The Five Beds. They say, is it at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee?, that you can go to the top of the mountain, stand somewhere, and see, what is it--five, seven, fifty states? I can't remember the number (so much for the power of ads on billboards). A lot anyway. And isn't there a Four Corners out West--Utah, and three other states, I guess, (I'm a math genius) come together so that you can stand somewhere and see them all? When I taught in Bainbridge, Georgia, we lived just an hour from Alabama and an hour from Florida. In fact, we went to church in Alabama and shopped for groceries in Florida. (They didn't have a sales tax on food. I don't know if that's still true. It should be. The next amendment to the Constitution should make sales tax on groceries illegal.) In addition, one of my life's greatest highlights took place in Florida. The birth of my first born--Bradford Daniel Iten! Now, going to Alabama there was a time change. It was great getting to church in the morning. More sleep. Not so great coming back at night after church was over. I don't know if there is a place down there, a Three Corners; you know, someplace you could stand and see all three states: Georgia, Alabama, Florida.
But I have such a "historical" site on Iten Acres: Five Beds. You can stand at the bend in my driveway and be surrounded by five beds of flowers: The Super Iris Bed, The Redwhite Bed, The Spring Bed, The Bluepurple Bed, and the Shrub Bed. I reckon you can figure out what's in each of them.
The Super Iris Bed is one of the original beds on Iten's Acres. It has been re-done once and, quite frankly, is ready for another re-do. Of course, as you've figured out by now, just about every bed has some irises in it, but this bed is "stuffed" with iris. From mid-May until the first week in June there are one hundred or more iris blooms in this bed every day--a dozen or more colors. It's stunning. Visually and aromatically. And right next to the bed are three huge hibiscus and a glorious rose: deep red, white with a maroon eye (you can guess where they came from), and pink.
The Redwhite Bed is--you guessed it--filled with flowers that have either some shade of red, white, are a combination of both. It's just to the right of the hibiscus. At first there was just a pinkish Rose of Sharon here. And then I decided to expand the area and make a bed. I do that a lot. Anything I plant by itself should enjoy its independence while it can. A bed may very well be in its near future. It will be the star of the new bed, but it will have to learn to share the oohs and aahs. Actually, the idea behind the bed was to build a hummingbird/butterfly area--thus, all the reds. The ruby throats do love this bed, but I haven't noticed any particular butterfly population. I suppose the wild area out back has an even greater buffet to offer.
The Spring Bed is on the right side of the driveway, close to the mound/big maple area. As the name implies, it is magnificent in March and April: crocus, corydalis, daffodils, a dozen "clumps" of grape hyacinth, regular hyacinth, white grape hyacinth (We need a committee to make sense of flower names--WHITE grape hyacinth? Come on. They also come in pink and bi-color.), tulips, forget-me-nots (I love to remember them!). The bed is filled to overflowing with beauty: yellows, reds, blues, pinks, purples, whites, oranges--it's the star of spring on the Acres. Naturally, it has beauty all summer and fall too, but nothing like it shines in the spring. Just outside of this bed, by the way, is a lovely red rhododendron.
The Bluepurple Bed exists simply because blues and purples are my favorite colors. It abuts the Spring Bed. It has over thirty different kinds of blue and purple flowers--different shades, different shapes, different heights, different leaves--all contribute to the loveliness. Obviously, filled with my favorite colors, it's one of my favorite beds. Everything blooms in its time--some of the iris twice. The blues don't have to be sad. Even for someone born and reared in St. Louis.
The Shrub Bed is a little southwest of the last two beds--closer to the front of the property. It started when Mom gave me a dwarf conifer and a white rose bush. Those two became the centerpieces in this bed--the rose in the front, the conifer in the back. It has an oval shape, sort of. Between the rose and the conifer are two hibiscus, a weigala, a peony, a Rose of Sharon, a flowering almond, and an orange phlox. (Shhh, There are some flowers hiding among the shrubs. Well, the cosmos don't hide very well. They grow eight to ten feet tall. Showoffs!)
The Five Beds. There are no billboards or painted barn roofs to help you find it. There are no mountains to scale. No matter where you stand you'll only see one state--good old Ohio. But find your way to the bend in my driveway, turn slowly in any direction, and you'll be immersed in beauty any time of year. Stand real still for awhile from June to September and you can "visit" with the ruby throats. Relax. That loud buzz behind you is not a twenty pound bee.
The Five Beds flower progression. There's a lot! Hey, it's five beds worth.
March: crocus, corydalis, daffodils, glory of the snow.
April: hyacinth, tulips, creeping phlox, white, pink, and grape grape hyacinth, regular hyacinth, forget-me-not, campanula, flowering almond.
May: German iris, Dutch iris, honey garlic, mountain bells, allium, dwarf iris, spiderwort, columbine, gaura, false indigo, rhododendron, camassia, blue bells, Jacob's ladder, painted daisy (alyssum).
June: lily, bee balm, keys of heaven, meadow sweet, agatasche, stoke's aster, candle flower, peony, balloon flower, scabiosa, (petunia, salvia, larkspur, gladiola, morning glory, cosmos, marigold).
July: hibiscus, hollyhock, coneflower, rose, Rose of Sharon, butterfly bush, phlox, hydrangea, aster, love-in-the-midst.
August: cardinal.
September: sedum, monkshood.
October: delphinium, fall crocus, re-blooming iris.
PHEW! Made it.
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