well, is this now a sun bed?

This bed has always been a deep shade bed due to the crepe myrtles on each side. DH would never prune them, ever. Finally this year for some reason, he decided he would do a major prune to see if they'll be pretty like they were years ago. Well, I spent all fall and spring getting nice shade plants for this bed!!! Will this ever be a shade bed again if we keep the myrtles pruned? it's getting full morning and afternoon sun, and I just don't see those myrtles putting out enough foliage to give any shade. btw, east is behind my right shoulder, west is at 10:00 in this picture (if that makes ANY sense)
thanks, need to know if I should get to moving shade lovers and put in brugs!!

LOL! We finally had our big pines thinned out today. My sunny bed has gradually become a mostly shade bed over the last 5 years. I'm sure the shade will be back in another 5. I don't know much about crape myrtles but I bet they will fill back out again before ya know it.

I would build myself a temporary shade cover with pvc pipe and shade cloth, keep planting for the shade and take it down once the trees grow back.

Or tiG, you could always plant some Fruity Pebbles there for a while. Also, there are hundreds of salvias in any color you might want for the next few yrs. :~)

Or better yet, you can dig them up and tuck them into "my" empty shade bed LOL
What all you got growing in there anyways??

LOL!!! molly you sly thing! I do feel like I need to move my hostas, holly ferns, galax and a couple of others. I think I'll just plant brugs in there and be done with it. good, just what I needed, another job :)

Tig,plant some castor beans,they'll get tall quick and shade the plants!

just what i was gonna say, CC.

I have some castor beans going elsewhere, but really didn't want them in this bed. I'm extremely impatient, so I've been out all morning moving the hostas and ferns and I put in brugs, abutilon, agapanthus and more. :)

I could't do that knowing the trees will grow back and it will all have to change again! Too much work and I prefer lazy gardening.

it helped work out some of the frustrations I was feeling this morning:) this summer will give me the info I need about how much the trees will grow back, because he's going to prune them every year now.

Bonnie,

Plant all those extra P. foetida you have. Tie strings to the trees, they will climb and provide shade in no time.

isn't that funny, I thought of doing that today!!!! even though I have sun plants in there for now, it's still a bed that will bake you even at 2 pm. I think I'll do that Tim!

Save a little spot for the blue sky vine, it will do the job also.

good thought!! I did grow the PFs up strings indoors, in fact right now I have Jeanette blooming over the top of the curtain rod!! LOL! that's what gave me the idea.

Your husband did a nice job pruning those. Hopefully he did the pruning before they started to leaf out, like in January. If he did it recently, however, you will be disappointed in these trees this year.

Assuming they aren't damaged by a late pruning, those crepes will grow lightning fast this year.

he did Dave. They are already putting out very good!