Cary, NC
Last year on Mother's Day, I was fortunate enough to have my mom visiting from California. Since we live on opposite coasts, you can imagine that this was a rare and special occasion for us to be together on this day. As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time we were able to spend a Mother's Day with each other. So to mark this one-of-a-kind event, I told Mom we could do anything she wanted to celebrate. Shopping, theater tickets, a concert, you name it. What did she choose? A day at Garden Supply Company, picking out new plants to create a Mother's Day Garden in my bare back yard.
Here's a little bit of detail about it. We were working with a border up against the back foundation of my house. The area receives a bit of morning sun, but for most of the day, this zone is in the shade. So step one was to head to the shade plant area at Garden Supply Co, where there are so many gorgeous plants to choose from. We decided on Hostas as our main focus. Hostas are extremely popular, hardy herbaceous perennials grown primarily for their beautiful foliage. They are easy to grow, shade-tolerant plants. Leaves come in a wide range of shapes, colors, sizes, and textures and may be solid in color or variegated in different combinations of blue, green, white, and gold. The plants are low maintenance and with the huge selection of choices at Garden Supply, your options are boundless.
After weighing all the choices, we decided to go with a variety of hostas in a chartreuse-green color palette. Chartreuse foliage is highly visible, even from a distance, and brings light to low-light areas. Choosing a variety of cultivars brings some interest to the border, while sticking to a chartreuse color palette unites the border into a cohesive planting. Here is what the area looked like before we got started.
Our hosta selection included: Great Expectations, Stained Glass, Atlantis, Fragrant Bouquet, Guacamole, and Sum & Substance. We then decided on a few companion plants for our border to add more depth and interest, sticking to the shade area plantings at the garden center. We paired the hostas with the dark purple foliage of the ‘Plum Pudding’ Heuchera (Coral Bells) which do well in sun or light shade, and the light and airy foliage of the ‘Cinnamon’ Fern. The contrast of these 3 plants provides a ton of visual interest.
For my 20-foot border, we selected 9 hostas, 3 coral bells, and 4 cinnamon ferns. Allowing for adequate planting space, this was the perfect number of plants to fill the area.
Now, one year later, I don't have my mom to celebrate Mother's Day with. But I have my garden. And that means the world to me.
To all you wonderful women out there, a very happy Mother's Day to you from all of us at Garden Supply Co!