Tulip Border Fill

I found it! 

Having gone ahead with the tulip border, I was kind of getting down to the wire on figuring out what to put there once the tulips were done.

I did some research, thought I had some options, but while walking around the nursery, something that appeared to be even more magical stuck out...

Hardy perennial geraniums! 

Did you know they make such a thing?! I sure didn't.

They are a beautiful purple which claimed to bloom from late spring to fall...really? Skeptical.

Well, it's August and they're still going strong!

They do get to be 2-3', however since it's more of a trailing plant I just direct the arms sideways to fill in the bed and stay out of the grass (just poke in a short stick which keeps them in place and can't be seen through the foliage). I've actually been amazed at how well it's working and how great it looks!

I filled in with a few snapdragons, but I have a feeling that I won't need those next year if all the perennials come in fully next year. 

There are a few earlier-blooming perennials which I stuck in between the geraniums, so that'll give some color while the tulips are done blooming, but still have green stems.

Then by the time the stems start getting brown and gross, I think the geraniums will have started blooming and filling out pretty good.

We'll find out!

After the tulip greens died out:

I actually widened the bed by about 6" as well.

A smart person would have widened the bed and re-arranged the bulbs before planting the perennials, but noooooo, why would I have done it the logical way?! I was buying these and sticking them in the ground as quickly as possible because it was a crazy busy spring and started getting hot fast. Things didn't last in pots long. (I also had to buy the geraniums at separate times because the nursery kept running out.) 

So digging down under and around the the root balls to fetch and relocate bulbs was oh so fun.

THAT will be an adventure in the spring to see where the bulbs come up! Hopefully I spread them out enough so they're less crowded and so there won't be too many of them coming up directly under the perennial plants when the time comes for them to pop! 

I am really pleased with how they filled out the bed. They're beautiful!