My Unfavorite Spot, June 23

Today, I’d like to write about my UNfavorite spot, the sunset bed. I named it so because it receives the late afternoon to sunset light and because the flowers are in shades of red, orange, and yellow. I planted it with goblin gaillardia, cardinal flower, red daylilies, and assorted true lilies last spring. Then, I waited for it to fill in.

The plants haven’t done so well. The first problem is the aspect. The wall faces north-west, so the plants crane their necks for sun most of the day and are then blasted with heat and light in the late afternoon. Only the daylilies flourish in such extremes. The afternoon sun is too harsh for even a drought tolerant plant like gaillardia; it was burned into oblivion. I mercifully moved the cardinal flowers. The true lilies tolerate the conditions, but are leaning dreadfully.

The second problem is our ever-present clay soil. Although this is a “real” flowerbed, with a poured concrete curb, the ground does not appear to have been cultivated. It is thick, sticky, orange clay. One corner appears to have been the dumping place for ash from the old coal furnance. I’ve amended the soil, but even so, the clay is gluey when wet and rock-hard when dry. The lilies appear to be suffering from the lack of drainage.

The final problem is the house gutters. The drainpipe on the northwest corner of the house is often overwhelmed (despite Mike’s best dredging efforts) and the water spills out of the gutters and into the flowerbed, further compounding the clay’s poor drainage.

I’m having a terrible time getting anything to grow here, but this is a spot that needs vegetation to soften the stark cement foundation and white siding. For the current season, I have planted a few annuals (nasturtium, California poppies, and sunflowers) to fill in the blank spots, but they are not flourishing. This fall, I’m considering a total overhaul by planting shrubs (Ribes sanguineum and yellow butterfly bush) and ornamental grass (zebra). I am hoping that they will provide me with the height and hardiness that the perennials I have used so far lack.

Presently, the sunset bed is the wart on my landscape. I try not to look at it when I'm in the back yard. I only enjoy it from the other side of the pictured window, when the late afternoon light casts a pink glow into our guest room.