Phase 2 of Front Porch Makeover

So,we have lived in our house for five years now and we have never really paid much attention to our flower beds.  It just wasn't a priority but this summer we made it one.  We kind of "hit the jackpot" at the end of July when Lowe's had their perennial plants on sale for 1/2 price.  For those who might be new to planting, a perennial is a plant that will come back every year (or ideally it should).  An annual is one that only lasts for a season.  I don't bother to purchase annuals, while they may be pretty, I just can't justify spending the money on something that won't last long term.  We didn't fill up our whole bed space now but plan to add to it gradually. Here are a few pics of the ones we have planted so far:

Looks and sounds sophisticated to me.  I love the deep reddish/purple leaves.   When the buds open there will be tiny florescent pink flowers.

The Pansy is an annual that I received from my kids for Mother's Day.  It should not be flowering still but it has been such a mild summer that its still alive.  The Sedum has a waxy type leaf and just started flowering.

I am not usually one for pink but this Lily makes such huge blooms that are gorgeous.

I have seen these in a deep red as well and they are beautiful.  These will hopefully reseed themselves and fill in around the back of the bed since they grow to be about 16-20 in tall.

This bush will turn a pretty red in fall.

We had these daisies when we lived in our old house and absolutely love them.  They will spread and my hope is that they fill in the area below my windows completely.

This is my favorite!  Makes me want to lay my beach blanket in the front yard and play ocean wave sounds on my phone.  We planted a few others that I didn't photograph because they aren't blooming or looking like anything special right now.  Among them were the Tiny Ghost Asiatic Lily which has a similar color to the above Hibiscus, Coral Bells which look like a maple leaf bush, and a Pee Gee Hydrangea which has large ball type flowers that are white. Now here's to hoping I can keep these alive! A few items on my wish list to add next year are:  White roses (my all time favorite flower), a deep purple lilac bush, and peonies. We took out some prickly bushes before planting and added mulch when finished. Feels great to finally accomplish this project.  I can't wait to see what the plants look like when fully established and larger next year. This completes phase two of my front porch makeover.  Come back next month to see Phase 3.

What are some of your favorite perennials?