I Love Dandelions

There is a nice Forsythia at the far end, which I pruned like crazy last year. Not knowing any better at the time I pruned it too soon and it didn't look even close to this nice last year. It still needs a bit more shaping, but I'll wait until the bloom is finished to do it as are the rules.

At the nearest side there is an amazing Peony. I'll post pics once it blooms but it was absolutely gorgeous last year. I haven't done a thing to it except put up the support rod, and clean out the junk from last year. Hopefully this year's blooms are as nice.

Next to the Peony I planted 2 new things last year:

1. Blue False Indigo which is apparently good for poorer soil, and can tolerate lots of sun. It's a wildflower. I can already see healthy looking growth, so that's a good sign. It has a pole in place as it is a climber.

2. Spanish Thrift - a cute pink ground cover - almost looks a bit cactus-like right now. Supposedly good in poorer soils and full sun. I see 2 healthy looking tufts already, but not too spready looking yet. I don't think it's overly aggressive. Probably good for this bed, but not perennial-ville in the back. It would get eaten alive.

In between are a mish-mash of Periwinkle, some kind of Flox, Evening Primrose and a random Daffodil. A few Lily-of-the-Valley showed up last year, as well as Sunflowers and some Pansies. I'm not in love with this stuff in the front. I think I'm going to move at least some of the Flox and Primrose to the back perennial bed to fill it out. Neither of them seem overly spready, so I think I can keep them under control back there. Why I don't like them in the front is 2 fold:

1. Color - Most of them don't bloom until later on in the summer. With the forsythia color over so quickly, there is not much color in the bed except the Peony for much of the summer. While the Peony is gorgeous it is just one plant. So at the very least I need to make some room for something else.

2. Size and Feel - Although there are several plants they feel kind of small, and make the bed look a bit messy, and half hazard in my opinion. I'd like to add something a tad bigger, that has a more substantial feel on it's own, without being overly formal. I am inheriting a Monk's Hood from my mom which I think will fit the bill.

I'm going to do the moving this weekend, so I'll post pics of the finished product then. For now here's two pics of the new members of the front bed:

Blue False Indigo (back around the pole) and Spanish Thrift in the front. And some weeds of course. I hate pulling anything right now in case it is actually something good. I'm also very lazy. Check out the plant on the back left - it almost looks like raspberry leaves, but I'm sure it's not. Any ideas?

Lastly, the soil is ridiculously dry in this bed. I put so much top soil in it last year, but to little avail. Ultimately I'd like to built it up a bit - maybe make a nice wooden raised bed here, and try and keep the soil in place a bit better.

I almost feel like I have a plan.