Hi taraleigh, So far, it sounds like you've done a good job with your garden by planting things that will thrive with the good drainage that your sandy soil likely has. The only plant I could see being a problem may be the Bee Balm, since it likes rich, constantly moist, humusy soil, and can develop powdery mildew if its in a crowded spot. It sounds like you have kind of a "Cottage Garden" look going on in this bed, so I wouldnÂt worry too much about "casual" style plants next to more formal ones. In general, I think the soil conditions, moisture, PH (acid, neutral or alkaline) and light conditions that different varieties of plants need to be healthy is the main thing people should concern themselves with when planting a new garden. Then you can find plants that you like the look of, that thrive in the conditions of your particular garden area. The bloom time of various flowering perennials, as well a garden's ability to look good in the fall and winter is also a consideration. I would just "google" each of your plants, check their water, sun, and soil PH requirements, and provide them with what they need. At this point in the summer, I wouldn't transplant anything, so hopefully you are pleased with how your garden area looks for now. If you donÂt like the placement of anything, I would wait until the spring to move it. As far as your overall garden design goes, I agree with laceyvail about the arrangement. You didn't say what direction the sun is coming from in relation to this garden bed, but you may want to check that the more drought-tolerant plants are on the side that gets the most hot afternoon sun. Also, be sure that anything tall isn't creating an excessive shade area over smaller plants that needs full sun. You will have some autumn interest with your "Blue Star" aster, "Autumn Joy" stonecrop, "Blanket flower", and Artemisia "Silver Mound". Personally, I would have added some low-growing evergreen shrubs that tolerate sandy soil, such as Common Bearberry / Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) to this bed, but that would just be my preference as far as some winter interest. Not sure what your soil PH is, but your soil would need to be acidic, sandy soil to grow Kinnikinnick. The foliage of your daylilies, asiatic lilies, veronica, bee balm, delphinium, "Snow In Summer", and Shasta daisy will likely die back to varying degrees in the winter in Zone 5. But in Zone 5, the bed will most likely be covered in snow for much of the winter, so you won't notice the dormant foliage as much. In the fall or spring, you can always add an evergreen small shrub or two that tolerates sandy soil. This fall, you may also want to add some spring-flowering bulbs, so that you have some early spring interest in this garden plan. Be prepared to be pulling up some of those "Snow in Summer", Artemisia "Silver Mound", and Shasta daisies if they get too invasive in this bed. Daylilies can have buds on them for many, many days before they bloom. I prefer the pretty lemony-yellow of the "Happy Returns" to the margarine-yellow of the "Stella D'Oro", but they are both pretty easy to care for daylilies, and both bloom well. The "Stella D'Oro" is really tiny. As far as colors go, I like to keep plants with blossoms on the red-orange side of the color spectrum (such as your "Black Bird" Lily) away from plants that have purple or blue-ish blossoms (such as your delphinium, and "Lavender Joy" lily, but this is just my personal preference color-wise. Hope this helps and good luck with your new garden!

i have pure mineral sand ... everything lives in it ... if i can provide enough water .. and therein lies the problems.. since i presume you arent going to be at the cottage to water every day or two ... year around ... so i think.. and correct me if i am wrong.. your question should be: what is maintenance free enough to survive without water for the 11 months of the year you wont be there to care for them ... the fact that you have bare spots.. indicates that not much will grow there care-free year around.. and that is indicated by the fact that weeds wont even grow in your bare spots ... i think you need to give us more facts on how often you are there.. etc .. and i think you will need to stick to natives .... rather than importing a bunch of otherwise needy plants ... and amending the soil.. is not going to solve the water issue entirely ... finally.. lets go a bit zen ... dont you go to the cottage to escape ... why plant a garden there???? .. it aint worth it ... enjoy it for what it is.. in its natural state .... and i bet.. in the long run.. it will be much more pleasing.. rather than creating a nightmare that only ends up being a failure ... or.. just get some pots.. and plant them.. for the season ... that way you can maintain the media in the pots easier .... ken

Pblge, you've done the right thing adding those soil amendments to your blueberry bed, I'm not sure if your foundation is limestone, concrete, or granite. If it's granite then not a problem, but if it's limestone, or concrete then you will have to keep adding amendments like peat moss to keep your soil acidic. Bearberry is a small groundcover that likes your area, its supposedly edible, but I've never tried it, the Latin name is Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi, and it has a nice fall color like the blueberry. Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is also used for teas, and is a very nice ground cover. It looks like you need some edging to hold your bed together, the plastic edging with the stakes, might be your best bet. All those plants will look great together, and the branches of the blueberry hold their red color for quite a while in the fall and early winter. what kind did you get? I love mine, though the deer did browse ours this year, they usually aren't bothered by them.

I planted a tray of 'Snow Flurry' Aster landscape plugs last spring on a slope in my front yard - full sun, and used to be filled with weeds. Completely covered the entire area by mid-summer and just flowered last week. This and my goldenrod are proving to be a treat for the bees this time of year. Aside from some clover here and there, haven't had to pull a weed after they were established since it's really dense and fast-spreading. Only gets about 3" tall and goes well with the large rocks I scattered throughout the area.