My fence side bed

I finally got a chance to weed and mulch the side fence bed.  The bed is now officially three years old.  Here's how it is doing:




Roses

The roses are starting to take off.  This Double Red knockout looks beautiful, and the Sunny Knock out is starting to fill out as well.  I always feel like year three is when roses really start to grow.  My plan with these roses is to let them get large, without a whole lot of trimming.  I have always pruned the back porch ones a couple of times a year, but these I have plenty of space to fill.

Veronica Georgia Blue

The Veronica Blue beside them are also growing -- way more than I would have expected for a perennial.  

Pride of Barbados

Unfortunately, none of the Pride of Barbados' from last year have reappeared :o(  I transplanted four new little guys.  Two are doing well, one not so much. I'd really like to get these guys big enough to winter over, but we'll see.

Purple Oxalis and American Beautyberry

The Beautyberry is limping along. In last year's cold, all of the leaves and branches died, but new shoots came up in the spring. This year, I was able to keep it alive over the winter, so hopefully we will see some growth here.  And the new Oxalis beside it is doing well.  The Phlox planted in front of the bird bath never did come back after being eaten by something last spring.

Lamb's Ear

And the lamb's ear I planted this year has really taken off and grown. I think this is a really nice place for it, with morning sun and afternoon shade.


Plumbago

My plumbago made it through another winter.  It isn't very large, but it is alive.  We'll see if I can get it big enough over the summer to make it through another winter.

The purple heart continue to be a favorite snack (of the bunny, I think), but they are starting to grow a bit. The variegated one looks really pretty.

Esperanza Yellow Bells

The esperanza is small, but growing.  I expect it to do similar to last year, getting two to three feet high with a couple of blooms.  You can see my foxglove blooming behind it, and the 

Salvia Farinacea Henry Duelberg

The purple saliva I purchased from Home Depot last year has a bunch of black spots on the leaves.  I think this is from all of the rain we have been having. It does have a few blooms, but it doesn't look all that impressive :o(  Maybe as temperatures warm up, the black spot will diminish.

Salvia Gregii

This transplant is doing so well!  It has had some blooms, but mostly, it just looks lush and healthy.

Foxglove
(or is it larkspur?)  Whatever it is, it did live after the transplant.  It also has some black spot, but my goal is too keep it alive over the summer, and see what it does next year.