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My flower beds this year have been a lesson in humility. I planted too much - including too many sunflowers - in the two spaces, resulting in overcrowding. This in spite of having too much rain (not my fault) which killed several of the sunflowers. (Both beds have excellent drainage. There were just too many days with a lot of rain. Some of the sunflowers got waterlogged and rotted in the middle.)
However, one advantage of planting multiple varieties of flowers is that because they bloom at different times I have been feeding the birds and the bees pretty steadily for a couple of months. I still see bumblebees and honey bees around the newer blossoms. The ground is littered with sunflower seed hulls, as well. (Last year I had one truly enormous sunflower, which a squirrel would raid by going on my roof, down onto the awning over the back door then onto the back of that bloom, which was turned almost straight down. The squirrel would then reach around underneath and pluck the seeds.)
The decorative vines I planted are trying to take over, and have actually harmed some of the medium-sized plants. Which were already crowding out the smallest plants.
A neighbor suggested a border around the larger bed and I think I'll probably add one in late Summer or Fall. The smaller bed already has a stacked rock border, but it could be built up, too. Then I'll cover everything in the larger bed with fresh soil and start over.
However, one advantage of planting multiple varieties of flowers is that because they bloom at different times I have been feeding the birds and the bees pretty steadily for a couple of months. I still see bumblebees and honey bees around the newer blossoms. The ground is littered with sunflower seed hulls, as well. (Last year I had one truly enormous sunflower, which a squirrel would raid by going on my roof, down onto the awning over the back door then onto the back of that bloom, which was turned almost straight down. The squirrel would then reach around underneath and pluck the seeds.)
The decorative vines I planted are trying to take over, and have actually harmed some of the medium-sized plants. Which were already crowding out the smallest plants.
A neighbor suggested a border around the larger bed and I think I'll probably add one in late Summer or Fall. The smaller bed already has a stacked rock border, but it could be built up, too. Then I'll cover everything in the larger bed with fresh soil and start over.
