My husband made a nice skirt for the base of the garden bulletin board that a Belmont boy scout recently made for us. He used pressure treated 2 by 6's and filled with topsoil. I'm deciding what to plant in it. What do you think? Black-Eyed Susan's? Daffodils and day lilies? Native wild flowers like tansy or Joe Pye weed? A couple low blue berry bushes? Marigolds, cosmos... sunflowers.... there are so many choices.
Sunflowers are too tall and will prevent people from reading the notices. Tickseed (Coreopsis) will fill it in nicely, stay low to the ground so people can read the signs, and is native.
ReplyDeleteI say plant a perrenial that will provide nice color all season and that won't require much care so that you can focus tending your plot. Or an anuual that will easily reseed itself year to year.
ReplyDeleteNasturtiums are neat, though they are planted from seed. They fill in really well, and the best part is that the flowers and leaves can be harvested for salads!
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of blueberries as you can control the soil Ph and birds easier in the box but looks like you can only fit in 2. Marigolds are my faworites as I use them all over my garden as companion plants.You will get lots of seeds from that litl area and keep bigs avay ;)
ReplyDeleteI would suggest native wildflowers that attract the beneficials. It serves a great purpose and can be educational as well (you could even include a little educational plaque if you wanted to get fancy.) Also, sunflowers are all sized, so you could definitely include some of the dwarf varieties. :)
ReplyDeleteHi there, go wild, go for a mix. Bulbs that will pop up in Spring a couple of stand-by perennials and then some seasonal interest. We did some Californian poppies, they are really hardy, (albeit free form weedy) and the insects love them. We have Foxgloves ( digitalis) at the moment self-seeded, the bees are going mad! Does your husband go trans-atlantic with his carpentry skills!!
ReplyDeleteMarian (London UK)
foxglove would be pretty for sure, maybe echanacea flowers? How about hummingbird attractants or butterfly flowers? passiflora to climb up the side posts?
ReplyDeleteNatives.
ReplyDeleteYikes! It's very pretty, but please limit planting to flowers and only those you are not planning to eat! Pressure treated lumber can contaminate food for a number of years. No blueberries, I hope.
ReplyDeleteFor many years now, at least a decade, pressure treated lumber has been non-toxic and safe for growing edibles. It is the old arsenic procedure you are thinking of. Lots of on-line sites you can check to read up on this.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading all the suggestions!!! Thanks. I haven't decided on one yet. But will post a photo when I do.
ReplyDelete