i solved the problem.. by doubling the bed width ... and moving everything out from under the eave ... and then using the space behind for a pathway to access the back of the bed ...

the problem is.. that you planted full sun plants.. in the shade of the eave.. so .. as you note.. they are growing out to better sunlight ... plants that REACH for sunlight are .. by definition ... improperly sited ....

tell hubby to extend the bed... it will be less lawn to mow ...

and another lesson i learned... whatever you THINK you need in bed width.. double it ... lol ...

if you are really enjoying the garden.. MORE SPACE is always an issue ....

so make a 10 foot bed from the house.. 2 feet goes to the path at the house ... and then you will have 7 feet of planting space.. and then 1 foot left bare as a transition from lawn to flower bed ...

if you are willing to do this.. TIMING the move of certain plants is very important ... e.g. .. it may not be the best time to dig daffs [spring flowering bulbs] ... if you want nice flowers next spring.. it would probably be done after they bloom ... gave up on daffs a long time ago.. so you might find i am wrong on that .. i admit it.. lol ...

though many of your perennials.. fall is a great time to move them .... and you should know the answer about the annuals ....

good luck

ken

When plants lean toward the direction of the sun, then they are plants that would be happier and grow more upright with more sun. Ken has a good solution, but if you aren't able to extend your bed, then you will need to plant more shade tolerant perennials or annuals.

Disclaimer - FWIW, I've got "leaning" plants all over my yard - that's what happens when you want sun-lovers, and you don't have much full sun!

Maybe you can look for dwarf varieties of Cosmos and Zinnia. Then you can plant them in the front of the bed, and taller shade loving plants in back.

Cosmos is tall and maybe your zinnias are tall too. Tall plamts get heavy with flowers and start to fall over, even though they get enough sun, and need staking. If they are flowering well I would simply stake and tie them so they are upright. On the west side they get sun even under the eaves.

By the way if you haven't tried velcro plant tape for tieing up plants, I highly recommend it. It's easy to use, comes in a roll that you can cut to length, is green so it blends with the plants and is reusable. I am still using ones I first cut 4 years ago.

Thank you everyone. I'm learning! I let the annuals go too long and they should have been staked early. I need to find some taller shade plants that I like for that back row. Yes, I did increase the size of my flower bed too! I had to move everything out when I tried to place some mums in there. I can't wait til next year! lol

Oh yeah, good point oil painter - I've also got leaning plants all over the yard because they are just big and floppy! In that case they're leaning in every direction. We had a very wet late Spring/early summer, which encouraged fast vegetative growth.

Another reason that plants might lean, is that they are growing in soil that is too rich, which also encourages excessive vegetative growth. Cosmos tends to prefer lean soil.

no plant really needs staking ....

we have addressed improper light conditions as causing floppage...

another reason plants flop is improper fertilization ...

in nearly any decent soil.. most plants do not need fertilization ...

using too much.. or the wrong formula ... will make plants grow bigger than they should .. which leads ... ta da.. to floppage... especially if complicated by reduced sunlight ...

good luck

ken