The No-Fuss Mailbox Strip

12 × 3 ft · Full sun · Blooms March–October · NC zones 7b–8a

by Anna

The layout

Planting layout for a 12 by 3 foot bed Back · 3–6 ft Mid · 1.5–3 ft Front · under 1.5 ft
  • Little Bluestem grass · ×3
  • Aromatic Aster · ×4
  • Narrowleaf mountain mint · ×3
  • Nodding onion · ×5
  • Moss phlox · ×7
  • Foxglove beardtongue · ×3
The No-Fuss Mailbox Strip — illustrated in full bloom
The same plan, in full bloom.

A 12×3 ft strip for the hottest, driest spot you own - the mailbox, the driveway edge, the hellstrip. Six natives that handle reflected heat and never ask for the hose after year one.

What blooms when

Bloom calendar for The No-Fuss Mailbox Strip, blooms march–october Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Little Bluestem gr… Aromatic Aster Narrowleaf mountai… Nodding onion Moss phlox Foxglove beardtong… In bloom foliage

The plants

  • Little Bluestem grass Schizachyrium scoparium

    Steel-blue in summer, copper all winter - the strip's backbone.

    3 ft
  • Aromatic Aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies'

    Smothers itself in bloom exactly when the neighborhood goes brown.

    2 ft
  • Narrowleaf mountain mint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

    Counts more pollinator species per square foot than anything else I grow.

    2.5 ft
  • Nodding onion Allium cernuum

    Deer and voles leave it alone - useful at the street edge.

    12 in
  • Moss phlox Phlox subulata

    The March welcome mat; evergreen mat the rest of the year.

    6 in
  • Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis

    Bridges the May gap with white bells before the summer natives wake up - bees and hummingbirds work it hard. Stays upright in lean, dry soil without staking.

    3 ft

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