Front Flowerbed: Yay's and Nay's

What's working, what's not, out front.

YAY:

I really like this dianthus, transplanted from the back slope.

Look at it: one big bunch of flowers, then smaller ones around the base.

A little strange, but I love it!

Lobelia: definite winner

Those little pops of blue color look so great contrasting with the purples and pinks surrounding them.

I like the sky blue (on either side, above) much beter than the darker blue with the white eye in the middle.  Also like the blue better than the few purple I planted on one side. I've sheared them back a few times, and they just keep blooming like crazy.

This rose pink salvia, transplanted from the back slope, has really taken off.

I'm surprised at how ground cover-ish it is. My other varieties have spread a little, but basically are in the same space as when I planted them. This one is going all over the place!

Which so far is fine--it's filling in the bare spots nicely.

I may have to reign it in at some point, but for now I'm just letting it do its thing.

Yay for my big salvia blooming again!

I cut it back hard about 2 months ago, and it's put out all those fresh spikes.

Love that!

more salvia and lobelia goodness

This rose salvia has also been quite lovely and is currently reblooming.

Shasta daisies, purple coneflower, daylillies, phlox

I'm  happy to say that my main perennials have almost all worked out how I had hoped! (With a few exceptions, see below.) These stars of the show have provided beautiful blooms for almost 2 months now and are still going strong!

I'm excited to see them grow and fill in the bed more next year.

petunias

They look so lovely and just keep on blooming no matter how hot it gets.

My vote: more of these next year to fill in spaces!

purple verbena

Yes! Love the color, the small blooms packed together, and the fact that this is at least the 3rd or 4th time it has been covered in blooms since I planted it last spring.

NAY:

sweet alyssum

It was a good idea and looks okay up close, but this bed's biggest impact is from the street.

These teeny tiny blooms get lost from any distance away.

Perhaps a good candidate for flowerpot next year.

English daisies

This is the second time I've been taken in by these. The little pink and white blooms with bright yellow centers are so cheerful. Unfortunately, they are so small you can't even see them most of the time (see comment about alyssum, above). Not sure if they need more fertilizer or what, but after the main blooming was over--just after I planted them--they have just had a few blooms popping up here and there. Not the impact I was hoping for front and center. If they make it through the winter I think I'm going to pull them out and transplant them elsewhere.

[not pictured]

forget-me-nots

These are lovely, but again, so small.

I plan to transplant them this fall to the shade bed, where their delicate blooms can be more appreciated.

[not pictured]

violas

Looked pretty in spring, but this bed is too hot for the likes of these beauties.Their color washed out and even with regular watering, they just couldn't make it through the heat.

Another good candidate to fill in spots in the shade bed next year.

On the fence:

Bacopa

This looked great when I planted it, and now it's got those cute little white flowers again, but for about 2 months in between it was a whole lotta nothing. Seems the cooler weather brought the flowers back.

Probably won't plant this one in this bed again. I may try it elsewhere to see if it does better.

peonies

If they live, I think they'll be beautiful and look great. That seems kind of iffy right now, particularly for what was the biggest one in the middle.

daisy by the steps

One short bloom time, then it has been dormant and green the whole rest of the summer, even with deadheading and regular watering. We'll see how it does next year.

mystery Asiatic daylillies

I transplanted these from the East side of the house.

The big tall one bloomed white this year--I don't know if the others didn't bloom at all, or if I just didn't notice them. In any case, I have no idea what color they will turn out to be. If it's orange or red I'll need to move them next year.

New! Front Flower Bed LOVE

So Jason got some composted topsoil delivered (2 yards), filled up the bed, and even gave me a gift card to buy flowers for Mother's Day. I have been loving every minute of this!

I don't usually get to design and plant a whole flowerbed at once.

Overall info:

* the bed will get full sun, like our veg. garden out back

* color scheme: deep pinks, deep purple, and yellow, with accents of white, lighter pinks and purples, and little bit of blue.

* attractive to bees and butterflies (I'm sure hoping!) I planted many things with that in mind, at least.

* mostly perennials, with some annuals filling in the gaps for now.

* no bulbs so far, except for the Asiatic daylilly transplanted from the back slope. May add those later...we'll see.

There are probably about 10 pictures too many on this post. Oh well. I couldn't resist.

Overview

I put in 3 peony bushes as the focal point, right where the wall starts to curve back toward the house.

I splurged on the big one in the middle (already has several buds about to bloom), then got smaller ones for each side.

 Left side, close to road

Right side, close to driveway 

What's in it, left to right:

These top view pictures might be a little confusing, since I was standing above the bed, but I think they show spacing really well.

far left, top view (facing toward street)
Top, l-r:
Salvia 'Rose Queen': transplanted from back slope
Candytuft [Iberis sempervirens]
Daylily [Hemerocallis] 'Stella D'Oro'
burgundy colored Asiatic daylillies: transplanted from back slope
Dianthus

Bottom, l-r:
Forget-me-not [Myosotis] 'Victoria Indigo-blue'
Shasta Daisy 'Becky' [Leucanthemum superbum] x 2
Purple coneflower 'Ruby Star' [Echinacea purpurea 'Rubinstern']

far left, front view: dianthus, coneflower, A. daylillies, daylilly

top view

top, l-r:

Daylily [Hemerocallis] 'Fragrant Returns'

Dianthus

Lobelia 'Riviera Springtime Blues' mix

Salvia 'Rose Queen' x 2 (same as mentioned above)

bottom, l-r:

Salvia 'May Night'

deep purple viola

Phlox 'Peacock Purple Bicolor' [Phlox paniculata] x 2

(same Forget-me-not mentioned above)

front view: salvia, forget-me-not, phlox, lobelia, dianthus

dianthus, salvia, daylilly

 

toward the middle, top view

top, l-r:

English Daisy 'Galaxy Mixed' [Bellis perennis]

petunia

purple verbena

white alyssum ?

blue lobelia

bottom/middle, l-r:

pansy

Peony 'Top Brass' [Paeonia lactiflora]

Forget-me-not

Purple coneflower 'Ruby Star' x 2

yellow viola

Salvia (pink color--can't remember official name)

front view

luscious purple verbena

LOVE this plant!

one more front view, just left of middle

verbena, petunia, and English daisies, with forget-me-not, Peony 'Top Brass', and pansies behind

middle, front view

Peony 'Shirley Temple' (the big one!)

 Paeonia 'Paula Fay' (on the right, much smaller)

English Daisy 'Galaxy Mixed' [Bellis perennis] x 3

purple Alyssum between E.daisies

 

just right of center, top view

clockwise, from top left:

white bacopa (should cascade over wall)

dianthus

purple wave petunia

lobelia x 2

Peony 'Paula Fay'

deep purple viola

forget-me-not

Phlox 'Peacock Lilac' [Phlox paniculata]

light purple viola

Salvia 'East Friesland' [Salvia superba]

looking toward middle, from driveway

dianthus, bacopa, phlox, salvia, violas 

Far right side of bed, l-r:

Salvia (mentioned above)

Alyssum 'Rosie O'Day' (pink)

Shasta Daisy 'LaCrosse' [Leucanthemum]

petunia

Daylily 'Stella D' Oro'

bicolor violas

 end of the line

bicolor violas, burgundy violas, interspersed with alyssum

Flower Pots, 2nd Attempt

Front porch

 I went ahead and planted 2 this time. Double the odds of them living, perhaps?

 Petunias 4-pack, 'Clear Madness' mix, plus the small purple flower (I've already forgotten its name)

 Pink geraniums.

Bright colors in hopes of drawing the eye away from the unfinished projects in front.

Back Deck

The pot on the right just need daily watering. Now look at it grow!

It's gorgeous.

I replanted the second pot (on the left) with a different shade of pink petunia, and bacopa with a pink ring around the middle of each flower.

Garden Tour

We got the pots planted this week.

I read somewhere that pots should have a THRILLER, a FILLER, and a SPILLER.

Last year, with mums and pansies, we had beautiful color in the spring and fall, and mostly just green, sort-of dead-looking plants all summer. So this year I'm trying for color and scent that lasts all summer, as well as thrilling, filling, and spilling, as required.  Each pot had some combination of the same plants.

In the middle is a scarlet geranium, to be the star of the show (the "thriller") and the main color.

On one side is a miniature white wave petunia (combination "filler" and "spiller").

The diamond-shaped plant is a white Cuphea, which is supposed to be a small, bushy, evergreen shrub with flowers that attract buterflies.  It is also supposed to have excellent heat tolerance. (Another "filler".) 

Between the two is Bacopa Abunda Colossal White.  It should "spill" over the edge, and also has tiny white flowers on it.

One of the pots has vinca vine in it as the "spiller" rather than the Bacopa.

We'll see how it goes!

Front beds starting to fill out.

Hydrangeas in back, almost all leaves out. Ferns coming up, hostas and astilbe getting big.

purple phlox and asters (in front of the daffodils).

Aren't these mini daffodils sweet?  I had forgotten I planted them.