Alas, the Knock Out roses are no more. As rosette took down the third planting of these -- supposedly -- disease resistant roses, we need to move on to other options. Since this garden bed is in a very prominent location it will require careful plant selection to duplicate the colorful and fulsome impact of the roses. The most cost effective and lowest maintenance way to achieve that will be with long-season perennials with minimal seasonal infill of annuals. However, in the meantime it certainly looks bare!
The line of white Catmint is still there. In mid-December six old fashioned Peonies were put in as the spring primary plants, although it will be a few years until they are full enough to look “old,” Peonies can live for decades. Immortality Iris, Shasta Daisy and a Russian Sage were transplanted from the fountain bed. Not much for a 22’ x 5’ bed but wait ’til you see the bulbs — hopefully a real spring surprise!
