New Mailbox Bed

16 years ago

I've been feeling really guilty about how crummy my yard looks right now, when I've been seeing all the wonderful pics of my fellow GW members. Since I don't have much going on overall, I thought I would share the one thing I HAVE gotten done (besides the Ali Baba fountain), and that's a new bed around my mailbox. It was just a clump of bedraggled African iris and a couple of lanky ruellias, but I got Mark to build me a raised bed, which I filled with some better soil than nature left in that spot. Hopefully, this will help the new plants establish some good roots and grow like mad!

Here are several shots of the bed. I stuck with pinks, purples and bright greens. Since I was experimenting with a lot of different types of plants to see which ones would be happy there, I thought a cohesive color combination would make them all work together.

The view from the curb:

A closer look:

I have planted 3 mona lavenders, a dahlia, a Swan River daisy, a Mexican heather, lavender bacopa, celosia, helichrysum, ruellia, purple shield, sweet potato vine, tradescantia, coleus, impatience, and a pink baby's breath. The light in this bed varies a lot, so I have some shade lovers and some sun lovers. We'll see which ones are happiest.

Another close up:

A close up of this adorable pink baby's breath, which I found at Lukas. It will probably decline as it gets hotter, but in the meantime, it's so pretty! I've had it a month, and it is still covered in blooms.

A close up of the celosia and the helichrysum:

Not much, compared to what so many of you have going on in your yard, but it does give me at least something to look at!

Marcia

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Comments (18)

tony_k_orlando
16 years ago
Looks GREAT to me. I have nothing out there by mine but a mailbox...... You almost have me motivated!
wanda662
16 years ago
I love it! So colorful and cheery. Bet the Mail Person likes it also!
The county is getting ready to build the Green River Park Way right down my street so don't know if I'll have to move it or they might buy everyone out on this street! Big Bummer!
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Thanks y'all! I appreciate your sweet words :) I slapped Mr. Bunny down there in time for Easter and thought I'd move him to the back garden afterward but you're right, he looks far too cute there to leave. I've got a thing for concrete statuary so I try to discipline myself by limiting their use to one per bed :) I do like the annuals idea a lot but water in the heat of our Georgia summer will definitely be a problem. That bed is the farthest from the hose and the hose doesn't reach all the way to the street. But I'll give it a think and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the suggestion :) Our mail lady drives nine hundred and forty two miles an hour down the street. Here's hoping she'll slow down to smell the roses! LOL Pine mulch is super cheap down here in Georgia so it's a pretty common mulch. But I do love how it looks too. Makes everything very tidy :)
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Dulahey, I'd think of the planter boxes as essentially a large pot that you want to plant with perennials since you probably don't want to redo every year. Presumably you'll be watering these. I would plant several items in each side, ones that are tolerant of both sun and partial sun, since you have two different exposures. I definitely agree there should be symmetry in the plantings. I believe I've heard the rule of thumb when planting pots is to choose a Thriller, a Filler, and a Spiller. So a wow plant, a background plant, and a trailing plant. For your situation, here's what I'd think about doing... Prairie look: Thriller: I'd think of something that will bloom all summer long, maybe may night salvia, or a coreopsis like moonbeam that you don't have to deadhead. Annuals would fulfill this requirement, too, but you'd need to plant every year. Filler: a perennial grass that will give form during the winter, my favorite is ponytails grass (aka mexican feather grass) or even a hardy rosemary that will stay green year round Spiller: golden moneywort is evergreen or semi-evergreen, depending on our weather, and has a nice lime color. Cottage look: Thriller: maybe a climber that you train over the mailbox? several types of evergreen clematis or maybe carolina jessamine would be cool. Filler: dwarf nandina bush for year-round interest, or a small evergreen like a soft-touch holly or a dwarf boxwood Spiller: Creeping phlox has great spring flowers and is also semi-evergreen.
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Yellow/green plants sounds like something variegated. If so, too many possibilities to know which you've seen. Wax Begonias can take being out in the sun, but all day in Atlanta might be a bit much. IME with putting them in tons of sun, they will stay alive and bloom, and definitely develop a deep red color, but don't grow as quickly at all, not by a long shot. I'd recommend trying to find already-nice-size plants if you try this. Dragon wing would be another to consider. The leaves are green, but it makes a good amount of reddish (possibly more pink in some light) blooms. That kind would be a bit taller. Other red plants that might be enjoyable, small enough to go at the base of a mailbox... Alternanthera dentata, Swiss chard (green leaves with red stems & veins,) Coleus cultivars for sun. Dragons' blood Sedum might be a nice ground cover under the taller things, but would creep into grass without a border/barrier.
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katkin_gw
16 years ago
Nice work! I love the pink baby's breath, wish I could grow it here.
manature
Original Author
16 years ago
Get out there to that mailbox, Tony! You can't have yours all nekkid when mine looks so spiffy!

Wanda,I'd be pretty unhappy not knowing what was gonna happen to my MAILBOX, let alone my HOUSE! That stinks!! Hope they get it sorted soon, and you can have some peace of mind about it.

Thanks, Katkin! It was only a little bed, but it was a start. I suspect the baby's breath will only be an annual for me, but it was still worth $3.98 for all those beautiful little flowers. I had never seen that type before. I used to grow the tall, airy white ones when I lived in PA, but never saw any down here. I hope I get a few more months out of it, anyway.

Marcia
countrynest
16 years ago
Marcia, looks great,specially with the baby breath. The rain coming your way will do wonders and make it all grow. I hope you had a good night of sleep all hook up with tubes and wires.
Felix
manature
Original Author
16 years ago
Oh, Felix, you crazy man, you! I actually had a better night's sleep this time than the first one (which made Chinese water torture seem like fun!) because they fitted me with a CPAP mask, and it worked! Wooohoooooo. As soon as the doctor has reviewed the tests and prescribed it for me, I'll be getting one, and I HOPE this will mean I will start getting a good night's sleep for the first time in years! And maybe BREATHE all night. (The first test showed I stop breathing as often as 44 times an hour!! ACK!)

Glad you like the mailbox bed. The rain just chased me back inside, but I think it has stopped already. Is it raining up your way?

Marcia
countrynest
16 years ago
It's raining here still. It has been inching south. I have been weeding like crazy with no gloves. I hate gloves but my hands are hurting from the thorns from dry asparagus ferns. Ants have also had a feast on me.I want to get it all weeded in time for all the blooms. Amaryllis are everywhere ready to burst. Wisteria has started to bloom.everything else is putting out their growth. I planted lots of seeds even one with no idea what it is. it'll be a surprise.My plum color
Chinese fringe tree is budding. Tony's variegated tapioca plants are coming out of the ground. Marcia's Seaside Golden Rod is growing and IÂ´m hoping that the stupid blue heron does not eat my lonely Coy. He already ate 28 young Goldfish..
Yeap, crazy man here but enjoying life for it is good my dear friends.
Felix
happy_girl
16 years ago
Marcia, my son went through a sleep clinic and now wears the mask. It has been such a help for him. Hope yours does the same for you. Good luck.
FlowerLady6
16 years ago
Very pretty Marcia. Love the colors and the pink baby's breath is something else.

Wanda ~ If it becomes imminent domain, get yourself a lawyer. The county will try to give you a LOT less money if you don't.

FlowerLady
manature
Original Author
16 years ago
Felix, I'm glad you are getting a lot done, and you are getting some good rain. And you are only crazy in the BEST of ways.

Happygirl, thanks for that input. So far, everyone I have heard of who has tried one has said it made a huge difference in their lives. I'm hoping for the same.

Flowerlady, thanks very much! Yes, the pink baby's breath is just so sweet! I will let you know how long it lasts down here.

Marcia
tannatonk23_fl_z9a
16 years ago
Very pretty! Love the Mona Lavender and of course the pink baby's breath. Never heard of that. It looks so compact - more like alyssum. We had the white baby's breath everywhere in Montana. It was like a weed, but I loved it.

~Betsy
PRO
Jan Sword-Rossman Realty 239-470-6061
16 years ago
Marcia, looks really nice. I never saw pink baby's breath. Very pretty!
Jan
abendwolke
16 years ago
What a beautiful color combination! You did a great job, just like with your Ali Baba fountain. Very inspiring.

Evelyn :-)
barbcoleus
16 years ago
Very nice!!!
manature
Original Author
16 years ago
You ladies are WAY too kind. It just happens to be the only thing "done" in my yard right now, besides the fountain. It sure isn't much, and when I think of how much MORE I had last year than I do now, it's sort of depresseing. But it's my own fault, and I'll get it all cleaned up and replanted and pruned back again. Someday!

Thanks anyway!
Marcia
beth7happy
16 years ago
Gosh, Marcia...that spot has so much going on!! I just love the color combinations and all the different foliages... you've got some great goings on in that small space! I'm still oh SO in love with your little fountain, tho.....can we say, "Fountain envy" ?? ?? Great show with the mailbox bed, tho....just love it!
manature
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, Beth! My usual planting philosophy is fill it up good, and let them fight it out! I wanted this bed to fill out quickly, and truthfully, there are a couple of things in there that probably won't be happy and will get pulled. Also, I think the baby's breath will be a goner in a month or two, but by then, the little piece of sweet potato vine will be filling that spot. The whole thing is an experiment, and will probably end up eventually with just a few of the plants that are really thriving filling up the whole space. But for now, I like looking at all the colors.

Marcia (I still love my fountain, too...though it doesn't gurgle quite as loud as it first did. Pump is going a bit slower now.)
katkin_gw
16 years ago
Marcia, I sent you an email about the sleep clinic.:o)

New Mailbox Bed

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