• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • Preserve the Harvest
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Indoor Herb Gardening
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Perennial Combinations

April 6, 2009 by Jeanne

As you can image, with temperatures soaring near 70 and bright sunny skies, I was out in the garden for many hours. On Saturday, we finished off “the boat” as we now call the long octagonal flower bed in the back of the house. John fussed more with the underground sprinkler line. I think it’s fine, but he’s not satisfied with the connector to the house. We’re trying to get the backyard done so that the patio can be finished. I’m super excited about that, not just because we get another outdoor living space that overlooks the back fields and woods, but because John mentioned to the electrician who came to bid on the job that we are going to put a pond into the little flower garden. I’ve wanted a pond forever! We found a natural-looking fountain at Lowe’s last year, so we are going to wait until the fall when hopefully it will go on sale. We planted more shrubs into the perennial garden and walked the property, noting the next projects to work on while we replenished the soil in the bare patches on the lawn.

The biggest project by far was finishing the front beds in front of the porch. What looked like a simple job of digging a few holes for azaleas and perennials turned into a pick axe and many smashed fingers. We’d both forgotten that the area near the foundation of a house is always packed with hard pan, clay and gravel from construction. Poor perennials. At least today they are getting watered!

I designed a perennial combination right by the front steps that I think will be lovely once it fills in. I used aalvia “May Night” in the back, and planted some rich dark pink dianthus in front, along with lighter pink phlox. I like how the dark blue-purple flowers and gray-green leaves of the salvia look with the textures and colors of the dianthus. The deer ate the flowers right off of my phlox last year in the perennial garden, but this close to the front steps I doubt they’ll find it. I planted something new with blue, star-shaped flowers whose name escapes me. I’ll have to pop outside and look at the tag. If it wasn’t pouring rain, I’d take a few photos of the perennial combination too and post them. Maybe tomorrow….

In the vegetable garden, carrot seeds went in this weekend.  I’ll wait another week or two, then direct sow the seeds. The onions continue to thrive, and the radishes too. The spinach is rapidly overtaking both the Swiss chard and broccoli rabe in terms of growth, but the lettuce is already looking a bit peaked. The strawberries are really runnning wild, but more poor blueberries are dry, brittle sticks. Ah well. Learning to garden in a new area always takes time. Gardeners need a lot of things. Rain, sun, time and patience among others!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Inspiring Stories
Next Post: Top 5 Cool Weather Vegetables »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Explore All Gardening Articles

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

a closeup of beet greens

Winter Raised Bed Gardens

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Disclosure

Home Garden Joyo participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy.

Footer

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

If you’re thinking about building a vegetable garden this year, raised beds are one of the best ways I know of to start a vegetable garden. Instead of renting a rototiller or hand-digging the soil, adding amendments and turning it all under to create a good garden bed, you start with the best soil mixture…

Read More

henbit close up

Henbit: Plant Profile

I’ve put together this henbit plant profile to spotlight a lovely plant – which many gardeners consider a weed. Weed or flower? To me, it’s a matter of perspective. Every spring, at least one of my raised beds is covered in a thick mat of henbit. Henbit is both lovely and practical despite being labeled…

Read More

fresh beets from the garden on the lawn after being washed

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Organic Beets

I wrote this Ultime Guide to Growing Beets to share my techniques for growing tasty, organic beets. Beets are a powerhouse of nutrition. Both the beetroot and the leaves and stems are edible. You can also can beets and beet greens to store them for year-round use. Here, I share with you a full guide…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme