Design for a full sun flower/herb bed, fall 2013

Part Deux - Pugsley Corner Garden Design.

So, I just posted the design for the garden on the Pugsley Garden from this spring. Yesterday and today, I have been working on an update of the design, to incorporate a whale of a lot of spring bulbs and other fall plantings I just ordered to fill holes and help to fix problem areas.

First, here is the updated design. It doesn't show many of the annuals, as those won't get placed until next spring. It focuses on the perennials that are not moving, and the new things I intend to plant this fall.

Below the images of the garden design are the notes I wrote myself about what I'm trying to do ...

Basic plan is to move next year's Tomatoes to another place (where?), because my Heirlooms are showing some signs of wilt, and so it is better to rotate them. Also, the Tomatoes, Dahlias and Cleomes are FAR TOO scrunched in with not enough room, light or air, so most of the Dahlias will have to go elsewhere, too. So, put in Tulips and spring bulbs there, where the Tomatoes are, and overplant with Dahlias and (fewer) Cleomes, with Marigolds to come up along the fringe and maybe Basil somewhere in there?

Then, move the rest of the Dahlias down where the Basil is now, and underplant all of that area behind the long row of Daylilies with Tulips and Daffodils. And fill in the bare spots where the Basil is now with a few more Coneflowers.

My biggest hole is behind the Peonies, where the Lilies are spread too far apart and there is a lot of bare dirt that just is a standing invitation to weeds.

Idea -- Behind Peonies -- one pink Salvia and a slew of mixed bearded Iris around the curve of the rock garden to fill in that curve. The Iris will bloom early, at the same time as the Peonies and then be a nice, pointy blue-grey foliage counterpoint to Lilies and they will spread very slowly, so put behind Peonies, and the white Siberian Iris will look like tall grass after blooming, so put behind Salvia.

More pink Hyacinth among the Peonies.

Some orange and red Tulips where Tomatoes are now, along the front of Campwoods Road where they'll be very visible to passers by, with the pale yellow Narcissis and a few white Daffodils.  And between the Daffodils and Peonies, put the Fritillaria persica, which will look great showing off their spikes of dark, dark black maroon in front of the white Daffodils.

Put the remaining orange and all pink Tulips in clumps behind and above the long row of Daylilies, in clumps, not a row, and then white Daffodils and peach Narcissis in clumps between the Daylilies, to naturalize.

Also put the other three purple Salvia between Daylilies, but on the Pugsley street side, as they can bear the salt.

Finally, put the tiny Katharine Hodgkin Irises in the rock garden.

And the Eryngium (Sea Holly) between the Daylilies too, on the street side. They're highly salt tolerant.

And finally, finally, red Allium and the hair Allium all in among the Coneflowers and Russian Sage, because all of that will be pretty bare in the spring.

Finally, finally, finally, tuck in fall crocus where there will be August bare spots and same with the Lycoris squamigera. Added thought on that: Lycoris back of the Russian Sage, where the foliage can come up in the spring, then be covered by the Russian Sage as it dies back, and then when the Lycoris blooms come up naked in the fall, they can come up through the Russian Sage and bloom pink above the Sage.

Note: The white Siberian Iris want moist soil all summer? Put wherever I'm going to water consistently (that's near the Dahlias). But also note their foliage will stay green and upright (these are tall and huge flowers) and so put where I want foliage. And note further that it is said they will form a dense clump that weeds -- or Lilies -- cannot break through. So can't put in the middle of the Lilies.

Design for a full sun flower/vegetable bed, spring 2013

I have been meaning to write this post for ages. Last spring of 2012, the spring after I moved into Pugsley, I ordered 15 daylilies online. I dug a new garden for them by the garage, but it proved to be too shady and they didn't do well. This spring, I knew I needed to move the daylilies into full sun. I also wanted tomatoes, which require loads of sun. And I had an unsightly corner of the yard, where people have been driving on it because there is no curb.

And, final requirement for this new bed, I wanted a place where I could put other flowers I love that require huge amounts of sun: Russian Sage, Black Eyed Susans, Coneflower, etc. I spent all winter thinking about where I could put such a monstrosity.

Finally, I realized I could solve all my problems at once by putting in a full sun flower and vegetable garden right on the front corner of the lawn. It's a bit out of the ordinary -- tomatoes on the front lawn. But it has turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined, and routinely, random people--total strangers--stop their cars when  I'm out in the garden to say how much they enjoy it too.

I've written about this garden a lot this summer, but I never finished drawing up the final design. This morning I finished it -- because I just ordered a bunch of bulbs to put in for next spring, and I needed to draw a design for the planting when they arrive. So, after some delay, here is the spring 2013 design ...

Update on the full sun/tomato flower bed

The new full-sun flower/tomato bed we put in this spring is going gangbusters. So I thought I'd give an update, particularly as, now things are actually coming up out of the ground it is a bit easier to see the design.

We dug the garden early this spring and planted it in April. The main post about the planting is here.

Now, end of May, it's starting to look like a real garden. Here is a shot from the end nearest the house, with a long row of daylilies on the left and a row of mostly later summer perennials on the right, from nearest to furthest in this shot: pincushion flower (struggling), coneflower, russian sage, black-eyed susan and more russian sage. In between, on the crest of the mound, are two sets of basil.

Below the perennials, on the yard side, is a row of alyssum seedlings, which have done much better than I would have thought. They're absurdly happy. I planted 3 different colors and a seed tape of traditional white alyssum, so I will be very interested to see what colors I wind up with.

Where the garden widens out, I put a rock garden. That was a happy accident that was never planned in the design, but I've been thrilled with the outcome so far. Here you can see along the top of the rock garden there is a semi-circle of perennials: thyme, creeping phlox, two different species of creeping sedum that I chose just because they looked good, separated by a mini-dianthus, and behind those a small maroon chrysanthemum and a white sea thrift, then lavender and a 12" pink dianthus on the far side.

Here's another view:

And, up close, thyme and creeping phlox (still in bloom):

creeping phlox and sedum:

sedum, dianthus, sedum, lavender:

And, finally, looking back across the grouping from the street side :

On the interior of the rock garden, I planted more simply. So far there are only hens and chicks and a tall sedum. It's a small space and I think perhaps better filled with just one or two varieties. Plus, the creeping sedums along the top will spill down over the rocks, filling in the spaces between.

On the far side of the rock garden are three peonies, which I transplanted from a spot at the back of the house that has become too shady over the years, where they weren't blooming well. Two of them are about to pop:

The third, in the bottom third of this shot, is struggling and won't bloom this year:

This is the one I dug up by the roots, moving only the roots, rather than the entire root ball. I wouldn't recommend that method of transplant, at least not given my experience with it. The two that are about to bloom I dug up a full 18" tub of dirt, roots and all, and lugged them around the house in my arms, like a baby. Those are the ones that are doing well and will bloom, despite the transplant.

Now, we'll walk to the far end of the entire garden and look back, and here is where the tomatoes are. To be completely  honest, I don't think I left enough room for the tomatoes, especially given that these are heirlooms. This is my first ever attempt to grow heirlooms, and I didn't realize they would be 6-7' high and sprawly. I'm used to tidy hybrids. But, here they are, in a little row, very tame so far!

In two rows alongside the tomatoes, I planted marigold seeds, which are up and running. And behind the tomatoes is a row of 3 tall dahlias, for constant bloom, 2 of which are up so far, and behind that a lily bed, which is still mostly just dirt. About 8 of the 15 lilies have come up so far, so these are getting a late start this year. Next year, I'm sure, they'll be up sooner. Here are a few shots of lilies coming out of the ground, just to give us a proper sense of accomplishment:

Among the lilies, I planted seeds to shade the roots of the lilies and provide some fill and color. Hollyhock, most of which will only bloom the second year, so these will be quiet and low this year. 

Cleome, which are sprouting everywhere:

And, verbena bonariensis, which I've never planted from seed before and am not sure has come up.

From there, we round the corner of the bed, near the street sign, and there, up against the street sign, I planted a globe thistle, surrounded by what will be very tall day lilies:

The problem area is still the low spots along the street, where there is no curb to speak of. After a heavy rain, the water pools there. I had to save a worm yesterday ...

And tho I planted marigolds here along the street, I'm not sure there will be much of anything here until I solve the water issue.

So, looking back from the street, it still looks a bit sparse, but it will fill in, and I somehow managed to coordinate with the colors of the azalea at the front of the house, without having actually given that consideration. (The little fences are temporary. I'm hoping once everything is properly established there won't need to be a fence. If there does, then I'll put in something more permanent). 

Overall, I am very, very happy with the result of all the work. Can't wait for the daylilies to bloom!