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Suggestions for Front Lawn Flower Bed Expansion

17 years ago

Need some suggestions as to what to add to my front lawn flower bed that already has an hibiscus plant there, as the #1 plant. The rest of the stuff are just little plants, that I plan to replace with some of the stuff below

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Pink Foxglove

Castor bean plant

Sunflowers

1 Corn plant

Coneflowers

Nasturtium

Salvia ( red and yvonne salvia )

Zinnias

Coriopsis

Lobelia Cardinialis

Daisies

Sweet potato vine blackie

Amaranth

Alyssum Saxatile

Marigold Crackerjack

What do you guys think of the list? I'll love for someone to do their PHOTOSHOP magic on this one

Comments (3)

  • 17 years ago

    Is this bed the focal point of the yard (and the hibiscus the desired focal point of the bed)? I'd post a wider photo so there's some context as to size of bed, relation to the house, rest of yard, etc. and then post it on either/both the Annuals or Cottage Gardens forums. This would be right up their alley with plant selection and placement being their larger focus.

    As a practical consideration, Castor Bean (Ricinus Communis) is an interesting plant with the potential to get to be the size of a small tree. Is also highly toxic - the raw beans primarily but concentrated to a greater or lesser degree throughout the plant - so reconsider if there are young children or pets that might chew. Foxglove is a beautiful plant but extremely poisonous! Again a caution with pets and kids. The poison is found throughout the foxglove but at its highest concentration in the leaves and is called Digitoxin, which is a cardiac glycoside.

    That being said... are you looking to dot plant with a specimen or two of each of the fifteen things on your list? Planting to look good from the street, from your own windows, or the neighbors? Any thought given to a backdrop for the plants such as shrubbery, a decorative fence?

    Annuals are good for experimentation - color schemes, textures, ability to fill in space in one growing season. A little more immediate reward for less cost than starting out with a few pots of perennials when you're in the deciding phase of what to do and what might work.

  • 17 years ago

    Some other plants you might consider are daylilies and hostas. What Hostas lack in flower showiness they make up for in leaf texture. Daylilies offer yet another leaf texture...sword like...and also offer showy flowers in a myriad of colors. Both will grow in sun or shade in Z5, at least here in Maine. Daylilies DO prefer more sun, and Hostas prefer more shade, though.

    How large do you plan to make the flowerbed you are putting these plants in?

    I think the variety is interested and varied. You actually have a greater variety of perennials than I have, since many of mine are irises and daylilies, though I am working on that little problem here. :)

  • 17 years ago

    One thought you may want to keep in mind is to incorporate more permanent plant types into the bed. While a selection of perennials will certainly return each year, they do disappear in winter, leaving the bed a blank hole for many months. Personally, I consider this a highly undesirable feature in an area that is so conspicuous and open to public view. Incorportaing a few smaller growing shrubs or dwarf evergreens would provide a far more permanent structure (i.e., "bones") that would provide interest during the off-season as well. There are a few hardy perennials that will provide a more evergreen presence also, and an assortment of groundcovers that offer this feature too.

    Some other ideas to consider: reconfigure the bed to a more naturalistic shape - a rectangular bed plunked down in the middle of an expanse of lawn looks unconnected and awkward. Get rid of the little strip of lawn running between the sidewalk and the planting bed - it serves no purpose and increases the maintenance. And perhaps mound the soil slightly and include a few landscape boulders to offer some context as well as permanence - small shrubs, low spreading perenenials and ornamental grasses look especially good creeping or cascading around these rocks. And don't rely solely on flowers to achieve results. Flowers - even those provided by so-called long blooming perennials - are very temporary. Look for a contrast of plant forms, textures and attractive foliage to provided much more long term interest than just flowers can provide.

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