Tall things in the garden

The tall things are taking over the garden right now and that's just fine. Flowers that slap you in the face as you plod through the yard, make gardening a contact sport.

Big, bold, and willowy, tall perennials and late summer shrubs make the garden charmingly wild.

It's grand to be eye to eye with one of the many coneflower shaped perennials that bloom in August. Watch a bee come in for a landing on a yellow daisy or, rudbeckia. They circle the centre like an SUV looking for a parking spot at Wal-Mart.

If you wade through a book called The Plantfinder's Guide to Daisies published by Timber Press, you'll find nearly 200 pages written about these indispensable, sun-loving members of the perennial garden. Match just about any yellow daisy with a robust ornamental grass and the classic combination will be striking and easy to care for.

The roll call for tall daisies includes the sadly named but superb sneezeweed. Its real name is helenium, and the cultivars include ones such as 'Moerheim Beauty' and 'Coppelia'. Heleniums are daisy shaped with a twist, their petals reflex, or droop soon after opening, making them resemble an upside-down shuttlecock. Their centres are more intricate than typical daisies, layered like a beautiful cake, and often shot through with gold.

The heleniums bring rich reds and oranges to the garden and they bloom at a time when there is the occasional hint of fall coolness in the air. Be ready to divide them after a few seasons in the garden in order to maintain their vigor. They also like rich soil with adequate water, especially during drought.

Among the sun loving tall daisies and ornamental grasses in the gardens, it is safe to mix in shrubs that act like herbaceous perennials, such as butterfly bush or buddleia. Butterfly bush is cut back to the ground in the spring, just like a perennial, which helps control its height.

In August one has only to stand still in front of a butterfly bush for a minute or so, to be able to enjoy the fluttering arrival of Monarchs. They will float around in the most charming way, before landing on the honey scented flowers. This truly is one of the most joy giving plants to include in the garden. The flowers come in pink, lilac, deep purple, white and yellow. A new introduction called 'Masquerade' has bright green and white variegated foliage. Butterfly bush is also known to be deer and rabbit resistant and will grow in sandy or heavy soil.

There seems to be something slightly rebellious too in having a garden of tall plants. They are not formal and orderly, there's the opportunity to cut romantic paths through them and the chance to make room for a fort, just like the kids do.

I once visited a garden in a Kitchener suburb that was modeled on a tall grass prairie. Among the tall grasses and perennials there were simple paths, and big rocks to sit on, most of all it was alive with birds and butterflies and bugs. It was an enchanting refuge and so enjoyable because it was literally in your face with flowers. So stand tall and think tall in the garden.