What you see is a "Bloomerang" lilac and then further out you can see the messy remains of alliums and even daffodill leftovers :(.

The 3 identical plants at the border are low lying Asters of some sort. They are very nice late in the summer. The two plants you see between these 3 are Dianthus "Ruby Sparkles" (They bloomed for less than a couple of weeks in the spring and now are nothing). (You might even spy an "Arabella" clematis flower which is planted just behind the lilac but does poke through to this barren side).

The only other plant that is present is a first year Oenthera "Ozark Sundrop" which is slightly visible more in the centre just in behind a circular stone plaque set in the soil. (It replaces another "Ozark Sundrop" that didn't overwinter its first winter). (This stone plaque can be removed to give a bit more planting space).

Bulbs and the lilac look after this section in the spring and the Asters take over late summer and early fall but there is nothing happening July and into August. At the least I was thinking of replacing the 2 dainthus with something not too large but summer blooming. (This is a full sun location)

I realize that the much taller lilac shrub is too much of a contrast (in height) to the low lying asters and dianthus but the lilac must stay.

I was considering replacing these 2 dianthus with 2 more "Ozarks".

Suggestions?

Or maybe a peony?

I agree that something taller between the lilac and the edging plants would fill out the space a little better.

A couple of dwarf fountain grass also to soften the look...

It looks like you have a number of spring bloomers there. What about a summer or fall perennial like...

Short n' Sassy Helenium
Dwarf Balloon Flower (Astra series is nice)
Asclepias tuberosa
Stachys 'Hummelo' (not 100%...he looks a bit odd after cut back, so maybe not since this is front and center?)
A dwarf goldenrod- maybe 'Golden Fleece'?
CMK

In the meantime, I have a heliopsis Summer Nights, and I really like it. It has been in bloom for a couple weeks now, and it will continue to be in bloom for a few more weeks, if memory serves. It's about 4 feet tall, and has darker green leaves with reddish stems. It is almost no-maintenance and very hardy and hearty!

I might also consider an evergreen in there somewhere, for winter interest - I see steps there, so can we assume this area gets traffic? Might be nice to have something there in winter.

Dee

Icksney on the agastasche then, too many bees....

I was thinking hydrangea as well, greylady, although didn't know a) if full sun would be too much for them, and b) thought something evergreen would be better for winter interest. But a hydrangea would indeed fill this space nicely, IMO.

Dee

Excellent questions 'dig'.

The distance between the two green leafed asters left and right is about 4.5 feet and given that I will not allow the "Bloomerang" lilac to get any taller or wider, the distance from the front aster to the front of the lilac is about 4 feet.

And so there is room to plant something right in the middle but not as much room as I might need to have options such as a...hydrangea.as I don't want to over run those asters.

Rouge, I use astilbe in full sun in my garden and it does just fine. That might be an interesting spot for a few in a large clump. I also have a dwarf filipendula that forms a really nice mound with pink flowers usually right about now....a little late this year.
The other thing I've been doing lately is actually filling in very specific areas of the garden with colorful foliage annuals. I don't do a whole lot with annuals, but lately they've really been appealing to me in specific spots.

Did you have a specific bloom time you were looking for?

Blue Veronica, pale yellow coreopsis?

taller asters to go with the existing ones?

A couple lilies poking up behind whatever you go with would be a nice midsummer splash. Or white liatris as an upright feature too?

Often I 'shop' from my yard, looking for complementary plants that could use some dividing. Do you have anything else in the yard ready to be divided that would fit the area?

but..

I would take out the edging plants and fill with something taller - maybe about 2 feet max. Because the bed is kind of shallow, I don't feel there is enough room to do the traditional transition from low in the front to tall in the back. Maybe you could do a taller grass in the rear and then something slightly smaller to fill out the bed.

or

My first though was : This would be a perfect bed for a pedestal and pot on top or even a birdbath surrounded by plants or even a very large decorative pot with plants.

or

Do a seasonal bed of all mums or late blooming stuff. I've always liked these. It looks nice and green all year and then you get the big bang of blooms in the fall. Nice way to end the year.

Kevin

I'm guessing the asters are going to spread.... do you plan on keeping them somewhat controlled or do you want them to spread into the bed? Either way, I might consider moving that very front one to the back, depending on what you plant in the middle. If the middle plant is shorter, it may look a bit odd to have the asters in front of it and taller than it. (I'm going by my asters, which get quite tall. Not sure what you have or how high it gets)

Dee
P.S. lilsprout, you are right, if people don't like bees, it won't matter whether the bees pay attention to them or not - they just won't want the bees around either way!

I'd also think about adding a smaller to midsized hard prune clematis near enough to the 'Bloomerang' lilac that can crawl up into it. If you time it right it might fill one of the spaces when the lilac isn't reblooming, or you could time it to bloom with the reblooming for a mixed bouquet effect.