What's up plant lovers? I'm Devin Walleen and today I want to take a look at this beautiful
garden bed that I have right here, this raised bed. This was the first garden that I planted up
when I moved here four years ago. So I've had a couple questions about this garden, how I've
filled it out, how I've created a really nice dense coverage of the ground so that I can avoid
putting mulch each year, and how I kind of played with different textures and basically how I
combined all the different plants. So let's take a look at this beautiful garden bed. Now I'm here
in Westchester, Pennsylvania, zone 6B, and this is a southern facing garden bed. South would be this
way, so it really gets nice, full, intense sun all summer long. I never irrigate this bed, so I had to
choose a lot of very drought tolerant plants. So after I totally cleared it of everything that was
growing here before I moved in, the first thing I did was I selected a few different plants that I
wanted to be kind of the main players of this garden bed. And because it is in so much hot sun
especially radiating off of the white walls, I went with some bearded iris, iris germanica
as well as some lavender in particular. This is phenomenal lavender. And then I went with
a variety of different sedum stone crops. I planted out these trays that had all of these
mixes of different kinds of sedums grown together, something that my family actually grows and sells
through our nursery. And then I planted those all in this garden bed. And those were the very first
things that I planted along with a big, beautiful butterfly bush in the background, which kind of
really holds that corner against the wall. I actually have three different colors of buddleia
in that clump and I have them growing together so that I get a nice mixture of red, white, and blue
And I also went with a bunch of different colors of iris. I think it's a lot more fun to have
a variety of different colored irises rather than just one single color. And they all have a little
bit different height levels of the foliage and the flowers so it gives a lot of good interest
Once I had those planted kind of around the very front of it I started going in with those sedum Basically they are these trays with a bunch of different kinds of sedum and a little bit of ice plant And I just cut them into little squares and I just planted them all around the base of those iris around the lavender all throughout the bed And over the last three
years, it has really filled out, providing a lovely dense texture of different kinds of sedums
different flower colors, different foliage colors, different heights. And so it has this nice kind
of flowing energy about it. And that was really the impetus behind the sedum is because as it does
get so much hot intense sun and I don't irrigate, I needed something that would provide a really
thick dense coverage that would act like a living mulch, like a green mulch. And that is what the
sedum does. But I also wanted to add a little bit more interest by putting in a couple different
kinds of dianthus in particular. They've just finished flowering, but this is a vivid dianthus
as well as another, I think it's like a peach pie dianthus
that also have a really thick, dense coverage. And then not only does it keep the moisture trapped in
it will keep the weeds at bay as well. So providing that sort of mixture of different ground covers
that kind of thread together, work together, that don't out-compete one another
that really is the secret to creating a nice, lush, green garden floor
which then your other perennials can sort of erupt out of, including these iris
Journeying through life, it's a lot like tending to a garden. There can be many unexpected twists
and turns along the way. One day you go out, your roses look beautiful
The next day you find pests have munched right through them. And just like creating a beautiful garden
personal growth is a long-term process that requires effort and observation, patience, self-reflection
But when things come our way that we really weren't expecting, it can make us feel overwhelmed and oftentimes immobilized
But if we can just find a way to put one foot forward, we can start to see that change, that positive change taking place
But none of it can really be accomplished on our own. To tend to a garden correctly, you need to have the right tools
And when it comes to personal growth, one of the best tools out there is speaking to a professional therapist
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therapy. So once those initial plants started to take off, I did have some empty gaps that I needed
to fill. And so to include some different sorts of textures and different flower colors, I decided
to add in these beautiful Veronica royal candles, which give this nice vertical flowers in this rich
purple. It also has a nice ground coverage about it. And then behind it, a few different kinds of
Akalea yarrow. I have some white ones, some red ones, some yellow ones in different heights. So
you have some beautiful repetition in the kinds of like, you know, the repetition from the same
genus, but different cultivars, different varieties within that genus really provide a nice
interest. Just like the stone crop and with the yarrow, it really sort of works well when you do
it like that. And then in the back, you can see I have a limelight hydrangea, which is really going
to fill out that middle section. It's a little bit younger plant. It's only two years old
so it really hasn't met its full capacity yet. That should be a nice specimen for the back
section of this flower bed. But as you can see, I still have a little bit of ground coverage to
fill out. So I did recently plant a little bit more sedum, but I also planted some lovely small
Allium, I think they're Allium Chicago something or other. And that's also going to provide just a
little bit of a different flower color, a little bit of a different flower shape, but it stays short
so that it doesn't block the view of the limelight hydrangea. And it also is going to play well with
the iris and the other perennials that I have growing. And it was really important for me to
cover this wall. I didn't want to just have a blank white wall. So I planted two different kinds
of clematis on this I think it's called Victor Hugo I'm not sure and then an unmarked blue
clematis as well to just provide a little bit more interest going up this wall that be a nice backdrop for that limelight once that limelight starts to flower as well And this variegated holly was the only thing that I left from the original planting
scheme that the previous homeowners had in this garden bed because it did kind of block the
underside of the deck. So I figured beautiful evergreen that will allow it'll just hide out
the ugly section of underneath the deck. So if I counted on my hand how many different kinds of
plants I have, I really have, I have like two kinds of dianthus. I have a lavender, I have yarrow
iris, hydrangea, those veronica, the buddleia, the clematis, ice plant, did I say stone crop
the sedum, and the allium. So I really only have like 10 kinds of plants, but there's a lot of
beautiful repetition. All of these plants, they have really thick, dense coverage, and the ones
that don't like the limelight that doesn't really cover the ground, I do put the ground covers around
it. And by choosing a smaller plant palette, but maybe some variety, some variation amongst a single
type of plant, mixing them together, having that sort of repetition, but also having some different
kinds of flower colors. That's how you can create a very interesting, unique garden bed like I've
created here in this. And I would say I'm pretty happy with this. You know, being the first garden
bed that I created at this home, I would say, you know, I give it a pretty good score. So
hopefully you found this video helpful, inspirational, and give you a few different
ideas on how you can create a really nice, thick, dense coverage that is interesting
throughout the year. You know, I have a couple, the sedum and that holly are evergreen all year
around. So it really does provide some interest throughout the year. Different flowers at different
times of the year. The dianthus bloom early. Then the iris, the yarrow is just starting up. The
lavender will be here soon. The clematis is right now. The royal spires, veronica, right now. So I do
sort of try to get a little bit of variation in when things are blooming so that there's always
something going on here in this garden bed. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe
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content every single week. Thanks for joining me here on Plant Vibrations. I'll catch you soon. Ciao