The Left Bank is what I call the part of our garden that sits west of the driveway. It consists of 4 parts: 1) The Lamppost Bed in the parkway; 2) the Crabapple Bed under the dripline (more or less) of the the ‘Donald Wyman’ Crabapple; 3) the area between the Crabapple Bed and the sidewalk that doesn’t have a name; and 4) the Herb Garden.
The most eye-catching flowers in the Lampost Bed are those of Prairie Spurge (Euphorbia corollata). The flowers suggest another of this plant’s common names, Prairie Babies’ Breath.
This clump of Prairie Spurge is expanding slowly. It’s suited to this spot, being drought-tolerant and liking lean soils. It attracts a lot of pollinators but is resistant to deer and rabbits.
Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis) and Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) are also blooming in this bed at the moment.
Nodding Onion is an unassuming Allium, with small flower clusters of pale lavender. It has an interesting look before it blooms, with the flower buds making a more emphatic droop.
The Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) patch in the Lamppost Bed is surpassing the one in the Driveway Border. It’s still putting out a few blooms and is looking green and vigorous. The one in the Driveway Border is looking a bit shrivelled in spots – I wonder if it has picked up a fungus.
Between the sidewalk and the Crabapple there are ‘Summer Beauty’ Alliums (Allium lusitanicum). This is one of several plants I had to have after first seeing it at the Lurie Garden. Not all of these plants have thrived, but this one has done pretty well. I am surprised that it does not spread aggressively. To the side you can see the unopened buds of Nodding Onion.
Daylilies grow along the edge of the Crabapple Bed. This one is called ‘Chicago Apache’. However, the Daylilies have become sparser as ‘Donald Wyman’ grows and casts more shade. They may need to be replaced, or at least divided.
There’s a mix of stuff under the Crabapple. The Starry Solomon’s Plume (Maianthemum stellatum) is sporting little striped fruits. There’s also a mix of self-sown Asters and some Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) I had better keep an eye on.
The ‘Italian White’ Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) I started from seed is the first thing that grabs your attention in the Herb Bed.
I may have already mentioned ‘Italian White’ is my favorite sunflower.
A while back I decided to let the Herb Bed run a bit wild. Right now it includes Oregano (Origanum vulgare – lower right), Rue (Graveola rutens – upper right). Chives (A. scoenoprasum). There’s also Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), and I filled in with some white Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus).
There’s also self-sown Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Borage (Borago officinalis). Bronze Fennel is semi-perennial here, it can survive a mild winter but perishes in the sort of very hard winter we just had. This is good, because otherwise it would take over completely. For some reason the Borage does not seem very vigorous this year.
I planted Basil (Ocimum basilicum) started from seed on the west side of the Herb Bed, where it gets lots of hot afternoon sun. However, I neglected to mulch it, so the Sweet Basil was absolutely fried. I ended up replacing those plants with a smaller-leaved variety, and I mulched those as soon as they were in the ground.
Here’s a view of the Herb Bed from the far end. The tuteur supports Clematis ‘Multi-Blue’, now past its blooming time. The Herb Bed is more for the pollinators than for us, the only plants we really use in the kitchen are the basil and parsley.
So, that’s the state of my Left Bank. Now all I need is a little cafe and some French intellectuals.
gardeninacity 
The Left Bank looks all right to me. You have a lot of plants packed in there and they look great.
Thanks!
I do like your Left Bank and the prairie spurge is attractive. I should perhaps try clematis by the obelisk in my garden club’s herb garden civic project. The “climbing” nasturtium is not climbing and spreading outward over the paths.
My nasturtiums were a disappointment this year.
It’s all very pretty. I like the nodding onion and the sunflower!
Does the nodding onion grow as a wildflower in your area?
I’ve never seen it but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t grow here.
I really enjoy your “around the garden” posts & I spend a lot of time wondering if I could grow some of your plants … I may have missed the Italian white sunflower in your previous posts, it is lovely& perhaps being Italian it could cope with our hot conditions.
Not sure if it is really Italian, but most sunflowers can tolerate hot summers.
Excited to see an actual patch of prairie spurge! I have one plant that gets stronger-looking every year, but hasn’t set seed or increased to two stalks yet. I’m tempted to clear some ground around it and sow seed…
Mine has been v e r y slow to spread, but it seems to be gaining momentum.
Your gardens are beautiful, Jason and Judy!
Thank you, Lavinia!
That herb bed really is attractive. I’ve seen a few that have been good producers, but not so pleasing aesthetically. Yours meets all the tests, I’d say — including what it offers to the pollinators.
The pollinators consumer far more of the produce than we do.
I always get a kick out of your name for this bed.
The prairie spurge looks better than I’ve ever seen it! I’ve been wanting some for years and finally got my hands on some seeds but then lost all my motivation for seed starting. Maybe it’s time to look at those packets again!
I understand it is difficult to start from seed. I think I originally got mine as plugs from Prairie Moon.
Very nice indeed!
Thank you.
Love your Left Bank. I have never seen that dainty euphorbia before. And I’ll look out for those gorgeous alliums.
The Euphorbia is a North American native and I’ve only seen it for sale at specialty retailers. The alliums should not be too hard to find, though.
Lovely! Its nice to see different things you can mingle with the herbs to create a gentle, but still visually interesting effect. And those Italian White Sunflowers are really pretty – like they’re actually wearing sun halos!
Thanks. The herb bed is a little wild and has a bit of a makeshift quality.
I don’t remember seeing a view of your herb bed before – very pretty and eye-catching with the sunflowers and clematis. The whole of the left bank looks good in fact. 🙂 You have green fingers!
You’re kind to say so!
The herb bed is lovely – and very nicely edged, I might add 🙂 I’m surprised that the oregano and especially the borage doesn’t take over – around here, it’s hard to keep them in check.
Every year or so I have to take a pickax to the oregano to dig out chunks of the roots. I also have to pull seedlings. The borage does self-seed, but not enough to really take over. There’s lots of competition.
Lovely, lovely! Your yard is an inspiration.
Thank you!
Love your herbs, and Prairie Spurge and Nodding onion, what an apt name.xxx
Nodding Onion is a name that fits very well!
The garden at the old home in town had a Left Bank too. It was between my driveway the neighbors’ driveway, and within the narrow ‘parkstrip’ space between the curb and the sidewalk. It was the designated pooping spot for the dogs in the neighborhood. How French is that?! I cleaned it up on Mondays, and the neighbors did not mind.
Fortunately our neighbors are pretty good about keeping the dogs from pooping in the garden, and for the most part they clean up after their pets.