Revamping a Flower Bed

Like every other gardener, I've had my share of successes and failures. I am always very attentive to my vegetable beds, but I tend to expect my flowers to survive on my own. I have been spoiled by my lantana in my front beds which, now established, needs little extra water, blooms during the hottest weather, and thrives on neglect. These plants live in the front flower beds so if they look distressed, I pay attention to them.

The back flowerbed, however, has been a challenge since I built it. I originally built a bed there because the area was low, always wet, and shady from both the house and the trees. I have tried wildflowers in the bed, which never really grew. Then I tried plumbago from a friend's garden, which failed to establish itself before the first freeze hit. After those died over the winter, I didn't know what to do with the bed. It got hot, rained, and the weeds grew. I quit wanting to deal with it.

Then when I got home from vacation, I looked at it with fresh eyes. I could see exactly what to do with it.

So I got down to business....

I pulled all the weeds.


Anthony's tricycle is for scale.

Then I put down landscape fabric to control future weeds and placed my new plumbago plants. Finally, I added a mailbox as part of the garden art in the bed. I'll also add a Purex laundry bottle from the 1940s in there.




Not sure why the color is odd. My house is actually a dusty green color.

My next step is to plant the newly purchased plumbago and add mulch. Then finally, in the space where the landscape fabric is missing, I will be planting spinach.