Why I Oughta...

 Four months ago, I planted five (5) one-gallon Green Velvet boxwoods in our front porch bed in line with the other ones that existed in that same bed .  My plan was to sort-of 'extend' that low mound of evergreen shrubs down past the new Elm tree and wrapping around the corner.  I also (in June) planted a number of Summer Beauty Allium and Sesleria Autumnalis grasses in front of both the old and new boxwoods.   With the heat of Summer behind us, how did they all fare and what do the shrubs and perennials (and...annual French dwarf Marigolds) look like in late September?  I'd say pretty good.  See below for current state of that curved bed: All five Green Velvet Boxwoods are doing well and putting on a tiny bit of height.  The Allium have exploded and are double-or-triple their original (quart) size.  And the stars of the show are those French Marigolds .  I've been telling myself that I need to be a bit more choosy when it comes to Home Depot plants; there are some th

Yesterday, I posted some photos showing the French Marigolds that I planted as bedding plants in our front porch bed/border and mentioned that some volunteer Dusty Millers arrived to change the look of that curved bed.  Last year, I planted 36 small Dusty Millers in front .  As annuals.    They're hardy down to Zone 7 - by all accounts .  But here in Zone 5B?  We had a bunch of them come back for year two.   When I say a 'bunch of them', I really mean a BUNCH OF THEM. I planted those French Marigolds across the front of the bed.  And today?  I can't see half of them.   See below for the current state of this front porch bed and how vibrant the Dusty Millers - planted in 2022 in Zone 5b - are today: There are French Marigolds under there.  Somewhere. See below for a peek at the edge where the Marigolds run into these.   Dusty Millers are grown for their white, ornamental foliage.  They provide a little Mediterranean vibe to the garden.  But, I am discovering that they al

This year, I planted a couple of flats of Dwarf French multi-color Marigolds that arrived as plugs from the Home Depot as bedding plants across the front of our front-porch bed.  They come in flats of four eight packs and I think I put down a couple of them.  Maybe 60 of them-or so.    Below is a look at their current state - across the front porch bed: They've REALLY put on some size in the past few weeks.  Peek here at this post from mid-June that shows them when I was digging out that front natural edge .   And, for even more contrast, check out this photo below showing Spring-time (right when I planted them) when the tulip foliage was still hanging around: I've planted many things over the years along this front border, but I think I am coming back to these multi-color marigolds.  First...they're orange.  Love that.  Second... they're French - which we first saw at Luxembourg Gardens .   I planted these all the way across the front, but the Dusty Millers from last y

On Monday, I posted about adding a series of perennials to our front porch beds - including Autumn Moor Grasses and eight Summer Beauty Alliums that are in front of some small Green Velvet Boxwoods (that I planted last month).   As I was planting those, I realized that the edge of the bed has crept-in and I needed to cut the grass that had been growing in there - out.   I've been thinking about the extension of the curved portion of the bed (where the Norway Maple tree *was* and have been musing about how to use some dry-stacked stone there and/or how the bed can be extended down the property line to (eventually) connect with the small, circular bed around the Saucer Magnolia.   But, for now....I decided to just simply clean the bed edge up and extend it out - just a little bit.  Here, below, is the 'after' - a natural edge like this makes the bed look that much more polished.  That (above) is the after.  Here, below is the 'before'.  Quite a change, right?  The Fr