based on your location .. i havent a clue ...ken

Can you tell us what zone you are in, what your soil is like (clay, loam etc.)? Then we may be able to give you better suggestions. Some low growing Veronica's might do, the shorter Amsonia's (such as Blue Ice) etc. It just depends on where you are...........Maryl

So sorry

se mich. zone 6 I think

house faces east, full morning sun

O you think blanket would be good or would the colors clash with phlox laura?

grew up in livonia.. now in adrian .. give me a city name ...

you live in MI .... it usually snows in winter ... is that space needed for snow removal?? ... if so .... what ever you plant.. should probably be die to the ground perennials ... or annuals ...

in a normal snow cover winter.. you probably wouldnt have been looking at that spot all winter ... lol ...

try to define for us.. your GOAL ... what do you see in your minds eye ... height ... low ... mix and match ... or many of one ... etc ...

will you be relying on bigboxstore ... better nursery ... or mail order ... it kind of matters as far as keeping our suggestions within availability ...

if bigboxstore.. just go browse what is offered.. when the stock comes in ... wing it ...

ken

As per Maryl, ornamental dwarf speedwells (Veronica), especially Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue' has worked well for me. The latter has a long summer bloom time here.

With a small area, I wouldn't hesitate to use annuals, as long as the right ones are used. I'd assume that's the only way for us to get continuous flower colour (that is from the time when annuals can be planted out (late May here)).

Below dahlias and sunshine impatiens last September 28.

Is the stoop roughly central to the house? If so I'd be inclined to repeat the salvias. You know they like the position and it would give your planting balance. Even if it's not central there is an argument for repeating plants to give a sense of organisation and pattern rather than a random selection of shapes and colours.

The perceived randomness of a selection of plants is a very subjective thing, even in terms of their overall shapes and colours.

How about a lower growing shasta daisy? Or maybe a hardy perennial geranium like Rozanne - it's long blooming, although its habit might be too sprawling for that spot, and the color may be too close to the phlox if you want contrast. If it were my space, I'd probably do annuals as suggested above. Yellow marigolds can provide a similar color scheme to the Stella D'oros and are very easy to grow from seed as well as fast to bloom (about 6 to 8 weeks from sowing to flowers). Or you can usually find cell packs of them at just about any big box store starting probably early May.

If you decide to keep the daylilies, one option might be to cut them back hard in mid summer to keep them from getting scraggly. They should start growing back with fresh new foliage quickly.

Some of the smaller Coreopsis might work.

Thanks all. Below is a picture of what is to the right of stoop. I am inclined to use the same Salvia -- my hesitation is that bumble bees that were all over the salvia last summer. I know they are beneficial and not aggressive, the problem is this is right by my front door; many times my kids or others will sit on the step and I just think it is dangerous to have that many bees around.

(on that note, is there anything I can spray on the Salvia to deter them? (not kill them, of course))

I like the idea of annuals too and may consider it -- I've tried daisies in the past and the rabbits chow them, but the marigolds might work.

Veronica are nice -- do they attract the bumble bees as well?

If the bees are a concern, you might try something with colorful foliage instead, like a sun coleus (annual) or heuchera (perennial). These will stay colorful and attractive all season, and any flowers they produce can be removed. I'm not aware of any substance which can be applied to flowers that would safely discourage bees.

You read on line that Veronica spicata (several cultivars are cited) is a good bee plant. I've never noted bees on it while gardening here.

Apparently bees do like flowers with spike-shaped flowers. Deadheading the first flowering of various Veronicastrum virginica (culver's root) cultivars, I'm always working right in the middle of bees. I enjoy their company. They do their thing and I do mine.

Threadleaf coreopsis would look nice there and would be in bloom for much of the season. Or one of the low growing catmints.

Agree with coreopsis

Anything that flowers will attract bees, so if you don't want bees by your front door, don't put flowers there. You could put boxwood or some other evergreen small shrub there that would look nice all year. That said, I personally would go with the Salvia 'Caradona' and Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull', just because I think the threadleaf varieties don't hold up well in the latter part of the summer, and start looking very tatty.

Funny I shoveled up the daylillies almost a month ago. I now still some shoots peeking through again. Hard to kill those.

Yes if there is a little root left they will come back. It is one of the reasons I like daylilies because they are tough.

Hmmm, how about dianthus? Maybe not as tall as you're asking for but they are definitely tough plants. I have no idea what kind mind are but they are evergreen for me here in my zone 7/8. They also bloom here heads off from spring until late fall. In Dallas when it gets scorching hot, these things still look great. Sorry the pic was taken late at night. This is how they've looked for about a month or so now.

If you are concerned about bees, avoid planting catmint (like "Walker's Low").

See I think the catmint would be perfect..perfect size, easy to grow. I get so many compliments on my catmint plants every year!

That area looks pretty sunny. I would recommend Walkers Low Catmint. It should thrive there, and the rabbits would definitely leave it alone.