The answers you seek lies in your own heart/mind enchantedrosez! Only you can create something that will make you happy enchantedrosez... Hope you find your answers! Reach down deep and let your creative juices flow!

Thanks Jim...but my creative juices are a bit dry right now, lol.

Sharon

Agree w/Jim. If input from others still desired, consider also posting this in Design Dilemma Houzz forum.

Lily- thanks for your input. Sadly my 5 toddlers are all grown. The gazing globe did get broken though. My husband hit it with a rock snow blowing :-) so we had to replace it. It now gets put away for the winter. We do have grandchildren though and it has survived. Two of them did pick all my tiny green tomatoes and all the green blueberries on my blueberry bush white their mother looked the other way. Have you looked at the stainless steel ones? They're not quite as pretty but they still are nice and durable.

I will post updates. I bought a blue hydrangea and a pink double Echinacea to plant as well. One garden in back is going to be a mix of hydrangea and roses since this is on the line of sun/shade. The sunny part gets about 5 hours sun, iffy for roses but the trees shade the rest to 4 hours. I wish we could afford to cut down the gazillion trees that surround our house.

sharon

ER,

The gazing orb leads your eyes right to it, and when you try to look away, it pulls your eyes right back. It's a big distraction. If you move it completely, your eyes will circulate through the rose bed, pausing where a bush is currently in its bloom cycle, then move on to the next point of interest.

Your birdbath is nice. It's not distractive like the orb. I would have put a T-Rex there instead of Alice, but that's just me! (:•()

Let your Alice Birdbath be your primary hardscape focal point in the bed, but if you moved it about 2-3' forward, and about 3-4' to the left, I believe it would be better placed visually. You also will be able to keep the bath clean and well watered more easily, without having to walk into the bed.

I do not think a path will embellish your bed, just be distractive.

Once your roses fill in, your bed will look very different, and unbelievably lovely, with the excellent, well thought out choice of roses you have made. It will take on a look that will amaze you. Since it is relatively young just now and not filled in yet, that is why you want to make changes, to perk it up, to make it 'work'. Do not worry, it will 'work', in due time. When it does, there will be plenty of visual impact going on.

That's my 2¢ worth! Keep the change.

Moses

Sharon , I did look at the stainless ones but reviews mentioned fading so I passed. I think Moses idea of moving the bath would be nice too. Rifis were u here for the thread that accidentally ended up over there about roses ? It was funny , people asking why so many roses, trying to convice the poster other plants were needed ... it ended ok but got close to fire haha !!

I hope you find what makes your heart happy !

Enchanted, I've really enjoyed seeing pics of your charming garden. I think either one or the other regarding the gazing ball vs. birdbath, and for me the birdbath suits this particular bed better, especially as you also have some other statuary in there with the angels. I like its current position although more it the corner is also good. I don't find the bed large enough for an actual path so perhaps some stepping stones to walk on for when you fill the water. Gazing balls take me back to the old-fashioned gardens of my grammy's
neighbor. I'm going to DIY one out of a bowling ball so I'll let every
know how that goes (or not)! : ))

I have Hydrangea. in my rose beds, specifically H. "Tickled Pink' which starts white and goes to a nice dusky pink with age. There are also many others that can take sun. I'm happy to have them as they come into flower just as the roses are coming into their second flush. The beds with only roses are not as interesting between flushes, but as I have landscape fabric down for midge, I've obviously chosen roses over their companions! LOL! : ).

Lily, thanks for the info on stainless steel. I had a transparent pink gazing globe but the reflective ones are far more magical. I like lots of whimsy in my garden. I have solar owls, penguins!, flowers and more plus hand blown glass bird baths, fairy and cherub statues, bunnies...just a menagerie. I also have a bird bath planter with a solar fairy house. When the light goes out I tell my granddaughter the fairies have gone to bed. The light doesn't work anymore so I told her I think the fairies have moved :-) She's nine so she's not buying any of it, just rolls her eyes!

Vaporvac, How is your midge battle going? I don't seem to be having a huge problem this year. I think your method worked well for me. I do have a newspaper barrier between the mulch and soil this year, maybe that's helping too. Plus the mulch is only about 1/2 inch thick so maybe not deep enough to pupate in? Bowling ball gazing globe? That sounds interesting! I'd love to see how that turns out.

I just bought three hydrangeas today. Tiny Tuff Stuff, Seaside Cape Cod and Double Delights Stargazer. It stays cool here pretty late in the year so I generally get only two flushes a season so there's a lot of time when nothing else is going on. I love irises but they don't do well here. They'll flower one year and never again. I like the idea of a "path" so I can have border plants and some "movement". I also want to break it up a bit to be able to get to the larger roses. I just think it looks odd to have all these roses lined up like soldiers. I think it's tougher to work with geometrics rather than a sinuous bed but I'm stuck with what we have since the beds are raised. And I get overwhelmed by, to me what seems like such a large space. The rest of my rose beds in this area are small and broken up with fountains, benches, fairies and such. The statues and such are more for winter interest since all the plants are deciduous so not much going on once the leaves have dropped.

Moses, no offense but I think I'll pass on the T-Rex. I do like gargoyles though ;-) This is my Alice garden. There is also a little pig statue and at some point there will be a "teapot" garden feature. Probably not your "cup of tea" though, lol.

sharon

I like symmetry, repeated patterns and minimal textures.

So, I’m no help! Sorry!

I like the path idea! I think that would add some curves, and be a nice border for companion plants. I also agree that a shorter height for the gazing ball would help integrate it into the garden.

Thanks Cyndita for your comment. I think I'll try the shorter globe stand I have and see how it looks. I don't like tall roses next to a sidewalk, I think they look weird so I need some shorter plants at the edge but I don't like the geometric look I have right now. I think a path would add the needed curve that moves the eye. To me it's just too static as is.

sharon

Lily, I just found this amazing tutorial on a glowing orb that would probably mesmerize your little girl. It's made with glass but acrylic would work to.

It's made with globe light shades and filled with Christmas lights. You could tell her the fairies turn them on at night :-)

sharon

Firstly.....when I have a design problem, I like to sit and look at the area, sometimes with an "adult beverage" in the evening....and many times, I will come up with a solution that is pleasing to my eye. I have done a river rock path in the middle of a bed leading to a birdbath and like the look. Have also started including interesting deep green shrubs, such as boxwood, giant lirope, in rose beds for an anchoring point as well as planting a taller small tree like a tulip tree for height. I find the green shrubs lend interest when the roses aren't blooming. A very large rock can be interesting but will require a good bit of labor. Shepherds hooks with a pretty hanging basket adds height, color, interest. If I add any annuals, I made sure that I put them in a large clump - several just look skimpy and don't make a statement. A layer of mulch pulls it together. I love looking at gardening magazines and get good ideas there. A pretty climber on the fence would look nice. You could also put a standing metal trellis in the bed with a climber - I put solar lights on mine and its lovely at night. Your bed looks beautiful - you have a great start!

Judith

Actually I think I agree with Moses. The gazing globe doesn't fit in; far too assertive for this spot. You also have several garden ornaments in this bed; I think taking one out would really help. I think it will look great the roses will once the roses fill in and can dominte the bed. The idea of the path seems to me to be sort of "out of place" in such a narrow bed as well. So that's MY 2 cents added to that of Moses, lol!

Thanks Judith. I do think boxwood would be a nice addition since it would add winter interest. I tired hydrangea but think it's too overpowering for this small space. It just didn't look right. I also need some filler flowers since our septic tank is in part of this garden where the cherub is sitting and the soil over it is only about 4 inches thick. I have climbers on the fence and trellises so I'm good there. I'm still liking the idea of a small path with stepping stones to keep it light looking compared to a solid gravel path. I do mulch, just haven't found the time yet since I out a layer of newspaper under it first to better control the weeds. It's just been too stinking hot and muggy here to work outside beyond 9 in the morning. But I will get to it eventually.

Bart and Moses, I took the gazing globe out and like the look of the garden much better already. I wasn't ever happy with how it looked. I tired a shorter stand and still thought it was too heavy looking. So thanks for your two cents worth :-)

For now the garden will stay pretty much as is since it would be rose "homicide" to try to move them in the height of summer and I don't have much success with fall rose planting.

sharon

Thanks for sharing that neat link Sharon! She would love something like that .

I use stepping stones to my bird baths , I love the look. Plus I’m usially barefoot and walking on my mulch gets annoying.

I’m glad you feel better about the globe being moved !

Today I went to my old favorite antique stores to look for some new garden Knick knack . I was shocked to see how much prices had gone up , this was always a nice part of town but now it’s too nice ! All the statues were over $100 , regardless of size or detail. I had bought a rabbit once for 60 at this store . They had the same rabbit again for 145$! Looks like I need to find a new garden junking location :)

You're welcome. it looks like a fun project. I generally buy new statues. We have Brimfield Flea Market three times a year a couple towns away but their prices are outrageous. There is a local artist my daughter knows who pours his own concrete molds. I bought a beautiful bird bath from him for around $60 and had him drill holes in it so I could use it as a planter with a solar fairy house in the center. It looks like a little Cotswold Cottage. I also bought a small bench from him for a fairy to sit on for very reasonable cost and some very decorative concrete stepping stones. He's really into the whole Renaissance Faire movement so he has a nice variety of more unusual statuary. It's crazy what we'll spend in our gardens.

sharon