Saturday before last we finally got around to re-doing the flower bed around our mailbox. The former owners of our home planted a beautiful jasmine vine at the base of the mailbox that has survived despite my best intentions for three years now. Suffice it to say it's quite hardy, so I decided it's a keeper. The rest of the bed left much to be desired. We cleared it out with the tiller about three months ago when spring first set in and we had spring fever to get out and work in the yard. And, yes, we just now got around to making it pretty three months later. So for the longest while it looked like the photo above after we sprayed some Round-up to kill the last of the pesky weeds that were coming up. Until I decided it was time we finished this project.
We started by selecting an assortment of plants. I bought these from Lowe's and Wal-mart. They are a mix of inpatients (the dark pink, white, and light purple flowers), marigolds, and zinnias. All are hardy plants that can handle full sun. The group of inpatients on the far left was more expensive, and the light pink ones were cheaper which I purchased in a large flat. After I planted them I could tell the difference in their size and general hardiness. You do get what you pay for. Next time I will opt for the larger, more expensive ones; they are healthier and have held up better, though the others don't look too bad.
Here's another before photo of the back side of the bed. Not pretty.
My first step was to edge out around the bed, digging down a few inches and forming a sharp line between the dirt and the grass. This was hard around our concert gutter between the yard and the road as the grass had grown down in the dirt between the cracks and even along the asphalt of the road. This took a while, but I finally got it edged and leveled out the dirt.
We decided to add decorative concert pavers around the bed to build up a nice lining for the bed that looked like decorative stone. We ended up opting for the smallest size pavers at Lowe's. These were square and had beveled edges. Robert primarily was the master mind behind laying them. We did two rows and overlapped the first over the second like you would if you were laying brick. This gave a more polished look. I would recommend you measure your bed before you purchase. We ended up having to buy more after underestimating how many we would need. Luckily, we live less than 10 minutes from Lowe's. Once we started laying the pavers, I realized I dug down a little too deep when edging and not wide enough for the whole paver, so we had to level it back out.
My first step was to edge out around the bed, digging down a few inches and forming a sharp line between the dirt and the grass. This was hard around our concert gutter between the yard and the road as the grass had grown down in the dirt between the cracks and even along the asphalt of the road. This took a while, but I finally got it edged and leveled out the dirt.
We decided to add decorative concert pavers around the bed to build up a nice lining for the bed that looked like decorative stone. We ended up opting for the smallest size pavers at Lowe's. These were square and had beveled edges. Robert primarily was the master mind behind laying them. We did two rows and overlapped the first over the second like you would if you were laying brick. This gave a more polished look. I would recommend you measure your bed before you purchase. We ended up having to buy more after underestimating how many we would need. Luckily, we live less than 10 minutes from Lowe's. Once we started laying the pavers, I realized I dug down a little too deep when edging and not wide enough for the whole paver, so we had to level it back out.
I was clueless on how to handle the curve, three right-angled corners, and the drainage pipe, but Robert had it engineered in no time. It was probably as easy as playing with legos for him.
Before I planted anything I laid the plants out in the bed to determine the layout for the flowers. It helped to do this to see how they looked grouped in different ways and also how high they were in relation to the pavers.
Once I had the arrangement how I liked, we started digging holes and planting. Robert was my hole digger, which was good because we quickly realized we only had about six inches of good dirt which apparently the former owners had brought in and then it was all rock solid clay.
After everything was planted I realized I had some holes I needed to fill with plants, so I walked down to the Homewood Garden Shop and bought a dusty miller plant, another green plant (can't remember the name), and a sweet potato vine to fill in some of the empty space. These white and green plants helped balance out the bright color from the flowing plants and added some texture and variety. The sweet potato vine is very hardy in heat and sun, and it will probably grow so much I'll have to trim it. The other two like part sun, but have been holding up well.
After everything was planted I realized I had some holes I needed to fill with plants, so I walked down to the Homewood Garden Shop and bought a dusty miller plant, another green plant (can't remember the name), and a sweet potato vine to fill in some of the empty space. These white and green plants helped balance out the bright color from the flowing plants and added some texture and variety. The sweet potato vine is very hardy in heat and sun, and it will probably grow so much I'll have to trim it. The other two like part sun, but have been holding up well.
After everything was planted we filled in with some pine bark mulch and watered. It's amazing how the mulch helps hold in the water so the bed absorbs and drains properly. I chose the dark brown color (over red or black) to contrast the grey stones and make the colored flower blooms pop.
Here's a close up on the left side and then the right.
And then the whole bed from up closer and farther back.
And finally from the back.
Here's a close up on the left side and then the right.
And then the whole bed from up closer and farther back.
And finally from the back.
We've been watering frequently when we haven't had a nice summer afternoon rain shower to do the work for us. Ideally I should probably be watering every two days since the heat is insane. The nice thing about a smaller front yard it that our hose easily reaches to the flower bed. I've noticed some grass starting to poke through the bark, but it's keep out most of the major weeds. I've just been weeding the grass as I see it. We really love how it turned out.
So here's the before and after shots again - just for effect.
BEFORE
AFTER:
So here's the before and after shots again - just for effect.
BEFORE
AFTER:
