Planting Under the Oak

What to plant?  The ornamental strawberries haven't been doing well under our neighbor's big tree.  I believe it's a California Oak, but I'm really not sure.  I do know that the moths that invaded it last year were identified as California Oak Moths, so that's what I'm going with here. The gardeners planted begonias which didn't do much better. 

So I took my trusty Allergy Free Gardening to the nursery to try something new.  I went to Green Thumb in Ventura,  When I asked for suggestions I was directed to Richard (I think that was his name.) who lives in Ojai and has been successful planting under oak trees there.  He said the trees make the soil acidic and they really shouldn't get too much water.  There is morning sun, but it is usually shady in the afternoon.  Richard made a suggestion or two, but when I looked them up they were fairly high on the Ogren allergy scale.  (From Allergy Free Gardening. See my discussion of this book here.)  Then Richard suggested Heuchera, AKA Coral Bells.  It's a 1 on Ogren's scale meaning low allergens.  It grows in full to partial sun.  The size is right.  Score!

I really like the look of these plants!  There is quite a variety of foliage color and even some variety in leaf shape.  I told Richard that obviously they're grown for their leaf color, but Richard said they're also grown for their flowers.

I especially like the one on the lower left of this photo, Stoplight Foamy Bells with the lemon yellow leaves with the red veining.  The Midnight Rose, in the back in this photo, which is described as "fabulous burnished black leaves are spotted hot pink in the spring, lightening in summer to cream and pink spots."  Of course, these two varieties cost a bit more.  I got as much variety as I could with the cheaper varieties and put these two up front.

I really hope they do well under the tree!  It sounds like they will put on quite a show.  They're supposed to grow about 10" tall, 16" wide.