Hardy Yellow Perennial

[pinksand]

My sweet sunshine yellow bird, Tallulah, passed away over the weekend and I'm having a very difficult time with his loss (yes, Tallulah was a boy). He practically lived on my shoulder and I feel as though I've lost a piece of myself right along with him.

Anyway, we buried him in a beautiful tin below a locust tree in our patio garden. I'm still searching for the perfect garden ornament to mark his place of rest, but I'd also like to plant something sunny to match his yellow feathers.

Here's a photo for reference...


I was thinking of daffodils since their leaves will be popping up around the time of his death every year and the color is about right. However, they come and go so quickly (which sadly might be appropriate) and they're a bit ordinary.

He was such a special bird I'd love to plant something showy, yellow, long lasting, and hardy. The site is in part shade. There had been a cluster of lilly of the valley there that got destroyed when we had our fence installed, so something that would do well in similar conditions. I'm in zone 7a.

Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[rainbowgardener]

Sounds like a nice memorial. The easiest way to have yellow flowers blooming there through the season is not to just have one thing. Make a small garden and put several different yellow flowers there. Start with crocus, then tulips, maybe iris. Then there's a bunch of summer bloomers: coreopsis is nice because it blooms over a long period, but also black eyed susans, coneflowers, sunflowers, day lilies. Foxglove and asiatic lilies have very showy flowers and handle the part shade well. For fall, yellow mums.

You probably can't have all of that, but if you just did tulips, coreopsis, daylily, and mums, you'd have yellow flowers most of the time from spring through fall.

[applestar]

So sorry for your loss. Your shoulder must be feeling lighter and colder.

OK I'm just going to list everything yellow I can think of -- If you were looking for something big, I would say tulip tree. Imagine those yellow blossoms up high in the sky. Witch hazel with yellow blooms would be another early harbinger. There are yellow magnolias too.

German bearded iris or day lilies and of course roses and tulips would come in color to match his lemon-yellow plumage, but thinking about native plants, I think yellow lady slippers, yellow trout lily, dogtooth violet (?), some form of goldenrod maybe -- blue stemmed or sweet fragrant. Carolina jasmine? Woods poppy...

Sun drops, eastern prickly cactus.... Golden Alexander....

For final show of the season, you might consider something with yellow autumn leaves?

[Susan W]

I'll throw out a few ideas, FWIW. Yellow crocus come up early, short flash of color, then you deal with a bunch of leaves. Daffodils are one of my faves. You can get a few of several varieties from early-mid-late blooming. Bulbs bought and planted in the fall. For long season summer the ever blooming daylilies are easy. These are the stella d'oros. Get plants when weather has warmed at the garden center, and then you can see bloom color/variations. To keep blooming do more than I remember, and that is cleaning in the spring, add some slow release fertilizer, divide when you get around to it. If there's enough sun add a coreopsis for different texture.
May your sweetie rest in peace.

[pinksand]

Thanks RBG! I feel silly not considering planting several species to bloom consecutively. Once you mentioned it I realized I already have a million sundrops on one side of the site and black eyed susans on the other. I'll have to have something unique to stand out against all the other yellow already in my garden.

Applestar, I loved the idea of a yellow lady slipper orchid but wow they are hard to find and are pricey! I wouldn't mind the price if I wasn't concerned I'd kill them based on all the growing advice I read. Have you grown them before? Are they as difficult as they sound? Someone recommended planting them in a pot with a very specific soil mixture then planting the pot in the ground. The yellow trout lily or wood poppy might be a safer bet. I also love all the shrub and tree ideas, particularly witch hazel, but the site is unfortunately too small. If I ever lose the locust tree I'd love to plant one of your suggestions!

Thanks for the recommendations Susan!

What about…
Early spring
Various yellow daffodils with maybe a few crocus in the front and either wood poppy or yellow trout lily for something a bit more unique mixed in

Late spring
yellow columbine and possibly a pink forget-me-not since he had a pink cere and feet (and of course the symbolism of the name)

Summer
Golden Corydalis or St. John’s Wort (I haven’t grown either, do you have experience with these by chance?) with some Yellow foxglove just because I really love foxglove and I think it will do well there! Stella d’oros are an option as well since I know I’ll be able to find them locally.

Fall
Yellow mums in the front and maybe Heliopsis helianthoides in the back against the fence (I’ve never grown false sunflower, do you have experience with it?) I'm really struggling with finding yellow fall blooms, mums just seem so ordinary but I can look for a really beautiful one 

What do you think? Anything I should add or remove?

[rainbowgardener]

Goldenrod is another traditional yellow fall flower. They come in dwarf varieties that are a bit more well behaved. Otherwise you might want to plant it in a container. I brought some goldenrod home from a roadside and ended up ripping it all out when it was starting to take over my yard. If your spot is shady enough that will slow it down some.

For something unusual (non-native), there are yellow toad lilies that bloom into fall and have fall foliage color:



https://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perenn ... oliata.jpg

They do well in part shade also.

[rainbowgardener]

I like putting just a little bit of pink in there. I think it will really make it pop. You know I like inspiration pictures, so here's one:


https://www.rose-gardening-made-easy.com ... rosyxx.jpg

Those are yellow roses, which won't work in your shady area, it is just to show how the color works. Look at pictures of all yellow gardens. This one draws your eye a lot more.

All yellow:


https://www.motherofalltrips.com/wp-cont ... ardens.jpg

[pinksand]

Thank you RBG, inspirational photos are always helpful! I think I'm going to have a hard time because I'm going to want whatever I plant there to be perfect since it holds so much meaning to me. I didn't know that toad lillies came in solid yellow! I'll have to keep an eye out.

I really like the idea of incorporating some pink because his favorite bell and swing were both pink and I think it will help that part of the garden stand out. I transplanted a fernleaf bleeding heart right beside the area I want to plant in so I'll have to see if it comes up. If not I may buy a new one since I like how much longer they bloom compared to the traditional BH.