Driveway Bed 1- Report #1- 2026

Since it was cloudy/rainy all day today I was able to get a picture of this cleaned-up garden space while it is all in the same light.

Just for comparison, here is that space in June of last year.



And in June of 2024 when I first started cleaning it up and seeing if I could do something with it without spending money. I did sketch out a plan and used flagging tape to deliniate some spaces (you can see that in the picture above). I've mostly been sticking with that general idea.

Some serious progress has been made. I've spent $1 on one plant that is alive, and $10 on another that is dead. That was my own fault. I really thought it was not hardy here, but the tag said it was, so I gave it another shot. Nope. Dead in spring. Everything else has been free.

The orange stakes are holding two wire cages in place. They are protecting (I hope) wild orpine which has only managed to bloom for me twice because the deer ate it down to nothing. Perhaps it will live long enough to flower now that it's in prison.

This is where the purple iris bloomed this spring, and a bunch of daffodils. It's where the deep purple meadow sage is. Partly by design and partly because it's what I have, the primary color in this garden is going to be blues and purples. Right now, three plants in that scheme are blooming at the same time. I moved some of the blue globe campanula over here. I thought they would like more sun. Not sure if they do, but three of them are blooming. In this shot there is one on the right, with a stalk of the deep purple meadow sage, and a tall stalk of the viper's bugloss with the lighter blue. As I often say, it's just a "weed," but I love it.

The Variegated Artemesia is spreading like crazy, as it does. If the patch gets too aggressive, it's not hard to rip out. It's supposed to get really tall, but mine never does. In fact, I put a few sprigs in the top of the rock garden a couple of weeks ago. The bright yellow on the leaves lightens the area.

I put five of the plants Betsy brought me in here. I'll just share two of those today. She raised them from seed.

This will get quite a lot larger. It's Lemon Balm Melissa officinalis. Native. Can be used to make tea or used as an herb.

And this is Monarda punctata, Horsemint. I'm tickled to have this because it's a native plant I love.

Here's what it will look like when grown.

I'll save the other three. One of them might not make it. Something has already dug it up twice. Now it's got a wire cage.

In other news: It did rain today-- not very much, but enough to keep everything wet. I did a little bit of garden puttering, editing, projects, had a great phone conversation with a friend I don't hear from much.

And spent some time dreaming and making drawings for a garden I'd love to have, but I sure can't make this one happen for nearly free. So far, dreaming, looking at plants on line, and fooling around are free (except for the time). We shall see what happens beyond that.

Oh, I did buy two on-sale annuals to put in a planter with the geranium Betsy brought me. I put that together this morning. You'll see it some time. The geranium isn't blooming yet.

See Driveway Bed 1- Report #1 2025