RobinD Thank you very much for the excellent suggestions. I think small-leaved rhododendrons would offer nice color in front of the ivy fence.
Is it possible to find small-leaved rhododendrons which will bloom at different times so that they could alternate early and late-blooming plants for color over a larger period of time? Would it be easier to find early- and late-blooming Hydrangea for this area in front of the ivy, or early- and late-blooming Azaleas? This is the strategy I like to follow with tulips or other bulbs - a mix of early- to mid- to late-blooming so that there's colors for months.
I also love lilies. For the flower bed B where bulbs would be planted in fall and wave petunias in early summer and pansies in late summer, do you think lilies would work better than tulips for a long early-mid-late blooming period?
