whats in the center???? .. almost looks like a flag pole.. rather than a tree ....

could you string bird netting to it.. to elevate some vines..

your base problem.. is that it is a tiny circle.. in a grand lawn ... and you are growing flat .....

if you want it to 'pop' ... you will need a vertical element ...

ken

That pole in the middle is a Marten bird house. I only get sparrow living in it :(

I have tried vines in the past but nothing seemed to do that well.

I was thinking about just zinnia like this picture?
I also am considering begonias?

The zinnias are a great idea. What about a Hyacinth bean or scarlet runner bean going up the pole, and a complimentary color zinnia or two surrounding the vine? You could even try a central ring of taller zinnias with an outer ring of shorter zinnias. Or maybe Allysum at the edge, dangling over the bricks? Lots of possibilities.

Martha

Begonias are generally not good for full sun. I would plant something that grows tall in the center closest to the pole, and then surround it with something shorter with a contrasting color and texture. I am trying Pampas Plume Celosia this year - it gets 36-48" tall with feathery plumes - haven't tried it before so I dont know how fast it grows. Zinnias are fast growers and come in a variety of sizes. You dont have to buy the color mixes, you can opt for specific colors if you want solid blocks of color. Swallow tail seeds has a huge variety to choose from.

If you plant a vine, I suspect you would need to cover the pole with something that the vine can cling to, not many vines will grow up a metal pole, not to mention how hot the pole must get in full sun. You could make an easy trellice out of chicken wire, but it would be ugly until it was covered. Morning glories would grow right up to the top of that pole and cover the bird house.

Pentas, Angelonia, Celosia, Zinnia angustifolia, Portulaca, Melampodium, Lantana, Ageratum, Gomphrena, Annual Salvia....just to name a few of the sun loving, low maintenance, high performance annuals (or perennials used as annuals) .

Wd don't know the dimensions of this bed, but it looks small. I wouldn't try to grow something uo the pole myself and would keep the
plant varieties to a minimum.

are the martins in town yet??

the trick is to keep cleaning out the sparrrows.. until the martians [lol] ... can take possession .. [of which i tried for 5 years.. and gave up.. lol ...]

and while you are up there.. figure out how to tie some good twine way up top .. perhaps at the house flange .. ... and bring it all the way down ... and get 3 or 4 more wall brinks.. tie it around them.. set them on the compass points of the wall ... AND TRAIN SOMETHING UP ...

perhaps 4 different things.. a blue morning glory.. an orange something.. a yellow.. and a red ....

and then some general carpet plant below.. like zinnia ...

and if you choose wisely.. you can have a different plant in bloom in each month of summer....

now something like that ... WILL POP!!!!!

and do keep in mind.. some of these vines can get pretty heavy.. you have to do some good knotting .... and the twine needs to be a bit thick ....

good luck ...

ken

Ken that is a great suggestion attaching twine to the bottom of the bird house. Thank you, I will give that some thought.

The dimension of this circle is probably around 5 ft in diameter; not very big.

Rhizo...I was thinking about Lantana or Salvia as well; I will have to look up a few of the others you suggested because I'm not familiar with some of them.

Thank everyone for responding. :)

I had guessed that it was about 5' across! In a few weeks, a handful of Gold Mound Lantana would fill that space. Less is more, when it comes to a small space like that. More of just one or two plants varieties will make a much larger impact.

I know that ken keeps wanting to decorate that pole (lol) but there is something that you should consider about that option, especially since nesting actually occurs in the bird house. One of the cardinal (get it? har har) rules about mounting a bird house is to not make it predator friendly. Snakes will get to a bird nest if given any opportunity. That's the primary reason for mounting such a bird house on a tall smooth pole.

Just sayin'.

jeez rhiz ... i dont know if the wild snakes of OH climb.. like the monsters of AL ... lol ..

she put up the house for martins.. she doesnt have martins.. who cares???

i have greckles that took over my front yard.. just today i am going out with my ladder.. and a pole.. and disturb them out of here.. THEY ARE NOT WHAT I WANT ... i would much prefer the mourning doves that were there.. or the raucous bluejays.. to these blot on bird society ...

not every bird is precious.. besides.. something has to feed the snakes ... lol

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: trust in me

I learned about the "climbing snakes " during my very rural central NYS childhood. The snakes were garter snakes. I also learned about their bird nest robbing habit when Dad hung some kind of bird house from a tree limb.

MrsD- if your wave petunias did well for you, a super way to make them pop is to add soil/compost to that bed so it looks like a licked ice cream cone, and then plant several plants all over it. My mother has a flat bed like this and after adding compost to build it up, hers is absolutely stunning with the waves once they fill in all over the hump.
Ken is right- build it up!