More Flower Beds = Less Mowing
My husband doesn't particularly enjoy mowing the lawn. I understand - I don't either. It's boring and hot and tiring. And I don't want a monotonous expanse of green as a backyard. We have clover, thistle, cattails, dandelions, and other weeds I can't identify growing out there, but not much grass. (I think the random assortment of plants is one of the reasons rabbits love our yard.)
So I have an idea to make this better for both of us: more flower beds! :)
Right now we only have flower beds lining the sidewalk up to our house. That's where you can see the Black-Eyed Susans and hibiscus. That leaves both sides and the back of the house open for some flower bed business! Here's the first area, right behind the sunroom:
Not too exciting.
I'm being picky about the plants for this bed. They have to be native to the eastern US, pretty (in my subjective opinion), perennial, and easy to care for. Basically, I want to put in the time and effort picking out pretty plants that should be living here anyway so that I don't have to work hard to take care of them. And perennials should come back next year, so I won't have to repeat this process anytime soon ;)
Here are some of my plant ideas:
Phlox: It's on the shorter side, so I hope to plant it in front of something else.
Coneflower: This checks all my boxes and attracts butterflies!
Anise Hyssop: Gorgeous, the finches in Margaret's yard love it, and apparently some people crumble the flowers over fruit salad? Hmm . .
Milkweed: Lovely, and good for bees and butterflies.
False Dragonhead: I love how bright pink the flower is, and those colorful leaves.
Anyone else hate mowing? What flowers do you love?
So I have an idea to make this better for both of us: more flower beds! :)
Right now we only have flower beds lining the sidewalk up to our house. That's where you can see the Black-Eyed Susans and hibiscus. That leaves both sides and the back of the house open for some flower bed business! Here's the first area, right behind the sunroom:
I'm being picky about the plants for this bed. They have to be native to the eastern US, pretty (in my subjective opinion), perennial, and easy to care for. Basically, I want to put in the time and effort picking out pretty plants that should be living here anyway so that I don't have to work hard to take care of them. And perennials should come back next year, so I won't have to repeat this process anytime soon ;)
Here are some of my plant ideas:
Phlox: It's on the shorter side, so I hope to plant it in front of something else.
Coneflower: This checks all my boxes and attracts butterflies!
Anise Hyssop: Gorgeous, the finches in Margaret's yard love it, and apparently some people crumble the flowers over fruit salad? Hmm . .
Milkweed: Lovely, and good for bees and butterflies.
False Dragonhead: I love how bright pink the flower is, and those colorful leaves.
Anyone else hate mowing? What flowers do you love?
(clicking on the links will take you to the source of the flower pictures and info)
linking up with Frugal by Choice
I think it's a brilliant idea...assuming you prefer weeding to having hubby mow! lol
ReplyDeleteVery true! Wedding the front bed (about the same size as this one will be) usually only takes about 5 minutes a week though. As long as I catch the weeds while they're small, they don't bug me :)
DeleteI do all the mowing and weeding so this is my project for next year...I am going to spend the winter drawing up plans (just for fun) and see what I can implement in the Spring.
ReplyDeleteOoh, fun! I can't wait to see what you think up :) And speaking of spring, that reminds me that I need to figure what I'm doing this fall and what should wait until spring . .
DeleteOur goal was to eliminate all grass. The front yard is all perennials, and the backyard is getting there. The bees love our sunflowers, and Joe Pye Weed, as well as Butterfly Weed.
ReplyDeleteI love that idea! I bet it's pretty :)
Delete