I don't have a lot of soil to dig into the compost, so I'll need to get some sandy loam to add to it. Will that be okay for annuals? Can I fertilize with fish fertilizer? I don't really want to add a salt-based fertilizer like Miracle Gro to the compost.

Now the fun part! What can I plant? It gets full sun, made even hotter being adjacent to the driveway. I have catmint, which reblooms, purple fall asters (shrubby looking until they bloom), and black-eyed Susan planted in a row up the driveway, and then the proposed annual bed. Golden oregano is planted on the outside curve (it circled the conifer), but I have been thinking about digging it out if it limits what I can do there. Otherwise, I thought something purple or blue in an arc behind the oregano, and then anything goes in the center. I'd rather keep the plantings under 18" tall.

Ideas? Photos of your annual beds appreciated!

Now...what to plant. For fragrance and purple or blue color, I'm a fan of heliotrope (cherry pie plant). It is heat-tolerant, will stay under 18-inches, will bloom from spring to fall and is great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Marino Blue is REALLY blue! For textural contrast, try Euphorbia. They are easy to grow, will only grow to about 18-inches, are not attractive to deer and have fantastic fall coloration. The blossoms and stems are kind of "wispy" looking and delicate, even though they are really drought and heat tolerant. Unfortunately my health will not allow me to do my annual beds this year, so I don't have photos, and am living vicariously through everyone else's gardens :)

Your compost may be sufficient nutrient for the short life of the annuals that you want to plant there.

The stump isn't big enough to really do anything with, and it's not centered in the 5'. I do want it to decompose since I have no evergreens along the driveway and will need to plant something.

Thank you for your suggestions. Good to know I'm on track for the soil and fertilizer.

The first week of July I will start Durango marigolds from seed and set them into this bed in late August. I love the fall colors of marigolds for September through Halloween. The blue salvias will get a hard cut back and fertilizer in early July and will be fresh and beautiful again inside of a month.

Then in early November, I will plant the beds in pansies for the winter. I have a solid mass of daffodils and Dutch Iris planted among the salvias around the back and these give a very nice show with the pansies in the spring. Over the years I have edged the pansies with dianthus and/or snapdragons for contrast. The trouble with this is the dianthus and snaps don't bloom until late spring and by that time the pansies are ratty and ready to be replaced. I never get much enjoyment out of the others, so this year I may wrap a ring of tulips around the back. They'll bloom at a different time than the narcisuss or Iris.

You will love your bed! It satisfies my need to try something new each year and is really showy. Someday, when I get too old for all this, I will probably just fill the bed with drift roses.

Oh, one other thought. A bed like this can get expensive. It will become a major motivation to get into seed starting! :)

I'm thinking of planting purple fountain grass as the centerpiece. I see it will get bigger than I planned, so I'll only have room for one row between the fountain grass and golden oregano. I see it paired with lime and bright yellow and also purple and pink. So then I came across this photo with black-eyed Susans and spiky blue salvia. I could do that since my Susans are right on the edge of the circle. However, the fountain grass was sure pretty paired with light purple, which is my favorite color for annuals. Would petunias be a good choice? I've done them in planters once or twice, as well as million bells, but never in the ground.

As far as petunias are concerned, I think you can grow whatever you like in that bed. In my part of the country, petunias don't last much past mid June, but I expect the Pacific Northwest summers would be far milder.