Lest this thread get contorted into something it is not; I think may be important to clarify a bit. The point of my original objection was not to create two sides of an issue but rather to cause thought. I am not against mailbox plantings  I am for thinking. I am also for believing that average people have the ability to create above average landscapes. It is easily within Joe and Jolene AverageÂs abilities to avoid the common design blunders that we see repeated time and time again on this very forum. A necklace of rocks creating never ending, high maintenance woes is but one glaring example in the featured photo. Remove the rocks and the planting is much improved  pretty simple stuff. Good design is largely just the application of a series of Âpretty simple stuffÂ. One of the Grand PoobahÂs of modern landscape design, Thomas Church, in his book Gardens Are For People, states right up front: "Landscaping is not a complex and difficult art to be practiced only by high priests. It is logical, down-to-earth and aimed at making your plot of ground produce exactly what you want and need from it I get concerned when I see postings stating: "My yard was a hell of a lot easier to mow when it was a big green square, but I'm more than happy to let my husband spend the extra time going around the knicks and crannies of the garden beds." I am firmly of the opinion that these are the kinds of issues where good design can play a role. These are the kinds of problems that visiting this forum should help you learn to both solve and avoid in the future. Blindly following along with the herd, assuming that landscaping and/or gardening requires extra time spent mowing and trimming is a shame. I often lecture on very simple ways that Joe and Jolene Average can implement just a little bit of design and, in fact, reduce their mowing and trimming. I am firmly of the opinion that good design should dramatically reduce (not increase) the need for repetitive maintenance chores. Creating knicks(sic) and crannies is easily avoided with just a little design forethought. As but one example: I always recommend that the DIYer lay out their new beds with a lawnmower instead of a garden hose. Quite simply, if you canÂt mow it you will probably have to trim it. Which would you rather do? I recommend avoiding tedious trimming largely because it typically never gets done! I simply place the edge of my beds on the edge of the marks made by my lawnmower as I guide it along an easy to maneuver path. If I canÂt mow it, the bed gets expanded. Simple? Yes! Coincidentally it always winds up looking better as well. A major component of landscape design is problem resolution  and avoidance. IronBelly *** BTW. I think that the above posting by lesdvs9 is a wonderful idea.

Ha!! Love the rocks! :) Maybe some kind of blooming native plant would work out well -- black-eyed susans, coneflowers, something like that. They're fairly common, but they're tough as nails and don't need much fussing-over once they're established. Our mail carrier has serious allergies to bees and wasps, and has asked the neighborhood (very nicely) to avoid planting blooming things near the mailboxes. We'd like some decoration out there, though, so we're thinking of putting in a clump of native grass behind ours this year. (We're pretty fond of the big grasses!)

Given the choice between fluctuating weather conditions and making shelf room, I'd have to go with the weather........:-) IME (and that comes with a very regional bias), nurseries have a hard time keeping up with demand at this time of year for seasonal plants. They simply fly off the shelves!! No need to "make room for fresh stock" - the room exists just due to sales volume! Seasonal plants like those included in the OP's planting that are past their prime are just tossed. fwiw, I did buy bulbs on clearance :-) My local place starts a lot of spring bulbs each fall and sells them as potted starts in early spring. When it gets towards the end of the bloom season, they discount them by 50%. I get most of my spring flowering bulbs this way, as I tend to be too busy in fall to plant the bulbs myself.

Pretty much the main purpose of flowers is bees, though some are worse about it than others and a few are not very bad. You may want to also consider groundcover plants that are more about greenery, though some have annual bloom for a period of time. And saying that you "have no clue where to begin" [planting flowers] is a clue that you might be overwhelmed by having to care for 150' of flower bed. You might want to have a combination of groundcover, perennials and some annuals. First and foremost you must get rid of any weeds in the bed. Any pieces of live weed roots will resprout and you'll have a weed infestation in no time. You can either dig out any weeds, or spray them with Round-up and plant a week later. As an ongoing maintenance chore, you'll need to remove weeds, at least weekly for a while, or they'll move in and take over. Once the bed is planted, Preen (a pre-emergent herbicide that is applied like shaking salt from a salt shaker) according to the manufacturer's schedule and applied to the finish planted bed, is helpful for keeping new weed seeds from germinating. Annuals, many of which can be raised from seed, is the most colorful and must be replanted yearly. Groundcover and perennials are permanent and come back every year. But they generally don't bloom as long as annuals. Daylilies would be a good perennial to use, especially 'Stella d' Oro' as it is a long blooming variety. It's not too bad on bees. Liriope would be a good perennial if it grows in your area. It comes in green and variegated versions. Petunias would be good annuals to buy as bedding plants. Marigolds are easy to grow from seed. Figure out where you want to place the permanent blocks of plants. Fill in the rest or what you're unsure about with annuals. Personally, I'd stop being overly concerned about bees. Gardeners are around them for our whole lives and don't get stung. Like our mother said, "don't bother them and they won't bother you."