flower until temperatures drop to 15-20'F, well into Dec. This particular plant is in a wide, open unprotected garden. each flower is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Plant gets about 10 to 12 inches high or so.

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Thanks Lorn.I was really looking for something that was open.Many of the lamiums,Creeping Jenny .ajugas etc. are too invasive.
Your annuals sound great.That way I can change the look every year.

Dont give me more credit than I deserve.I am good at planning but plant knowlege isnt my strong suite.
The crew who came to clean asked about the heucheras after I mentioned not to trim the OP's.I said go ahead with them.I think it was a mistake as there are some with the above ground roots shaved. I will mulch these and hopefully they will return. The deer have eaten many in winters past and they came back.

I interplant my gardens with double Fever Few. It has strong wiry stems and nice green foliage and starts blooming about the time of my Asiatics. They seem to give some support for floppy stems and add a nice background for pictures. Beware, though, it will self seed. I pull most of the plants out in the fall to thin the garden and then leave a few seedlings here and there to bloom later in the season after those that have over wintered have gone by. If self-seeding is an issue you can always pull them before the seeds form
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Your orange-yellow, Lorn, looks like calendula. They are supposed to like the cool weather.
Myself, I can't get excited about gladiolus, but culturally (care) wise they would be great matches. Nope, can't get excited, unless they are species glads, of course.

The idea of using reseeding annuals is a good one. Then you pull out the ones you don't want and leave those that decided to seed in the right places. I do this with a number of things for several reasons. Favorites are Negella hispanica, Ruellia humilis, Imatiens balfourii, Aquilegias, Black-eyed Susans.

I can't believe anyone hasn't taken up Jo Ann's statement that winter is here. Are you nuts? (Says the man nutso about underground bulb structures.)

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty! Call out the names for us--love this stuff!

Names?

-- Well the two similar looking ones both insisted they had the same name: Bai He Wa.
-- The white one didn't know, I suppose because he is a Japanese/Chinese mixed up kid.
-- The green one's name is Yun.
-- The purple/light green one I couldn't pronounce.
-- The deep purple one's name is Greg.( )

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Honestly, the only one I remember for sure is the green one. It is a bulblet at the soil surface of one of my own L. leichtlinii x L. maculatum v. wilsonii crosses. Small bulblet shape and color really aren't very indicative of mature characteristics, anyway.

How interesting.

Jo Ann-- I'll send you a few seeds just to try out. It reseeds tho, so you'll have to do some clippping now and then. That's the trouble with these annual placement plants; but one that I don't mind reseeding are moss roses. They come up by the thousands here. I use those to fill bare spots on borders thats usually left when the crocoss and dwarf hyacinths fade out. Romona's Idea was a good one for me--and one I'm going to try out.

I LOVE Moss Rose.It was fantastic at my old house but I havnt had it here yet.
I'll mail you address

This year around the end of August--about Labor Day my wife, Carol, went around and collected about 100 or more real small ones that came up late, stuffed them in hanging pots and hung them in the green house. They turned out just absolutely gorgous and just peaked about a week ago (in the green house). I think Moss Rose and Hens and Chicks are her favorite little plants. Edit added: One wouldn't normally think of Hens and Chicks as a filler or ground cover plant usually, but Carol uses those very effectively in many places in her gardens.