Ferns are out--now what?
Thanks to Trevor and Tim for suggestions and warnings re: ferns. I'm
afraid I'd have everbrown ferns in winter with the cold and wind...I'm
in Napa, CA, US zone 9, Sunset zone 14. I really want something
evergreen to look out on, since so much of my garden is perennial and
dormant in the winter. (I have enough leaf-mulched bare earth, thank
you.) So ferns are out, and ornamental grasses would be mostly
winter-dormant, too. And I detest most junipers.
The circular bed is 6 ft (2 m) in diameter and in the shade of some
deciduous trees and a fence so it gets dappled sun in the AM and almost
full shade in the PM during the summer. In winter it is more sunny with
leaves gone from the trees (when we get sun; often raining or
overcast). We get some frost, and it is a wind prone spot. I'm
thinking I need a specimen plant surrounded by more compact plants and
some that will cascade over the 10-inch high stone edges to soften it.
With winter rains and a nearby summer sprinkler, the plants need to like
some moisture. Suggestions? TIA Wendy
