It is the very end of May, and I wanted to give you an update on whats been going on with the flowerbeds. Spring brought gorgeous blooms from my bulbs and early perennials, but right now there is a bit of a lul between spring and summer blooms so I added some annuals to brighten up the beds between the perennials last weekend. I want to share our garden with you and the plans we have for them!
I am a sucker at flower nurseries when all the spring and summer flowers are in bloom. It is such a colorful place and sometimes reason and bed planning go out the window while I’m there. If you are alsoovercome with these feelings you should check out 5 Questions to ask before planting a flowerbed. I reviewed those tips before visiting the nursery last week. It saved me money and headaches when I got back home. This time I did stay pretty on track and already had some varieties in mind to try.
I have two flower beds I’m working on around the yard. The first gets a lot of sun in the back yard and the other is a shade garden in front of the house. The shade garden needs a lot of work so I’ll show you what we’re doing there another day.
Last fall I started the rear flowerbed with perennials and I think it is developing nicely.
We removed all the grass and amended the soil before planting the perennials and bulbs last fall.
The plan is to add an arbor in the center with climbing flowers like roses or Columbine. I haven’t decided which, but I shouldn’t get the cart before the horse. First I need to refinish our arbor with a fresh coat of paint. We bought it for our wedding with the intention of using it in the garden later.
Photo by Josh Junghans
The arbor is on the summer project list along with refurbishing a park bench we rescued from Habitat ReStore and edging the bed with stone.
Vision
I made a diagram for the rear flowerbed to help keep track of what is in the bed. The plan is to add a rotation of annuals tucked in between all the perennials for more color.
I drew this up last fall to give me some idea of placement and spacing when the perennials are full grown. It gives me a good idea of which flowers will be blooming when, general coloring, and the mature size of all the plants. I’ll be updating this as more flowerbeds are added and I can spread out all the Daylilies and Iris.
New Plants
All of my flowers are shades of white, pink and purple. This is what I added around the yard!
Sunny Plants
- Petunias
- Geraniums
- Snapdragons
- Verbena
- Dusty Miller
- Garden Mum – Chelsey Pink (this will be great come fall!)
- Vinca
- Lavender
- Yarrow – Summer Berries
- Foxglove
- Alyssum
Shade Plants
- Heucheras – also sometimes called coral bells
- Impatients
- Wax Begonia
- Dichondra – Silver Falls
- Coleus
I’m a perennial gal, but annuals do such a lovely job of offering continuous color as the perennials come and go. Plus they liven up the patio in pots.
The bulbs came up nicely this spring, but I’m left waiting on the perennials as they are building up for summer blooms. The bright pops of color from the petunias and Snapdragons are already brightening up the garden!
I am so eager to see how all the summer blooms fair. The daylilies and alliums are about to open for quite the show!
What plans do you have for your garden? Have you planted anything new this spring?