SEEKING FLOWER BED ADVICE

I need a little help today with my front flower beds. 

Our front beds had been neglected for a loooong time, like I'm embarrassed to say how long, so I won't, but when we suddenly had the never-ending Spring Break, we got after it! We pulled out a gazillion weeds, cut back bushes, washed the front windows, even trenched part of the bed. When it was finally cleaned out and spruced up, we spread 25 bags of mulch. (I can still smell it.) :)

What we didn't do, was plant anything. It was such a task to clean it up, we decided not to plant anything until the fall. And as you know, fall is fast approaching. So I'm hoping those of you who are gardeners can help me figure out what to plant in one part of the bed.

This is the front right corner of our house, in front of our garage. In this shot, the brick isn't washed yet and all the new mulch isn't in. But it's cleaned up, and waiting for something pretty to be planted, preferably something that blooms that I could cut from each year. 

Because of the path of the sun, this area gets no morning sun. It stays shaded, depending on the time of the year, until lunch time or after. Then it gets full sun for a few hours. Our trees are really tall, so most of this spot and our drive is in full shade by late afternoon, say around 4 or 5 o'clock, give or take an hour or so, again depending on the time of year. The sun moves from the back left corner to the front right corner, diagonally over the house. Years ago there were azalea bushes here, and they did really well. I'm open to any suggestions, but I would love it to be low maintenance. The depth is around 3 - 4 feet from the house to the monkey grass. 

Okay, it's your turn! 

I'm hoping those of you with more expertise than me can help a girl out. 

You could email your suggestions to woodbanklane@gmail.com, or you can leave a comment below. If you've never commented before, here's a quick explanation.

Look for this at the bottom of the post:

 

Click on "No comments" or there may be a number if someone has already commented. It would look like this, "4 comments."

Then you can choose how you want to leave your comment. You can use a Google account or you can comment anonymously, which is the easiest, and sign your name or not! That's it. 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Kathryn

LIFE AROUND THE LANE: JULY

Well, that's it for July. That month went by way too fast!

Starting this month's Life Around the Lane with these gorgeous limelight hydrangeas that finally bloomed at my high school. I've been "sneaking" them for my house for a couple of years now.

I bought this summer dress (in the orange stripe) to take with me on our weekend trip to Mobile Bay when my son got engaged at the beginning of the month. Wish I had about ten of them. It's really cool and comfortable when I have to be out in this crazy hot and humid summer heat.

Speaking of traveling, this is the travel set that I'm using these days for the few places we've had to go. Really pleased with how well the bottles fit in my travel cosmetic bag.

And speaking of summer heat, I found this racer back tank for exercising. It's a thinner material and with a sports bra, it's not hot and perfect for an evening walk. If you like a larger fit, order up one size.

I'm still picking up a few things here and there to make life in the kitchen easier, and this month I ordered this lettuce keeper. I usually keep my lettuce in a zip lock bag. Now there won't be a wasted bag with each head of lettuce. I should have bought this years ago.

I ordered this organic bath bomb set for part of a hostess gift. The wrapped soap and the packaging
was really pretty.

I meant to tell you last month about these soap dispensers. They add a little pizzazz to your sinks. :-)  I've been refilling these vs. buying bottle after plastic bottle.

This book is next up on my reading list. Have you read it?

We visited the Barber's Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama. Wasn't that sweet of me to go with my husband? But the truth is, I loved it. I like museums of any kind. I had no idea what to expect, and I was impressed. I'm thinking about doing an entire post about it, so I'll just give you a glimpse for now. These look like toys, but they are life-size.

And finally this month, I started working in my classroom. I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous about going back to school in person, but I also can't think of any place I'd rather be. I hope you'll go ahead and start praying for all of us in education and our precious students as we venture into unknown territory.

Alright, August! I'm ready for you.

FRIDAY'S FIVE

My summer Fridays are running out, but I'm okay with that. Pretty much can't wait to have some type of regular schedule. Hopefully one day soon, teachers everywhere will find out what that will look like. I hope your weekend is off to a great start. Here are five links for you to explore. See you next week!

ONE

Probably the prettiest laundry room I've ever seen from Gwen, The Makerista. This is such a great before and after.

TWO

The portfolio of designers Huff-Dewberry in Atlanta, Georgia, lots of gorgeous inspiration.

THREE

A One Room Challenge reveal for all the color lovers out there from Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles.

FOUR

Summer recipe suggestions from Southern Living.

FIVE

Did you know Amazon had an overstock outlet? Neither did I!! How cute are these placemats? $5.33 for four. :-)

Hope you enjoyed the five links....