Landscaping: Mailbox Plantings

Replies: 21 Views: 302

Author	Comment
7thDirection Shepherdstown, WV May 14, 2009 11:35 AM	I would like to plant a few plants around my mailbox. I painted the mailbox post cream to match the trim of the house and replaced the original black box with a bronze colored one. I would like to plant a few low growing, spreading plants along with some medium sized plants with interesting foliage with one taller plant or ornamental grass. I'm liking the idea of using plants with white blooms, maybe Sweet Asylum (sp?) for the ground cover... and I would like to plant a few plants with bronzish-purple-red leaves and/or an ornamental grass with a straw color. The area is in full sun for most of the day and I'd prefer hardy, drought-tolerent species, if possible. I am located in Zone 6. Any suggestions? Thanks.
sdkillen Killen, AL (Zone 7a) May 16, 2009 10:53 AM	I had the same situation last years only in Zone 7 some years 8. I planted four different plants at my mailbox to see which would do well. Only two came back and are thriving. Sedium and Guara. I got them from Santa Rosa Gardens. The sedium is doing well but I'm not a fan of the flowers. The guara is doing great and love the flowers. Both need very little water and stand the heat and full sun in my area. The guara is supposed to bloom all summer and mine has deep redish leaves and magenta flowers. Only supposed to get about foot tall. I suggest you go to Santa Rosa Garden web site and look through their plants. Prices are great and plants arrive in great shape and larger than expected. They seem to specialize in drought tolerent plants. Good luck.
Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC (Zone 7b) May 16, 2009 07:15 PM	There are many types of sedum and they are very drought tolerant. I have Autumn Joy.
cue_chik Palm Coast, FL (Zone 9a) May 17, 2009 12:05 PM	mnay people here plant Confederate Jasmine around their mailboxes, its pretty in full bloom, but you'll hafta keep it from swallowing the mailbox entirely
Lynnie6868 (Zone 5b) May 27, 2009 06:43 PM	I have pennisetum karly rose which has purple featherheads from summer till fall, and ruby ribbons which has ruby & green color, and also dwarf fountain grass, which has a beautiful fountain shape & turns a pretty straw color in the fall, and stays that way till spring, then it's green again. I really like them all. You have to search on them to find the right size for your area, I would think you would want a smaller one (some grasses get quite large) mine aren't around my mailbox, but one area is at the end of the driveway and I wanted to be able to see while pulling out. But those should all be fine for your zone. They seem to be pretty hardy & drought tolerant.
flowerjen central, NJ (Zone 6b) May 31, 2009 12:29 PM	As a reminder...if the flowers attract bees the mail carrier does not have to deliver your mail.
dax080 Cedar Rapids, IA (Zone 5a) June 02, 2009 04:06 PM	Here's a clematis - can be contained pretty easily - doesn't seem to attract bees - hardy, just shade the roots. The mailbox does that nicely for mine - Dax View Larger
gardenswede June 02, 2009 10:04 PM	Agree with flowerjen. My husband is a mail carrier, and bees around a mailbox are not appreciated! I also wouldn't choose plants that will grow to obstruct the mailbox or will get so overgrown that they restrict access.
7thDirection Shepherdstown, WV June 04, 2009 09:16 AM	I wound up going to my local garden center and getting two Coleus 'Dipt in Wine,' some Sweet Alyssum and a Leatherleaf Sedge. I'm sorta eh about the way the plantings look though. I have a feeling the soil is too poor for the plants - the only thing that appears to be really happy is the Sedge. The Coleus seem to be okay - I've been watering them a little each day in the morning, but they just look out of place. Too lanky - they are definitely more of a container plant. The Sweet Alyssum were very badly root bound when I took them out of their little trays. I loosened the roots a little and planted them in small groupings (3). The two seem to be 'okay,' but the third died off pretty quickly. Ugh. Luckilly, most of the plants I put in were annuals. I need to spend a little more time on set up. Get some landscape fabric, remulch, etc. I might try again later this summer (depending on how the Coleus and the Alyssum do). I think the grass will be fine, though it doesn't grow very big and I may move it or start over entirely.
Lynnie6868 (Zone 5b) June 08, 2009 07:01 AM	7th I had to replace the soil around my mailbox completely before I could get anything to grow there! I think I used four 40 lb bags of soil, some peat moss, manure....I tried to grow stuff there for 5 years before I did that. now stuff is growing like crazy and I have to move some things...(once I replaced all the soil I totally overplanted the area, thinking SOMETHING'S gotta grow...well everything did and it looks a little schizophrenic out there lol). It gets the sand & salt in the winter here.
huggergirl Columbia City, IN (Zone 5b) June 10, 2009 06:51 AM	Lynnie6868,I like over planted ,and schizophrenic gardens,that could be me too!!! View Larger
Lynnie6868 (Zone 5b) June 10, 2009 08:44 AM	Hugger that is just beautiful! I planted 3 clematis together thinking I'd be lucky to get 1 to grow...well it's a jungle out there lol plus coreopsis & agastache and pansies, which all spread like mad...so I'll be moving stuff when the sun comes back out....been raining here all week. Don't know what to do about the clematis, I don't think I can separate them.
huggergirl Columbia City, IN (Zone 5b) June 10, 2009 04:12 PM	lynnie6868,I too have 3 clematis growing together,I was whinning in another forum about them not performing well, they have been planted for 3-4 yrs they just dont bloom like I think they should,the roots are well shaded,mulched,get afteroon sun.they are getting ready to bloom,they look stupid,I will post a picture of them ,so discusted with them !!
estrail1rider Blacksburg, VA July 17, 2009 07:19 PM	I found several nice looking mailbox planting plans on better homes and gardens website under landscaping. http://www.bhg.com I think but if not then just do a search for better homes and gardens.
flowers_delight Leicester, NC (Zone 8a) August 23, 2009 01:25 PM	I am a lover of ornamental grasses, The switch grass is georgous and gives good looks summer and winter. It is striking green and wavy in summer and looks like a stalk of wheat in winter. The only thing is by around the third year it gets about 7 ft tall and probably 2 and 1/2 ft wide so may cover up your mail box. Now the purple fountain grass is pretty in summer and doesn't get that tall. I has cat tail looking blooms. The thing with ornamental grasses is that you have to cut them back to the ground before next springs sprouts will appear otherwise it will have the dead from the year before mixed in and really take away from the beauty of the grass. Poor soil is not a problem when planting grasses and they tollerate all types of weather.
Lynnie6868 (Zone 5b) August 23, 2009 04:57 PM	I love my ornamental grasses too. I moved the coreopsis & agastache from the mailbox area, it looks much neater there now, just the clematis and some fieldstone and a couple of wishbone flowers.
flowers_delight Leicester, NC (Zone 8a) August 25, 2009 11:28 AM	well I'm in zone 6 to 8 so not sure of 5 zone, thinking that is a hotter zone than mine. Sounds like you have it under control and have picked the perfect blends. Around a small area such as mailboxes I would think the simpler design the better to keep it maintained. Good luck! Bet it looks great just like it is.
flowers_delight Leicester, NC (Zone 8a) August 27, 2009 10:39 AM	sd killen, Santa Rosa sounds like the site for me. I have ordered from catalogs and in return received sticks that died lol. Never heard of quara but sounds like something every gardener should have some of. You are just a couple of states away and the zone is similar so might just grow here too. Thanks for the tip
JulieQ Cullman, AL (Zone 7b) August 27, 2009 12:59 PM	I would like more information on guara as well. Can't find it in plant files.
Lynnie6868 (Zone 5b) August 27, 2009 02:41 PM	Julie I planted whirling butterflies guara, I love it.
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) August 27, 2009 04:06 PM	Here are the Gaura's--apparently they've recently been lumped into Oenothera genus and that's listed as the primary name for them now in Plant Files, maybe that's why everyone's having trouble finding them http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[com...
JulieQ Cullman, AL (Zone 7b) August 27, 2009 05:14 PM	Well, no wonder. Thanks, ecrane3 for pointing me in the right direction, I would not have found it otherwise! It looks like a great plant.