kousa said:Would love to see a pic of your experimental mixed peony bed, Csandt. My beds definitely need improvement.
I know this is not a very helpful photo, so I apologize, but it shows the right-hand portion of the new shrub border. This garden is still in its early stages. I planted the shrubs, liriope, peonies and poppies in 2014 and the butterfly bushes in the summer of 2015. My photos of the peonies and poppies all show individual flowers rather than a garden, because there wasn't much of a satisfying garden then (or now), but I was just glad that those plants were blooming in their first season. The peonies are marked with white 1/2 inch-wide PVC pipes in front of each plant in lieu of a more aesthetically pleasing solution to marking plants.
I spent more time than I had anticipated in the summer of 2015 just beating back the jungle/weeds that took over the garden.
The following photo shows some of the butterfly bushes (still very small). I have not yet planted liriope in this part of the garden but plan to do so as soon as cooler weather comes. The ugly brown stalks contain the poppy seeds (another project). The flat brown items in the back of the garden are huge pieces of cardboard covering the weeded ground until I can plant and/or mulch that part of the garden (yet another project).
