Garden Pics Wednesday: Front Flower Bed

 

The Garden Pics of the Day I have for you are a couple from my front flower bed.

 This bed is nestled in the corner space between the sidewalk and the driveway. It's not immediately in the corner--we laid in about 9 or 10 pavement blocks many years ago, filling in a wider walking space directly in the corner, so the bed extends 5 or 6 feet out from those blocks, running the length of the sidewalk to the corner, around 10 or 12 feet probably. 

Even though this bed is at the east front end of the house, there's not entry way here. Just the garage and the bedroom bay window. (The narrow end of the house faces the street.) The front door is actuall on the long, southside of the house, down the longer section of sidewalk after you turn the corner, so it's actually size at a glance is misleading.

 All my windows face either east, south and west sides of the house. The north side is a solid wall, which is good, since if a window were there it'd only offer a boring view of the back of my neighbors vinyl siding.

The east, south and west sides have all the landscaping views.

First pic is of the new pot garden with the little blue ceramic cat in it in fuller bloom:

Here you can see the red and purple petunias and the orange daylilly, which is a repeat bloomer, as well as the orange Million Bells in the lower, left. The Lime green scalloped leaves are "Limelight Herchura" or Coral Bell.

The Red Tail Grass that's actually at the back of this pot is coming along, but won't be bushy & at full prime until fall probably.There's actually some Greek Oregano behind the Petunia's, which will eventually spill over the side. So will the Million Bells. I put a Hot Poker in there, too, but I don't know if it will bloom this year. The Petunia's are the only annual, everything else is perennial.

(If you have them, Petunia's need regular dead-heading.)

The next pic includes newly opened Easter Lilly's, otherwise known as Trumpet Lillies.

The Siberian Iris have finished and the Easter Lillies are coming on!

You can see the large garden pot in the background. It's sitting on the stump of the pine tree was there earlier this year.

 The yellow daisy-like flower is the Rubeckia, which is rather tall and bushy. I'm getting to the point of needing to get out a second vase: one for Rubeckia and one for Gardenia's and Easter Lilly's.

Out of sight behind this pot is a Cedar Tree, that I keep trimmed in somewhat of a Christmas tree shape for winter decorating, though it's getting somewhat tall now.

So, this is what people see as they drive or walk up to the house.

If you peek at the upper right corner you can see patches of dirt and grass---this is the area I'm trying to get grass to "fill in" on. The tree roots decimated the grass in this area and it's particularly sandy and dry and rain water flows through this particular area. Cutting down those 2 pines has helped a lot! As I edge other beds, I carefully save chunks of grass to replant in these bare areas. Grass is actually quite vital here The soil here is little more then sand and without grass to block it, water from heavy rains just rushes over the ground in a flood, unrestrained, washing soil and whatever else in it's path, even if it's a mild storm. The grass controls it and keeps the soil in place.

The grass is throwing runners and is coming along quite nicely.

I was edging and moving more yesterday to a somewhat barren corner.

Garden Tip: If you have Daylillies, be sure snip the stalks that are finished blooming. I have lot's of common orange lillie's and this sometimes helps them rebloom later in the year.

Plus it just makes your bed look neater!