Improved flower bed

The front flower bed on the north side of the walkway is one that we created shortly after we moved in. Unfortunately, I didn't spend very much time thinking about it before I made Mr. H. dig it out and my lack of planning meant that the whole thing was very poorly conceived. The daisies and purple coneflowers I planted ended up being way too big for the space and have been moved. The narrow strip of grass I left between the bed and the sidewalk meant a difficult mowing challenge. I tried to outline the bed with bricks from a stack in the backyard, but grass grew between them and I never got them very level. It was messy and ugly. Not a great way to greet visitors to our house!

In the fall, we took some time to come up with a better plan. We marked an enlarged outline for the bed, curving it up toward the house as well as removing the strip of grass along the walkway. Mr. H. dug a trench to add aluminum edging. A few weeks ago, we moved the two blueberries to the modified bed and added tons of homemade compost to the holes for the plants. The blueberries struggled in their previous positions--not much growth and only the tiniest of blueberries since we planted them. I hope the compost and some soil acidifier will help. (It seems to have done the trick! Even now, just a few weeks after this work, the blueberries look much better!)

I did some research and decided that I wanted to add a small hydrangea between the blueberries. The Plant Finder tool on Stein's website guided me to Tiny Tuff Stuff hydrangea: it's short (24" high and wide), hardy to zone 4 (we are in 5b), and isn't picky about sun requirements. Unfortunately, while the Plant Finder tool helps you find possibilities, it doesn't necessarily identify what is available at Stein's. One rainy Sunday, we drove to our favorite Stein's location, thinking that the rain would make physical distancing easier while we looked for Tiny Tuff Stuff. (It did.) We trudged around in the cold rain and mud with our umbrellas for a bit but were ultimately successful in our search! (I guess we could have called to see if they had it, but that's not much fun...and we were both anxious to get out of the house even for the most mundane of errands on a wet and frigid day!) We had to wait a few days to plant it because of the amount of rain that fell, but it's now in place and looks great between the blueberries. I can't wait for some blooms later this summer.

For this bed with its few anchor plants (and spring bulbs), the plan was to add color around the perimeter each year with carefully selected annuals. Maybe I will eventually add some perennials like dianthus and speedwell, but I want to take some time to think about my selections. Besides, I love browsing the tables of annuals at local places like Kellner's Greenhouse, Stein Garden and Home, and Bayside Garden Center. Given my "no red flowers" rule for the front yard, I thought I'd stick to purples, blues, pinks, and whites. This year with all of its craziness threw a wrench into any plans I had for leisurely plant shopping. Not really wanting to linger anywhere for too long (don't want to catch the 'Rona, folks!), I dragged Mr. H with me to Kellner's Greenhouse with homemade masks on our faces. We scanned the racks of annuals in the front display area, grabbed two flats of "full sun" flashy plants, and got the heck out of there. I ended up with a flat of celosia and one of petunias. Petunias basically guarantee easy color for the whole summer and I remembered celosia from a show at the Mitchell Park Domes in the fall of 2019: Welcome to the Hundred Acre Woods (an homage to Winne-the-Pooh). Below, celosia are surrounding a wishing well in the Domes. I think they were in the heffalumps and woozles section.

So what do we have in all of the beds and pots? Petunias and celosia. That's it! No careful picks of thrillers, fillers, and spillers for containers. Red flowers are actually in the ground. This year is different for everything, garden plans included.