Renewing the Front Bed for the 4th of July

It's hard to believe that it's been five years since we moved to South Hollow. The front walk plantings have struggled for years with construction debris and rocks prohibiting their growth, blizzards that caused all the snow of the driveway to be dumped upon the adjacent shrubs, and a lack of rain during drought (despite my waterings) and a surfeit of rain during the several hurricanes we have weathered.  The "final straw" was the landscaper taking a hedge trimmer to the small-leaved ivy that I have cared for when it was broken by piles of snow and ice and pruned carefully when it was actually growing to preserve a natural look.  When the landscaper was done with his trim, it looked like a topiary mushroom top--and I had endured enough. 

When my son visited recently, he dug it out--easily. It was still in its root ball after five years.  I bought a Gold Thread Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea'--approved by the Landscape Committee as a shrub that will grow here.  We shall see.  Its advantages are a golden color all year and a soft, threadlike foliage texture.  I added some daylilies Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' which reflect the yellow and green of the cypress.

 

The Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia 'Goldilocks' and the Euphorbia graminea 'Diamond Frost' in the planter mimic the color and texture of the cypress.  The Tango Pink Splash Bravo geraniums and the Diascia hybrid Flying Colors 'Trailing Antique Rose' add a splash of complementary color to the scene.  The 'Rhythm and Blues' petunias on the other side of the planter add contrast.  All in all, it's a much more pleasing welcome to the front porch.

 

On the front step another planter holds Fidelity Dark Red 'Samba' geraniums and a hummingbird whirligig which my granddaughter loves to touch. She also likes to watch the wind blow the American flag which has been there since Memorial Day, through Flag Day on June 14th, and now salutes the Fourth of July this week.