This year I want to plant some plants around my mailbox area. I am the unlucky person who has everyone's mailbox in my yard. Last year I put mulch down and made kind of a kidney shape from the mailbox to my light post. This year I want to do a beautiful flower garden but am a loss on which flowers to put together there..Does anyone have any suggestions?
Mail box area/ don't know what to do
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Ridgerunner
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I see you are in Indiana. That helps. How much work do you want to put into maintaining it? About how big is it? Are you looking more for bright flowers or more for ground cover?
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Well, I usually go out and weed when my husband mows so I am out there once a week...It is about a foot wide where the light post is then keeps getting bigger. By the mailboxes, it houses 5 mailboxes and I would say is about maybe ten feet?? I had a few ground cover plants by the mailboxes last year and that is all I got to. They had little delicate flowers but were mostly green. I had big plans but just couldn't decide on what would look good..if as it went toward our house the plants should get taller??
digitS'
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A mix of annual plants could be nice - for thru-the-season blooms. Taller zinnias near the mailboxes, snapdragons next. I'd plant petunias for the low flowers here. A little deadheading should give you color for a long season. These all would need a sunny location.
Is this a municipal light post? If it is your own yard light there, Scarlet Runner beans for an annual. I see clematis on things like that sometimes and that could be real pretty but clematis is a perennial and you don't want to risk it just anywhere.
If I may hijack this just a bit -- I'll tell you about a neat little idea I saw for a mailbox where the mail carrier shows up on the sidewalk
. I've wondered about security without using some kind of locking box but these folks just cut the bottom out of a standard mailbox. That's right! the mail dropped down into a box near ground level!!
It seems the resident must have some sheetmetal skills and created a stand for the mailbox that is hollow with the mail falling thru to another box well beyond the reach of someone on the other side of the front yard fence.
Steve
Is this a municipal light post? If it is your own yard light there, Scarlet Runner beans for an annual. I see clematis on things like that sometimes and that could be real pretty but clematis is a perennial and you don't want to risk it just anywhere.
If I may hijack this just a bit -- I'll tell you about a neat little idea I saw for a mailbox where the mail carrier shows up on the sidewalk
. I've wondered about security without using some kind of locking box but these folks just cut the bottom out of a standard mailbox. That's right! the mail dropped down into a box near ground level!!It seems the resident must have some sheetmetal skills and created a stand for the mailbox that is hollow with the mail falling thru to another box well beyond the reach of someone on the other side of the front yard fence
.Steve
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Ridgerunner
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I like zinnias too. If they are at the mail boxes, make sure you get a variety that doesnt get too tall. I really enjoy marigolds too. Those things can add a mass of color, especially later in the season when they create a mound. With both of those, a little dead-heading can make for a long season of color.
Im kind of partial to Shasta Daisies for a plant that will come back every year. They are just easy. The big problem for me is to keep them from taking over.
That brings up another one, Black Eyed Susans. Those things are weeds here. They really come back strong from seeds. I have to keep them mowed around the bed and be pretty ruthless in pulling them out of the bed or they will take over. They even try to grow in my gravel driveway.
Ill mention Lantana also. Its another one that can add some nice color. Further south it can be a perennial but its probably an annual for you.
These may not add anything that colorful, but Ill mention herbs. Basil may get a bit lanky for this area but oregano, sage, and thyme could add something here.
Im kind of partial to Shasta Daisies for a plant that will come back every year. They are just easy. The big problem for me is to keep them from taking over.
That brings up another one, Black Eyed Susans. Those things are weeds here. They really come back strong from seeds. I have to keep them mowed around the bed and be pretty ruthless in pulling them out of the bed or they will take over. They even try to grow in my gravel driveway.
Ill mention Lantana also. Its another one that can add some nice color. Further south it can be a perennial but its probably an annual for you.
These may not add anything that colorful, but Ill mention herbs. Basil may get a bit lanky for this area but oregano, sage, and thyme could add something here.
Jared77
Garden Addicted
I second the Black Eyed Susans those are tough. Purple cone flowers would be something else Id take a look at. Columbine is another one that comes to mind. Another one would be a nice cluster of daylilies, or Garden phlox, Foxglove , or even some roses. Some Hyacinth bulbs and even Crocus would give you some early color till the others came along and the ground was warm enough to put annuals in.
Any of those or a combination of them could give you an anchor to build off of and around with your annuals around, and give you a palate of color to play tying everything together with and color from frost to frost.
Any of those or a combination of them could give you an anchor to build off of and around with your annuals around, and give you a palate of color to play tying everything together with and color from frost to frost.
We put some Morning Glories in around ours a few years ago, and they've been volunteering since. It's just a single mailbox, but it's really pretty with the vines and flowers growing up around it. We do have to keep it trimmed over the door though...or you can't get it open and closed
897tgigvib
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Everyone has some great ideas going polo!
Clematis would be a great perennial climber, as would climbing honeysuckle, and silverlace. cardinal flower is a great species morning glory. Sweet peas would smell great, and yes, there are perennial sweet peas with less aroma. there are a lot of campanulas. those biennial ones would be great. there are pink flowered ...brain fell asleep... brb...baby's breath(!) that would be a mid height filler. Lady's mantle makes a nice rosette, and if you have a shady spot there are lots of huecheras. Zinnias are a grand idea, as are bishops children dahlias from seed. Marigolds come in all sizes, and i really like perennial alyssum as a filler, golden yellow. if you want tons of flowers, primroses really add a lot.
Clematis would be a great perennial climber, as would climbing honeysuckle, and silverlace. cardinal flower is a great species morning glory. Sweet peas would smell great, and yes, there are perennial sweet peas with less aroma. there are a lot of campanulas. those biennial ones would be great. there are pink flowered ...brain fell asleep... brb...baby's breath(!) that would be a mid height filler. Lady's mantle makes a nice rosette, and if you have a shady spot there are lots of huecheras. Zinnias are a grand idea, as are bishops children dahlias from seed. Marigolds come in all sizes, and i really like perennial alyssum as a filler, golden yellow. if you want tons of flowers, primroses really add a lot.
journey11
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Annuals are nice for quick color. Might consider an assortment of some flowering bulbs...lilies, iris, tulips, hyacyinths. Those would be harder to kill, since it is a high-traffic/public area.
