Maybe this will be helpful.
at least it's fun to look at.
Good Luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Burpee Gardens

With the helianthus already in there why not do a bed of prarrie native type flowers, adding things like butterfly weed, echinacea, liatris, monarda, penstemon, goldenrod, and so on. Maybe add some grasses. The flowers would be mainly gold and violet. It would attract beneficial insects and butterflies. I have been thinking this type of perennials need to be the wave of the future, as they take wild extremes in temperatures. I just have no idea about the end of summer look you mention.

Hi Teri,

I am by no means an aesthetics expert by any stretch of the imagination but I'll try to add my two cents.

You didn't say what kind of sun/shade, dry/moist, exposed/sheltered, heavy clay/heavily ammended/completely sandy etc. type situation you are trying to grow in so I am just throwing out ideas of plants that I don't fuss with much in my garden.

First let me say roses. There are many, many, many roses out there and many of them don't need to be babied and pampered. Most of mine are once blooming OGR and have been given enough room to be the plants they want to be. When not in bloom they are beautiful foliage plants for the background. I tried to pick from those that are reported to have good disease resistance because I don't spray. So other than a little rosetone a couple times a growing season and a gallon of alfalfa tea once a month, I don't mess with them much.

You mentioned daylilies. Here is another plant with so many to choose from aside from stella d'ora. Not that anything is wrong with ole Stella but there are so many colors, bloom times and even scents to pick from. They are minimal work in my garden.

You also brought up hostas. Again this is another plant that has sooo many sizes, colors, flowers to choose from. I've seen photos where a bed was for the most part nothing but different hostas and what stunning photos they were! Hostas have never been alot of work in my yard.

I've noticed that if I plant enough different things in an area that something (usually several somethings) are in bloom at any given time and they tend to draw your eye away from the things that are finished or are working on blooming.

I can't really give you ideas for shrubs. I'm using old garden roses for shrubs in my beds. I do have some blueberry bushes too. I'm thinking about getting a couple of bridal wreath spireas this spring...maybe. I'm still toying around with that idea.

I'm a plopper too for the most part but I still try to keep my plant's eventual size in mind when planting them out to the flowerbed. I want to be able to see all of my plants and I want them to grow well. If they are being over shadowed by a bigger neighbor then I can't see them and I run the risk of losing them all together.

Don't forget about the old faithful standbys, bedding annuals. They may sound boring on paper but in my opinion, they really do help carry a flower bed all season long. Marigolds, petunias, zinnias, impatiens etc. Other than planting in spring and pulling in fall, I don't find them to be a lot of work. Oh, and don't forget foliage plants like the purple basils, etc. A purple basil by the right colored flowers (like a double delight rose *ok, ok, so this rose is a littl fussy in my yard and requires some work*) and oh my!

I'm sorry, I think I've ended up giving you about 25cents worth instead of just 2. I'll hush now. Good luck and don't forget to post pics when you finally figure it out!

Michelle

PS don't forget salvias, veronicas, butterfly bushes (I know, invasive in some areas), black-eyed susans, daisies, coneflowers and irises. All are work only at the start and/or end of the growing season. I'm not much of a deadheader btw.

Kimmee5, great link there...who knew!

Debbie, I think you are headed in the right direction for easy care plants...sort of a wildflower bed? I have spent a lot of time viewing what nature does on it's own with wildflowers and I would add that at the end of the season they will play out like all "flowers" do. BUT...What is important is to add other things that will give structure and interest during the winter months. I also, second, some grasses. If you look in the gallery, hengal, you will find some lovely winter pictures that paint a beautiful picture when the remains of last years plants are covered in snow. I would suggest some shrubs like barberry, verigated wieglia, or others that would have nicely colored leaves during fall. During the winter some evergreens would be nice too. Also during fall the flowers may all turn multishades of brown but they are still interesting with a back drop of evergreen. There are numerous junipers, Skyrocket is one, that grow tall and narrow and would fit nicely in a foundation planting. I'm sure others could recommend other specific types. Nothing more fun than planning a new bed! Enjoy!

MeMo

I think your bed may be too sunny for hosta.

You could have a look at the cottagey shrub thread going on here and see if something strikes your fancy and is hardy to your zone. Select a few of these shrubs, taking into consideration some Fall and Winter interest, if you like.

Then follow Debbie's suggestions and add the type of plants she describes. I may add filipendula and Joe Pye Weed. I'm not sure about filipendula, but the Joe Pye will give you tall umbels of flowers quite late in the year. It blooms around August for me, so you're bound to get it further as you're colder. It's also a good plant for bees and butterflies.

Hope this helps
Eduarda

Simul-posting LOL. Good ideas too, Michelle!

MeMo

Heh. I started a reply when Debbie's was the most recent. Took a while, then IE crashed on me and lost it. Blech - that's been happening a lot here.

But - as I was trying to say, I had a border a lot like what Debbie was describing. Purple/yellow, best in late summer. Assorted daylilies, liatris, monarda, achillea, rudbeckia Goldsturm, echinacea purpurea, sedums, Joe Pye Weed. I added a weigela, but it is still little. It is anchored by a hazelnut underplanted by chives and alchemilla mollis, and on the other end by an alder. (Trees were there when I started.)

Thanks so much for your input everyone - I really appreciate it! I will definitely be looking into some shrubs also. Question - doesn't Joe Pye Weed get really tall? So that would have to be planted in the back of the bed? I'm like Michelle in that I want to be able to see all of the plants in the bed. They have in the past years all gotten so out of hand after being "plopped and planted" that they just all grew together.
And Kimmie - thats for that awesome link! How nice to see such pretty pictures during this artic weather we're having! :)

Yes, hengal, Joe Pye Weed gets quite tall and as such is a perfect candidate for the back of the border.

Eduarda

I'm by no means an expert either - and a plopper besides - but here are a few plants I've grown that I love because they stay nice a long time and they're not the type of plants that require extra care... cosmos, coneflowers, zinnias, blushing pink knockout shrub (blooms well into fall and is disease-resistant), lavender, russian sage and holly.

i am also a lets see how you do here gardener, however i also like to see each plant has its own space.I have a bed just like your space and i am trying to fill it this year.I have done the tall in one corner to short at other corner, i never really like the boxed look.to let my beauties show off i put large rocks in between everybody.all my beds are like this to keep it semi controlled looking.i think rocks add alot, keep down on weeds and keep the soil moist.

the year I had my prettiest gardens, was the year I took graph paper, sketched out the borders of the beds (front of house, wrapped around side), and then just did curved lines on the graph paper to section it off...not huge sections, some bigger, some smaller. when I planted, I put all of one variety in a bigger spot, and elsewhere in the border another spot. some areas might take three coneflowers, another section might have seven of the same thing. my beds are anywhere from hmmm, three feet deep, up to 8 foot deep in some areas, some full sun, part sun, almost deep shade, depending on where it's at in the garden. it was gorgeous all season, my only hopes is that I can recreate it now that i've got to start from scratch again. some of what I had in there are as follows:

coneflower, both white and purple
shasta daisies, very easy to grow here, TOOOO easy...LOL
irises, several varieties
sunflowers
daylilies
hostas
dames rocket
black eyed susans
blanket flower
coreopsis, several kinds
carnations, LOVE those, so had a LOT
dusty miller
alyssum for edging almost the whole thing
candytuff
phlox
red hot poker
hollyhock
some kind of a mallow, i think, love it, hope i can find it again, since i'm not sure what it is...LOL, have ONE poor little guy out by my garage that self sowed, so crossing my fingers I can get seeds from it this year :D
dianthus
forget me nots
oh wow, soooo many different plants, everyone said it was gorgeous, but too many varieties....LOL, but that is what I like, keeps the eye going.

I didn't put all tall in the back, short in the front either, there were areas that had all tall clean to edge, it's what I felt like putting there...LOL. keeping a minimum of three unless it was an eyecatching specimen that I really wanted single.

some things that would be great with your area are also peonies...think maybe lilacs would be a good choice for you for shrubs too? my area is just a tad to hot and humid in summer, not cold enough in winter to grow lilacs well, only Miss Kim will do anything around here.

don't forget the hardscape too, like bird baths, gazing balls, small things. maybe a small trellis to bring in the height too.

if you can curve parts of the edges of the bed, that will really make a difference versus a straight line as well.

not sure if this helps, but it worked for me that year. Like you, i'm into a complete overhaul this year, due to MS rearing it's ugly head for me, as well as major neck issues, and the garden just went to you know where over the last several years. LOL, last summer, had a energetic moment, and we did get most of it cleared out, including some four foot tall "weed trees". If that tells you how bad it was, for a tree to get that tall in there, Hmmm.

Good luck!!!

Sally

Sally, Bless your heart! I hope you have an energetic summer this year too. Don't forget to post before and after pictures after your remodel ;)

MeMo

Thanks MeMo! I really miss my flowers. I did get several seeds planted last night, took forever! Have managed to fill some flats for what I hoped to be more tonight, but that isn't happening.

I also did today something I'm not so sure about. I bought a HUGE bottle of roundup for the weeds. :(

when I started the gardens, and except for the one time I used roundup on them, I've never used ANY chemicals in my yard or gardens, and I'm not so sure I can follow through with it. Let alone will it act like it did the last time, as fertilizer :D

my plan this year, is to get some perennials in the ground, probably will only do up the front beds, and use it as a growing spot for the perennials as they are all starting from seed this year. Knowing they will be moved around later, I can space them a little closer together I hope.

So much to do, I hope I'm not setting myself up for dissappointment here. One square foot at a time, I keep telling myself that :D

sally

Low to no maintaince...

Yucca ) I can give you some starts if you like. I am also from Indiana..Northern. You can't kill those darn things and they get soooo large they are a great space filler and they bloom late Aug when everything else is drying up from heat.

Live for Ever Also no maintaince..easy to split and divide plants for more space filling. Just break off a piece at the ground...stick it in, and walla..next year a beautiful new plant that you can't even tell came from a start. Loves heat and also is its best from Aug until Oct. Comes in several kinds with foilage from green, to reddish green to varigated green and white leaves. Also draught hardy and low maintaince. All you have to do to it is break off dead junk first thing in spring. Almost reminds me of a smallish bush as it matures...stays nice and globe like.

Lavendars...very hardy to this area is you watch the variety...and also low to no maintaince..and will self seed a bit also.

Seedums..many kinds and colors out there..again..draught hardy...no watering needed..spread rapidly and low growing.

Black eyed susans... low water demands....nice height and color....reseeds.

Iris? Although not totally low maintaince..but not high maintaince either..needs to be transplanted and divided every three or four years tho...multiply quickly. Showy flowers...tho short bloom period but well worth the show.

Good luck.. lots of great ideas here. I was just trying to think of low maintaince..low water ideas for a busy lifestyle.

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions eveyone! I've been planning an plotting and can't wait for this dang snow to melt. I've gotten some really good ideas from you all and I really appreciate it! Hopefully I'll be able to post a pic in a few months! :)

bump

I'd second the vote for cosmos - wonderful flowers that the birds really like. And they reseed quite easily.

I wouldn't go without cosmos in my garden either. They catch everyone's eye and I get so many comments on them.

I would also suggest peony for you. They do beautifully in your part of the country. They are one of my favorite flowers in the garden. Excellent for cut flowers too.

Make sure to take pictures of your new bed for us this summer!