Farmhouse Sunny Border

April 2015

Our farm property was quite barren and bland when we purchased it five years ago, but after many seasons of gardening our efforts to beautify the land are now beginning to bear fruit.  We established three garden beds as a start, with the largest being a drumstick shaped sunny border anchored by an existing tree. To fill the huge space, I planted 7 Viburnum 'Winterthur' shrubs below the tree canopy and 5 Callicarpa 'Early Amethyst' (Beautyberry) at the opposite end of the bed.  A Crape Myrtle with purple foliage is also in the mix, just waiting for its breakout moment.  In the center of the bed are masses of  Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' (Bluebeard), Montauk daisy which I transplanted from another part of the property, and Echinacea 'Powwow Berry'.  The biggest challenge with this garden bed is the front section closest to the Kitchen Garden, as there are suckering tree roots which stubbornly push up out of the soil.  I am also realizing that I need to work at incorporating different foliage colors and more Annuals into my garden, to break up the monotony of all the green.  My plan is to swap out the Echinacea for Heliopsis 'Burning Hearts' as it has a nice dark foliage, and I will also plant a grouping of Carex 'Everlite' which has variegated cream foliage.  Hopefully these new additions will thrive in the location.