Don and I continue to work on establishing the garden's largest flower bed recently. We roto-tilled, removed the sod with several shovels and a wheel barrow, dumping the sod into a low-lying area of our yard,. We, then, hoed and shovelled and dug some more! We also added a few more plantings, as I was shocked to see 1 qt. pots of perinneals already on clearance when we made a trip to Lowe's {NOT that I'm complaining, LOL!} I believe the new additions will be beautiful once grown and I'm especially stoked to see the silver frost butterfly bush establish itself and grow. It's a sun-loving perinneal, so it should love it here! as I well know after spending an entire hot summer day here sweating and laboring away. It's also a deciduos shrub which produces a beautiful silvery-grey foilage with milky white flower panicles. The tag also says it is a fast grower, and I am certainly hoping so as it will bloom this summer and on into the fall, providing some additional long-lasting color. The average size is 5 1/2' x 4 3/4' so it will fill a good section of this bed as it establishes itself and grows, providing a nice backdrop to accent the watergarden. I'll capture some good pictures of that area of the flower bed sometime while I'm continuing to lay down the remaining rock border surrounding this flower bed.
On for the left side of the floral bed., we added a new wire trellis and planted two blue butterfly delphiniums in among the existing peony bush and winter gem boxwood hedge. The plants are the only really "fixed" items in place to allow for the flowers to continue to grow and take up the space they'll require. i think I'll love the color combination when these plantings finally bloom. If I'm remembering correctly, the peony is a beautiful pink, which will contrast nicely with the green texture of the boxwood and limelight coleus and the blue delphiniums also contrast nicely. The silver frost butterfly bush is planted in the center nearby, and will produce some amazing white flowers to the garden once in bloom. I cannot wait to see them at twilight! I also found the vincas on clearance so I tucked a few of them in here and there. The potted petunias, vinca, and coleus are the only annuals I've added here.The garden decorations can be moved and replaced as needed. I did replaced the finch feeder here as the finches and the morning doves seem to love it here, although I worry about it and neighbors cats one day colliding! .
I added the front of the rock border that will eventually surround this entire new bed and wind its way around to the backsideThe vinca and the coleus are planted on the left and right sides of the new bed, near a winter gem boxwood and the salvia on the right. I placed the silver frost butterfly bush smack dab in the center of the bed., hopefully providing it more than enough room to grow over the next several years. The bird bath is transportable, as so is the birdhouse that I've moved more than a few times and I dream of painting the wishing well white, but need to establish it a final home, preferably with a beautiful rose climber growing up the side of it, LOL!
I re-worked the two smaller rosebush beds, making them a little bigger, reworked the soil and added potting soil into the mix. They are now ready for mulching. I purchased three irregular shaped stepping stones to add into the watergarden area and the garden bench, it provides a nice sweeping curve that mimics the curve of lower watergarden brickwork. The stones are actually placed right upon the grass while I allow Mother Nature to do her job and kill the grass and weeds so that later I can pull them up, remove the sod, lay down more gravel and finally re-lay the stepping-stones! I leaning into thinking I should just sink them into the ground making it so much easier to mow and trim around.
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