I can hear your excitement. Sandy loam should be fine to go with the compost and fish fertilizer is my favorite to use. I don't think I'd dig out the Golden Oregano, unless it is really out of control and you want more structure.

Now...what to plant. For fragrance and purple or blue color, I'm a fan of heliotrope (cherry pie plant). It is heat-tolerant, will stay under 18-inches, will bloom from spring to fall and is great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Marino Blue is REALLY blue! For textural contrast, try Euphorbia. They are easy to grow, will only grow to about 18-inches, are not attractive to deer and have fantastic fall coloration. The blossoms and stems are kind of "wispy" looking and delicate, even though they are really drought and heat tolerant. Unfortunately my health will not allow me to do my annual beds this year, so I don't have photos, and am living vicariously through everyone else's gardens :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Heliotrope-yummy smell!

A remaining tree stump is a great way to make a circular garden bed, and incorporate the tree stump into the design. Some people have done fairy gardens and some people chip into the stump (or maybe it had a natural hollow) and plant in that hollow area also.

Your compost may be sufficient nutrient for the short life of the annuals that you want to plant there.

I have had heliotrope in my hot little hands at the nursery but could never think of where I could plant it. I have so few full sun areas, and annuals don't grow much in my shade garden--too much root competition. I've tried torenia and impatiens unsuccessfully. I don't really like maintaining pots, so that's why I don't know sun annuals too well.

The stump isn't big enough to really do anything with, and it's not centered in the 5'. I do want it to decompose since I have no evergreens along the driveway and will need to plant something.

Thank you for your suggestions. Good to know I'm on track for the soil and fertilizer.

I have a semi circle bed off my driveway and right in front of the porch. I plant it in annuals three times a year just because I like having that color as we come and go. The outer ring of my bed is planted in small box woods that I trim into parterres. That gives the bed structure year round, but my bed is about sixteen feet in diameter. Anyway, I usually plant this bed in semi-circle rows. I love spiky plants in the back: salvias, angelonia, or penstemon for example. In the front I have had both a solid mass of one plant (vinca, profusion zinnias, marigolds, purple gomphrena, etc.) or contrasting bands of color. This year I am using Mystic Spires Salvia around the back and a mass of Viper Vinca in front: red with a white halo. I was at Lowe's today and saw some vinca that are white with a red eye. I decided to mix some of those into the planting too, just for contrast. I decided to go with vinca this year because I have planted profusion or zahara zinnias in this bed for several years in a row and the soil appears to be pooped. I suppose crop rotation is a good idea in any bed that is intensively planted.

The first week of July I will start Durango marigolds from seed and set them into this bed in late August. I love the fall colors of marigolds for September through Halloween. The blue salvias will get a hard cut back and fertilizer in early July and will be fresh and beautiful again inside of a month.

Then in early November, I will plant the beds in pansies for the winter. I have a solid mass of daffodils and Dutch Iris planted among the salvias around the back and these give a very nice show with the pansies in the spring. Over the years I have edged the pansies with dianthus and/or snapdragons for contrast. The trouble with this is the dianthus and snaps don't bloom until late spring and by that time the pansies are ratty and ready to be replaced. I never get much enjoyment out of the others, so this year I may wrap a ring of tulips around the back. They'll bloom at a different time than the narcisuss or Iris.

You will love your bed! It satisfies my need to try something new each year and is really showy. Someday, when I get too old for all this, I will probably just fill the bed with drift roses.

Oh, one other thought. A bed like this can get expensive. It will become a major motivation to get into seed starting! :)

Donnabaskets, that sounds like a fun garden. I hadn't thought about changing the plants for the seasons. I may end up doing annuals for a few years since I have to wait for the stump to decompose. It will give me something to plant since my backyard gardens are almost all planted out now. I'll still want something new every year!

I'm thinking of planting purple fountain grass as the centerpiece. I see it will get bigger than I planned, so I'll only have room for one row between the fountain grass and golden oregano. I see it paired with lime and bright yellow and also purple and pink. So then I came across this photo with black-eyed Susans and spiky blue salvia. I could do that since my Susans are right on the edge of the circle. However, the fountain grass was sure pretty paired with light purple, which is my favorite color for annuals. Would petunias be a good choice? I've done them in planters once or twice, as well as million bells, but never in the ground.

That photo is stunning. What a lovely idea and the grass adds a lot. My only problem would be keeping the black eyed susans from running rampant through everything else. I have never had any luck with anything but Goldsturm and it is fairly aggressive.

As far as petunias are concerned, I think you can grow whatever you like in that bed. In my part of the country, petunias don't last much past mid June, but I expect the Pacific Northwest summers would be far milder.

I just transplanted the Susans there, so they'll behave this summer. I'm not sure what variety they are.