Specialty Gardening: Looking for a new look, 1 by ilovedahlias

ilovedahlias wrote:
Yes, it was a great year! I did take a number of the suggestions and implement them, and of course it doesn't usually turn out exactly as you might think, but then successes that you didn't expect also surprise you! I planted some heliotrope in the front, which provided that dark, dark, purple. However, they did not grow to their full potential and were shorter than I had hoped. An unexpected surprise was the bright white petunias that my 7-year old planted, which turned out to be a prolific bloomer, and I did stay on top of them with a little miracle gro. That provided the nice bright spot that I needed in the front. I did spread the shasta daisies around, and I expect they will make a bigger impact next year when they've expanded (which they will..no problem!) Another nice surprise was the towering red Jacob Cline bee balm which I think looked glorious. Also picked up the color with some red daylilies in there.

So next, year--may try the dark purple salvia instead of the heliotrope. Overall I think a good year. And very low maintenance. I think except for the annuals I only had to water a handful of times... I moved the catmint father toward the middle, and away from the front, as everyone suggested, and that worked out just right because they got to show their stuff in early spring before the rest of the perennials started towering over them early summer. And by then they were fading. Thanks everyone for all the ideas! And thanks for encouraging me to stick with my original plan, but just add some more colors. I think it's working. More on dahlias later...