What plants to put in a large flower bed?

I just moved to a new house and there is a very large flower bed in an "L" shape on my corner and I want to plant something there after I fix it up.. I need something easy that will come back year after year. If it is a flowering plant I would prefer it have bloom all summer. I am on a busy neighborhood st. so I would also like it to be a "neat" and pleasing looking arrangement.. Something fairly low maintenance. Any suggestions? I live in the north east.

What plants to put in a large flower bed?
The best plant for your area will also need to take into consideration what soil type you have, soil pH, amount of water available and how much sun. Local advice is often a good thing, or check with your state extension service for a list of plants that do particularly well in your state.





One possibility that's pretty adaptable is 'Stella d'Oro' daylily:


http://landscaping.about.com/od/perennia...





Personally, and depending on how much room you've got, I'd be pretty bored with yellow daylilies all summer long, so I'd probably add a couple of small trees with interesting spring flowers and winter bark. e.g.: http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pd...





Or if you'd like folks to not cut across your property, some rugosa roses might be a good bet:


http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/shrubselect...


Not only are they hardy, they positively resent pesticides and fertilizer. Leave them alone (except for pruning) and they're delighted! http://oldheirloomroses.com/Rugosa.htm
Reply:no perennial will bloom all summer but you can plant a few things that will bloom for a long time and one after another.


For late summer and into fall you can't beat black-eyed susans and cone-flowers.


You should also think of layering ie shorter plants in the front , medium in the middle and taller at the back.


for the front and shorter plants I love the perennial geranium also called cranesbill. They are lovely and have a nice leaf and come in many colours. Also columbines are lovely.





For the middle I love veronica spicata which has a purple plume.





something else i have just thought of thast blooms for a long time is called spiderwort. Each bloom lasts one day but it does continue for a long ,long time. They are really pretty.


If you have some shady spots you should do some hosta.





I would also make sure to get some artemesia which is a lovely silver colour. It doesn't really have flowers but the leaves are nice and pretty and silver and it looks stunning.





hope these are helpful ideas
Reply:I suggest you go to your local professional garden spot and ask for advice there. You will be able to look that the plants that are most pleasing to you and get advice on how to care for them.
Reply:You can plant rhodo's . they flower in spring and heather is nice, i do believe it flowers in summer as well. Lilacs are nice and all 3 of these are low maintanence and look very nice. You could also plant a hydrangia depending on how alcaline or acid your soil is the flowers can range from a brilliant blue to a purple.all of these come back every year as do peonies. i hope this helps you in chosing your plants.
Reply:We had the following and they were so pretty that people would drive by just to look at them:





http://www.jacksonandperkins.com/gifts/s...





Be sure to follow directions that will come with the roses.