planning perennial beds

Hello, fellow lovers of perennial favorites!

I've been "lurking" on the list so far, just to try to get the flavor of
the list. Since the group was gently reminded to get back to perennials
(thanks for that reminder, BTW), I'd like to ask a question that I  had
hoped would come up on the list.

In planning a perennial border, what should be considered the most
important -- color, height, climate, shade vs. sun, time of blooming, or
what? I planted two perennial borders about 5 years ago, one in a very
sunny place, and one that's mostly shaded. I checked quite a few books on
perennials out of the library and read extensively in good catalogs about
the preferences of each plant I was considering, about the blooming
period, etc. But I haven't really been all that satisfied with the "look"
of either of my perennial beds. We enjoy the different plants that we
have, but there's no time of year when the beds look really great (which
to me, means ... lots of flowers, with very few bare spots.) I don't know
if I just don't have *enough* plants or what. (It's kind of hard to
explain my dissatisfaction.) We've lost a few plants along the way
because the spot was not to their liking, I guess, in spite of my studied
effort to put them where they'd thrive. Maybe I just don't have the beds
planted densely enough with enough different plants. How close together
can you plant?

I guess what I'd like to know is how to get perennial beds that look like
the ones in the books (are those photos just "staged"?). 

Rob
 
=^..^=   =^..^=   =^..^=
Rob Loach in Greenville SC (zone 7)
i*@juno.com
Veni, vici, velcro. (We came. We saw. We stuck around.)



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