Ok so what am I going to do with that sidewalk bed? I think it's most important to get a few small Liriope up front, right in front of the Yarrow. Those plants get pretty tall and they start to fall over, so I would rather have something sturdy in front of them. And then from there I'll put Liriope along the edge moving down towards the stairs. I will not be doing anything with those ornamental grasses. They're in good enough places now and I do not feel like digging them up. So let's say I've got a nice border or Liriope in front. Then I would put in all the Rudbeckia that I've got. Yes, I think I want to plant all 18. They only need to be about a foot away from each other. And then the Day Lilies would go behind them. Specifically, I would put some Day Lilies right behind the Yarrow, I think that will look really nice. I should keep in mind that the Day Lilies are permanent, and the Rudbeckia is an annual. The Day Lilies can kind of be spread around near the ornamental grasses. Do I want to keep them close together to get that big mass of color? That would definitely look better. I will certainly spread them out more than what they are like in the small space they are in now, but I shouldn't just have like, Day Lily here, another one over there, as individual plants. They look best when they're in mounds. And then in whatever space is left, I will plant lots of Sunflowers. I don't really know if I want to direct seed them, or if I want to start some inside. They say not to do that, because they don't like being transplanted, but I think I've done it successfully before. And I'm worried that if I just put out seeds, something is going to eat them.
Oh, I forgot about the Zinnias. I'm not going to put the big ones in there, probably, but I got the Zahara variety specifically for that bed. I'm only going to have 12 of them. They say they get 12-18 inches tall, although most Zinnias seem to grow taller than advertised. So we'll do Liriope, then Zinnias, then Rudbeckia, then the Day Lilies. Most of the Sunflowers I have are supposed to get to only 3 feet tall, which is actually shorter than the Day Lilies.
Actually, I should probably keep these things in masses. So maybe I will do a big clump of Zinnias in one spot, probably right up center to the left of the Yarrow. I will have 12 plants so I could do two separate clumps of 6 plants. I mean, I probably shouldn't try to plan it out this specifically. The reality always ends up being pretty different. I just want to make sure I am thinking about these things, like height and placement and grouping. Actually, what is the sun situation like? The back part does get some shade in the middle of the day. I mean, that's mostly the ornamental grasses. By mid afternoon it's really full sun, and I think the whole thing gets full sun for most of the morning, with the east end getting it first. I think the sun is just fine in every part. I'm a little worried that the Sunflowers will all end up facing towards the south, because theoretically that's what they do, but maybe not. The sun is pretty even, especially in the summer, and I would think they would not face the shady side where all the trees are. I mean, there isn't a whole lot I can do to change what direction they face, so I might as well just put them where I can and hope for the best.
Right now though, I should be cutting back the ornamental grasses. They're so huge and spreading that crap everywhere, so at the moment it's hard to see exactly what space is there. And maybe once I do that I ought to take some pictures or make some drawings so I know what's what, and specifically where the damn Daffodils are. And maybe I should plant the Tete a Tete Daffodils in there, the ones I forced in pots. They've been getting good sun so I ought to be able to get more use out of them, and I'd rather plant them now, when I know where they should go.
No comments:
Post a Comment