In Front of the Barn - A New Flower Bed

Last year W.J. and his brother built a mini barn or large shed. As you can see the paint job is a little dull. This year we are going to paint it barn red and white ..... hopefully he will start on it soon.

So of course a flower bed has to be done in front of it. The above picture I am edging the outline and going deep so grass doesn't creep into the bed.


I decided to lay newspaper on top of the grass where I won't be planting anything, it's much easier than digging the sod out and I don't like to use plastic or landscape fabric, as I'm always adding more plants later on. Ripping out the fabric later to make room for plants is a pain. Newspaper also helps the soil when it decomposes, it's like adding compost. Four or Five layers overlapping each other usually will do the job. Make sure you wet the paper as you go along, or it will fly away....

I also make sure I tuck it into the edge.



You can put mulch, top soil or both on top of the paper.


Here I laid out my plants. I planted 3 Hydrangea 'Annabelle' and double impatiens, red and white.



Finished and it looks great and no back breaking digging to remove the sod. I decided at the last minute to leave the corners open with mulch. It seems my kids and well... yes myself tend to walk through that way to get on the porch... I'm going to add a couple of round stepping stones in the corners.


A view from the porch looking out.

Shrubs

The garden is tilled and ready for planting! It took all day to till the clay soil and due to starting from scratch on turf.

I planted some butterfly shrubs and some dwarf burning shrubs along the fence line. Both will be bring some color each season from spring through fall.


Butterfly bushes have fragrant blooms and attract butterflies. They bloom in late spring and continue into early summer. Drought-tolerant and utterly carefree, butterfly bushes is in one of the easiest shrubs you can grow.





Dwarf burning bushes have an intense red foilage color in fall. The deep dark red leaves almost glow with color in the fall. This plant is tolerant of shade, but prefers full sun to produce the most vibrant fall colors. Burning Bush transplants easily and may be sheared. The corky wings on the twigs hold winter snow, outlining the branch structure. The orange and red fruit is ornamental if produced in quantity, but plants vary in the amount of fruit they produce.



Some other favorites of mine:



Sunshine Blue, this shrub leafs out bright gold in spring, and keeps its color right through the worst summer heat. Elegantly pointed, toothy leaves are so stylish that Sunshine blue would be a fine choice for the sunny shrub border.

Hydrangea Endless Summer reaches 5 feet high and 4 feet wide. Happiest in partial or dappled shade, it takes more sun in the northernmost portion of its hardiness range. Blooms in zone 4!