I wrote about caryopteris last year so I won't go deep into the details again but I thought you might like to see how I'm using it in the garden. First a bit of explanation. I once saw a picture of a row of caryopteris at Longwood Gardens and I thought "why not try that here?" The picture had caryopteris against a backdrop of arborvitae but not everything has to be duplicated! Since caryopteris propagates extremely easily from virtually any type of cutting putting together a row of them doesn't cost much at all. I began with just a couple plants two years ago (actual 'Longwood Blue' caryopteris) and propagated several more. Then last year I bought a two more that were a little larger than my cuttings so that I could fill in some gaps.
This year couple of other plants (not caryopteris) died out and left gaps where I could plant more caryopteris. I have several ready to go I've just been waiting for rain in the forecast to plant them. The line of blue extends about 25-30 feet along this border garden. Behind the caryopteris are a couple crape myrtles and a redbud that arc over the caryopteris row.
It's amazing how easy caryopteris is to take care of and grow. It rarely seems to need supplemental watering and has never been nibbled on by deer or rabbits. It grows into a 3' shrub in my garden but can be trimmed back significantly to reduce the eventual size of the plant and influence its shape some. Pruning should be done in the spring to give the flowers plenty of time to develop.
And I'm not the only one who likes it!
What plants have you found that make a good row/hedge planting?