Need some ideas

[seedcorn]

Journey, if you want to add some color to the rocks, try Adam' needles (dont know correct name) or iris's. they grow well under any dry conditions. Poor man's cactus.

 

[Nyboy]

May your new house bring your family years of health and happiness. One of the problems with mailbox planting is being able to water. I have daylillies around mine. They are cheap, fll in and crowd out weeds and are tough!! Ps I think everyone should send you something for their gardens as a house warming gift.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Jared, something to keep in mind if you are in the snowbelt and they treat your road with salt during the winter months. you want a few plants that can tolerate excess salt from spray and runoff. the roses should tolerate it. but also remember your mail person and you have to access the box, so try to find low growing roses. you mentioned the knock outs and i think those stay low growing.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I like your idea of phlox. Creeping phlox, garden phlox and I like the sedum idea: very hardy. I also like the clematis idea, the daylilly idea and all the other ideas. You can't go wrong! Like seedcorn mentioned, chances are, once you plant something, you may change your mind. Nothing is permanent in gardening. I have told my plants before, "don't get too comfortable there!"

Congrats on your new house and best wishes for moving weekend!

 

[bj taylor]

how exciting for you! congratulations! a great dilemma to have.
I don't know zone 5 so well, so can't make much in the way of specific ideas. just some considerations to think of...
1. roses are being increasingly attacked by a virus called rose rosette. knock out roses are not exempt. it is fatal & contagious.
2. knock outs here get 5-7 ft high and wide. that might be a lot of rose to surround a mail box that has to be approached every day.
3. maybe look for plants w/little to no scent that would attract a lot of stinging insects,
4. if you live in venomous snake country, plant things that won't provide a big snake habitat
5. unless you already have great soil - amend the soil with a lot of organic matter before any plants go in. mulch very well to conserve moisture (unless you get a lot of rain) & hold down weeds (or make them easier to pull).
6. choose plants that can reach their full size without you feeling you need to keep trimming them back (to keep labor to a minimum)

again, really happy for you!

 

[catjac1975]

When I began my garden I would take notice of what was blooming in other landscapes and try to get those plants. This way I always have something in bloom.

 

[journey11]

Journey, if you want to add some color to the rocks, try Adam' needles (dont know correct name) or iris's. they grow well under any dry conditions. Poor man's cactus.

Adam's needles...are those the plants that make large, tall, white flower spikes? That might be an option... I need something shallow rooted that can deal with the underlying gravel. Thanks for the idea!

 

[so lucky]

Journey, if you want to add some color to the rocks, try Adam' needles (dont know correct name) or iris's. they grow well under any dry conditions. Poor man's cactus.

Adam's needles...are those the plants that make large, tall, white flower spikes? That might be an option... I need something shallow rooted that can deal with the underlying gravel. Thanks for the idea!

They are yuccas. Just keep in mind that once established, they are next to impossible to get rid of. If you dig them out, a one inch piece of root left behind will sprout when you least expect it to. Kinda like mint, but with swords for leaves.

 

[seedcorn]

Journey, if you want to add some color to the rocks, try Adam' needles (dont know correct name) or iris's. they grow well under any dry conditions. Poor man's cactus.

Adam's needles...are those the plants that make large, tall, white flower spikes? That might be an option... I need something shallow rooted that can deal with the underlying gravel. Thanks for the idea!

They are yuccas. Just keep in mind that once established, they are next to impossible to get rid of. If you dig them out, a one inch piece of root left behind will sprout when you least expect it to. Kinda like mint, but with swords for leaves.

In gravel, I've found them easy to control but could see where they could be challenging in loams.

 

[thistlebloom]

When I lived in So Cal we bought an old fixer upper on an acre populated with yucca. I hate the stuff. Not that I want to discourage anybody from planting it, I just had such a bad experience. The wild stuff has BIG needles that poke handily through shoes and gloves and can get infected.

The stuff is hard to get close enough to to dig up, impossible to shred, and wont burn until it dries out for a veeerrry long time.
I had several piles the size of a pickup. I didn't notice it coming back from the roots though. A small mercy.

It baffled me to see it for sale in nurseries.

Okay, rant over .