Main Sunny Bed 2020 Progression

Last year I tried to take more regular pictures of the same view throughout the gardening season.  Here are some progression photos of my main sunny bed, beginning with this photo from March when the bulb foliage was just starting to appear.

In April the 'Royal Raindrops' crabapple trees bloomed beautifully along with various tulips and Euphorbia polychroma.

The 'Medallion' Oriental poppies were the stars in May with Caesar's Brother Siberian iris plus various Alliums and Salvias.

By June my favorite 'Gladiator' Alliums were in peak bloom above the 'April Night' (which obviously didn't bloom in April here) and 'Caradonna' salvia. In future years the newly installed teepee supports will be covered by deep red 'Florentina' climbing roses, which should bloom about this time.

July featured vigorous 'Arabian Night' and 'Purple Haze' dahlias on either side of the quick-growing 'Royal Purple' smoke bush.  I cut it almost to the ground at the end of the season to keep it a manageable size for this area.  In this shot 'Millenium' allium and 'Blue Paradise' phlox were beginning to open.

The 'Berry Awesome' hardy hibiscus at center bloomed in August, with the dahlias continuing their long bloom season and 'Miss Molly' and 'Blue Chip' butterfly bushes adding color as well.  Russian sage and 'Jeanne' phlox are difficult to see in this shot but they were in bloom as well.

Apparently I didn't get a photo from September, but this is the scene in mid-October, a week before an early snowstorm hit.  Because of the quick drop in temperatures, we didn't see much fall color from the trees last year.

I'll end with this view on October 23, 2020, when heavy snow blanketed Spokane before many deciduous trees had time to drop their leaves.  The storm caused widespread damage across town because leafy branches held onto so much snow and many broke.  I was grateful my only broken branches were on a dogwood tree in the southeast corner of my yard.  

As usual, I have plans for changes to this area.  I hope to remove a little more grass across the front to make room for a few more plants - 'Cats's Pajamas' catmint, 'Plum Perfect' roses and more 'Berry Awesome' hibiscus.  I'm also planning to transplant a 'Royal Jubilee' rose to the middle of the bed behind the smoke bush.  'Mini Mauvette' hydrangeas that were planted in 2018 and 'Galaxy Blue' agapanthus planted in 2019 should make a bigger impact in 2021.  It will be exciting to see the progression this coming year as the bed continues to change and mature.