Question
Hi Laura,  
If I may I would like to ask two follow ups.  Thanks again in advance.
1) You mention the following as excellent perennials:Bee Balm(Monarda)
Garden Phlox
Creeping Phlox(edger)
Miscanthus grass
Daylilies
Daffodils(bulbs)
Grape Hyacinths(smaller bulbs)
Artemesias(gray foliage plants)
Ferns
Foxglove
Lavender(herb)
Russian sage
Dianthus
Hardy Verbena
Missouri Primrose
Catmint(herb)
Sedums(all types)
Spring Flowering shrubs(Azalea,Rhododendrons,Forsythia)
Veronica
Perennial geraniums
Which of these do you recommend for morning sun and shade for much of the day?

2) Doesn't the black paper make much of the rain water run off the bed?
Thanks again for help above and beyond the call!!!  Sincerely, John
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Followup To

Question -
Hi,
  First, thanks very much for taking the time to consider my question.  Your advice is very much appreciated.
  A friend has asked for help with a long bed that is on the border of what will soon be a rental property in rural Connecticut.  Currently, the bed is overgrown with weeds.  There are some phlox and hydrangea scattered about.  We will remove the current growth and start from scratch. The work will be done in September.  I have the ability to do the actual planting, but it is the design and overall concept that I need help with.  This bed is about 75?long and 6-7?deep.  It receives morning sun and filtered shade after that.  My friend wants a low maintenance informal perennial border, which will make the site attractive without much maintenance once established.
  My first question has to do with landscape fabric.  Is this an essential to such a bed?  With such a big area, will the fabric actually keep the planting from ever filling in?  If I use the fabric, do I need to cut a large planting hole so the plants have room to expand?  Do I need to add new topsoil to the entire area?  The soil looks to be reasonably well drained and I will fertilize before planting?
  Secondly, I am looking for suggestions for perennials for this situation.  The colors are not particularly important to my friend who basically wants an attractive border for this old farmhouse.  I would like to provide something that will provide an interesting view throughout the season厀ithout much maintenance.   Can you suggest some reliable varieties of plants that I could plan around for this site with morning sun?  I think I will be able to compose an informal design, taking into account height, color and season of bloom if I have the varieties to work with?
  Would it be okay to place some interestingly shaped rocks from the property within the border to break up the view and take up some space in this large boarder?  Are plants not noted for their blooms, like tall grasses, worthy of inclusion?  And lastly, I promise, can you estimate how much mulch I would need to order for a bed this size (approximately 75抶6??
  Thanks so much for any advice you can give.  I really do appreciate your expertise.          
         Sincerely, John Vozab
  
  


Answer -
John,
Well this is a very large size for a perennial border,but that's fine as long as you are able to get to the plants to maintain them.You can plant as informal a bed as you wish but over time,everything will eventually need maintenance of some kind.For instance trimming and the occasional weed here and there.Just keep this in mind when you plant.
Seeing that this is such a large border,I believe including some small evergreens and some large foliage plants should be incorporated in this design. When choosing evergreens,look at the shape and eventual size they will become.Buying dwarf type evergreens to fill in this size of a border is important when choosing plants.You don't want huge giant sized trees invading. Pyramidal and round boxwoods are a good choice.Boxwoods are usually slow growers and donot need as much pruning as other types.Also maybe some dwarf cypress also.They are coarser in structure and growth.I would plant these first.Then fill in around them with woody shrubs like evergreen Azaleas and Hydrangeas(large leaf type).And yes, some large,ornamental grass such as Miscanthus is a good choice to fill in a large bed.After that you can use perennials and bulbs,daylilies,foliage plants like the Artemesias and ferns and that type of plant.

First things first though. You should take out all the plants that you want to use in the finished bed and place them in a hold over bed while working on the new one.
Make sure you kill off all the existing grass and weeds in the bed by spraying them thouroughly with week killer on a sunny hot day. You will have to wait a few days in between spraying to make sure they are all gone.You may have to weed eat the taller ones first,then spray.After several days,if you still see some stubborn ones,spray again.After they are all completely brown,you can lay out your fabric or plastic.Always use black.I use the very inexpensive black plastic that comes in rolls.If you have a farmer's co-op or a Lowes or Home Depot they should have it.Get some metal U shaped garden staples in quantity.I get mine at Lowes.These will be used in quantity to hold down the plastic. The fabric is ok,but some of the cheaper,thinner type of fabric sometimes causes more weeds to grow than it does to block them.What I mean by this is: Lots of weeds will blow on TOP of the weed barrier and with fabric they become thick rooted and hard to pull out of the fabric,wheras if you use plastic they do not root as readily and are much easier to remove in the long run.This is especially true for a LOW MAINTENANCE bed where you won't be checking every week for weeds.With black plastic you will need to cut the holes for your plants a bit larger so that water will get to the plant's roots.I have used black plastic for over 20 years and I stand by it's use as effective on inhibiting weed growth and sustaining plants with plenty of water as long as they are not OVERLY crowded.If you are planting a shrub that you know will be get large and dense,your hole should be 3 times larger than the plant is that you are planting.
Also think about planting bulbs like Daffodils that multiply rapidly without any interference on your part whatsoever.Cut a wide swath of plastic when planting bulbs.Just make sure to check every now and then for weeds encroaching on them.Daylilies and Tiger lilies are another low maintenance perennial that fill up space quickly with very little maintenance.Daffodil bulbs and Daylilies are usually planted together for their subsequent bloom time.I will give you a list of low maintenance perennials at the end of this answer.
When planting,use fresh potting soil and or composted material in the planting hole.That way you won't have to waste it by placing it over the entire bed,JUST the planting holes.This saves money and time.
Make sure that you have sharp tools like a good spade for digging and an edger for edging the bed so that it looks finished and professional and this also helps so that weeds do not cross over into the bed from the lawn so quickly.Feel free to use weed killer on the edge of the bed so you don't have your lawn meeting the bed.That is when disaster strikes.
Feel free to use any material like the rocks you mentioned to be interesting companions and a great filler for the plants in the bed.
Here are some good low maintenance perennials:
Bee Balm(Monarda)
Garden Phlox
Creeping Phlox(edger)
Miscanthus grass
Daylilies
Daffodils(bulbs)
Grape Hyacinths(smaller bulbs)
Artemesias(gray foliage plants)
Ferns
Foxglove
Lavender(herb)
Russian sage
Dianthus
Hardy Verbena
Missouri Primrose
Catmint(herb)
Sedums(all types)
Spring Flowering shrubs(Azalea,Rhododendrons,Forsythia)
Veronica
Perennial geraniums
Hope this is helpful info.Let me know if I missed something or you need more info!


Answer
Most I have listed will tolerate some shade but still need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day to bloom at their best except for the evergreens,grass and foliage plants. Go to www.shadyoaksnursery.com to see some shade perennials.They have a huge selection.Hosta and astilbe like partial shade also.You just have to experiment with plants in questionable lighting.The ones that refuse to bloom there you can always move them somewhere else after a year or two without seeing any blooms.The plastic does allow water to go into the planting holes that have been cut out around the plants and it will also allow water to run down into other plants so you don't have to worry about dry plants due to using plastic.Hope this is helpful.