What will bring the bed together are some plants with excellent foliage even when not in bloom. Good foliage plants make a planting look good even when there is no bloom at all.

Maybe an inexpensive (but labor-intensive) solution would be to divide your existing plants in order to repeat them in your garden bed? The red and yellow plants look lonely! :)

May I ask what is the light purple, tall plant at the back? Love it!

Btw, I'm in 3a and I also have heavy clay soil. If you're looking for plant ideas to try, I would be happy to share names of plants that perform well here!

I'm kinda with Ken here - I think your border looks pretty darn good, considering your weather! I'm guessing the drought-stricken grass makes it looks worse than it is, but really the plantings, at least from the distance of the photo, don't look half bad. (Certainly much better than anything in my also drought-stricken yard at the moment haha!) I agree you need something in front though for a focal point. I'll leave any specific plant ideas to someone closer to your zone.

Might I suggest a nice clean sharp edge to the bed? (And perhaps bring it out a few more inches?) That might make it look more... not sure how to describe what I'm thinking. Not more formal, exactly, but more... defined? It would make it stand out more from the lawn and would focus one's eye on the garden more.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do!

:)

Dee

Just edited to say that I don't necessarily think there should be a *straight* linear edge to the bed - much prefer some kind of curve to it - but just something crisper and sharper to delineate the bed. :)

@North53 - Gardening is such a personal activity and what might make one gardener happy is just not another’s cup of tea. So, if you are asking for suggestions it would help if you could explain what about the bed is not making you happy.

Since you've asked what would we do with this bed, I have a few thoughts. I agree with what others have said. The condition of the lawn is not framing your bed and it takes away from the attractiveness. In drought conditions here, I do tend to keep the lawn watered, but we usually have certain days and times we are allowed to water, some communities don't allow it at all, so that would be an issue. I use the sprinkler 1 or 2x a week and water for long enough to give it a deep watering. Rain barrels help. When my summers don't have enought rain, I leave the lawn longer. You want it high enough to shade the roots to keep it from drying out more. I've been using the highest setting on the mower and it not only helps with drought, but keeps the weeds down too. I do cut it shorter in the fall and the spring a few times.

I agree with Dee, that a nice crisp edge to the grass along the bed really makes it look a lot better. I also leave a little bit of mulched area at the front of the bed to accentuate the edge of the lawn as well, so it again, acts like a frame to the plants. My personal preference is for a wave or curve to a large bed, especially up against a straight fence.

As for the plants in the bed itself...I would agree with Maz, that you might try repeating some plants so they have more of an impact. The lavender plant in the back is nice looking but there is a lot of it. If you like the Heliopsis, you might want to add more of that. Bloom size is another aspect I try to pay attention to. I tend to like a lot of plants that have a similar look and then the bed looks bland. I added larger flowers to offset the small airy plants I like. I'm not sure what the red plant is, but those flowers are a good size and contrast to say the lavender plant. I've added Hydrangea, Hibiscus, and Lilies to my bed for larger flowers. That's something else to consider, anchoring the planting with a couple of shrubs with attractive foliage. Maybe even something evergreen with a conical shape?

The bottom line is, being able to change the bed from one season to the next is the plus of gardening. You have an idea, you try it, if you don't like it, you change it again. You should just always try to figure out what is making you happy and what is not and change it up and enjoy your garden. It only has to make you happy.

Might I suggest a nice clean sharp edge to the bed? (And perhaps bring it out a few more inches?) That might make it look more... not sure how to describe what I'm thinking. Not more formal, exactly, but more... defined? It would make it stand out more from the lawn and would focus one's eye on the garden more.

==>>>

jeez... youre as bad as she is.... thats exactly what it needs.. and you stated it perfectly ... soooo... amen to that ... lol ...

said another way???.. the formal straight line of the fence top .. is nicely offset with the riotous flowering plants ... and if the lawn had the formal line ... it would define the bed ... and it doesnt have to be as straight as the fence line .. and in fact.. an undulating line might be very nice ....

just dont use plastic edging ... crikey ... i always preferred dug edging .. after the first dig.. it not that hard to maintain ... just get a straight shovel.. and sharpen it ....

it would also look better.. if the lawn wasnt summer stressed ... in a few weeks the grass should come out of its summer doldrums.. and make the bed look better ... i mean really.. why waste water.. aka money.. on watering the grass ...

in re the edging: your cupcake looks real good.. now lets work on the icing ....

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=garden+bed+dug+edging&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

dig video: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=garden+bed+dug+edging&t=ffab&iax=videos&ia=videos

Thanks for all the responses.

What will bring the bed together are some plants with excellent foliage even when not in bloom. Good foliage plants make a planting look good even when there is no bloom at all....

I agree. That's why I think I should get rid of the daylily. It has a short bloom period and has ugly foliage.

Mazerolm. The red plant is a pot of geraniums I just plunked in there to provide some colour.

The tall light purple plant is a two tone monkshood. I wish it didn't get so tall, but it's happy in that spot.

Ken, the struggle is that I keep changing the bed and moving things around but so far it just isn't working out for me. But thank you for appreciating my effort.

Diggerdee, I agree the grass is not helping the look at all. We have finally had some rain, so it should green up soon. Unfortunately I already have edging along that bed. (It's much larger than what is shown in the picture and parts have rocks along the edge to hold in the soil because of a slope.)

But I understand what you're suggesting and I wonder if I could achieve that by using bricks I was gifted. I might go lay some out and see what it looks like.

Thanks everyone, you've given me some ideas to think about.

Still wondering about the tall purple flowers at the back.

Callirhoe, the tall flowers at the back are monkshood.

I agree with Ken on just using an edger and keeping a sharp edge to the grass. I've used rocks, which are good up against a walkway or mulched pathway, but against a lawn, they are a lot of work. I've used brick and the lawn just grows right over them and then it's another job to keep weeding around the bricks. I don't always get to putting an edge on the bed, it's like putting on a finishing touch, but when I do, I feel much happier with it. When I can't get to it, oh well.

I enjoy daylily flowers when they bloom, but I also don't enjoy deadheading every day and the look of the foliage after they are done. So I have a few daylilies but that is all I can keep up with. I think you can cut back the foliage and it will produce new clean foliage...but I'm not positive that is ideal.

Prairiemoon, thank you for detailed response. it gives me lots to consider. i especially like the evergreen suggestion.

One thing I forgot to mention, I have a fair amount of clover in my lawn. I think that makes a big difference in how my lawn stays healthy and green. It does feed the lawn. You might consider this fall, giving the lawn a good raking with a metal rake, then add a little bit more grass seed and adding some clover seed and just keeping it watered until it sprouts. Your lawn will look much better next season.

What about a galvanized steel strip?