A Re-do Required

During this time of waiting, while it rains or snows daily and is too cold to work outdoors, I looked through photographs taken over the past year.  It has become obvious  that the Front Garden is just not acceptable.  Oh, there are late-June and July days that it looks pretty good, but there are bare spots even then.  I think it needs a re-do, a makeover to give it structure, or “bones.”  Here’s how the garden looks today:    How could I not notice how bleak it is?  I rarely use the front door, but that’s really no excuse.  It’s just poor, poor planning.  I won’t even use the word “design.”  Here’s it is at the end of March last year, filling in and greening up, but still lackluster despite the first daffodils.    And here’s how it looked mid-April.    Nasty bare spot at the bottom right, and the ugly electric meter in the far corner detract from the beauty of the tulips.  I’m wondering if I’m allowed to plant something in front of the meter to screen it now that the “meter man” just drives by and points a reading device at it.  Gone are the days when they actually came up the driveway, walked to the meter and recorded the numbers.  But, I digress…..  By mid-June, the annuals are spreading a bit  and the daylilies are beginning to add lots of color.  It needed more height in the center, but the two clumps of tall Oriental lilies certainly aren’t the answer.    Late July is probably this garden’s best show, but it goes downhill fast after that.  Once all the daylilies are gone the zinnias have to carry the load, and last year’s tall zinnias were disappointing.  And, as soon as frost grips the annuals, it’s back to photo 1.  For months….and months.

I’m thinking of adding evergreens, maybe a half-circle from one inside shutter to the other, and another grouping of 3 boxwood balls on the right side to mimic the left ones.  However, right now, the boxwoods are looking rather beige.  It’s been a very, very harsh winter, and they probably should have been wrapped in burlap.  Wouldn’t that have added greatly to the loveliness?  An upright evergreen to screen that meter corner, if I’m allowed might help and I’m pondering planting one of the tree roses in the back center, within the new low half-circle of shrubbery, maybe yew?  All the plants now in that small half-circle will need to be removed, and I think I’ll keep it clear except for a planting of lily tulips.  And I’d remove the front fringe of sod (which I have to clip by hand anyway so it’s a bother) and plant even more annuals (all the little black dots represent various annuals and low-growing perennials) along the sidewalk.  So, it would look something like this:    Or, is the giant Smiley face even worse?????  Maybe a solar fountain would be better in the center.  Or a tree hydrangea?  The garden faces east by the way.  Suggestions?

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