Dress up Your Mailbox for Instant Curb Appeal

Does your mailbox stick out like a sore thumb? It's actually an important focal point in your landscape that can either enhance or detract from your home's curb appeal. You can easily plant an instant perennial garden around your mailbox with all the plants you need in our Mailbox Garden. We've paired two classics together '– Henryi Clematis and Stella D'Oro daylilies.

Your mailbox itself will be dressed with a lovely white-flowering Henryi Clematis vine that scrambles up the post and blends with any color scheme in your landscape. And around the base of your mailbox, you'll love the cheerful yellow flowers of five Stella d'Oro daylilies! Both plants have similar cultural needs '– full sun to partial shade, moderate water, mulch, and rich well-draining soil. The vertical growth of Henryi Clematis provides a striking contrast to the grassy, rounded foliage of the Stella D'Oro daylilies growing around it. And the white color of Henryi Clematis flowers makes the golden-yellow blooms of Stella D'Oro daylilies look even brighter!

Henryi Clematis
You've probably seen other mailboxes in upscale neighborhoods that are draped with gorgeous flowering vines. Henryi Clematis (Clematis 'Henryi') provides a dazzling display of brilliant white flowers that transforms any utilitarian mailbox into a work of art!

• Knockout flowers. You'll see these magnificent flowers even as you're driving toward your house '– they are huge! Each pure-white bloom is 6 to 8 inches wide, with purplish-brown anthers in the center. When it's in full bloom, Henryi Clematis is almost completely covered in a flurry of white!

• Repeat blooms. Some vines flower only once a year, and then that's it. But you'll enjoy two seasons of bloom from Henryi Clematis '– its first performance in early summer is followed by an encore performance in late summer.

• Low maintenance. You want a mailbox garden that's easy to care for, without a lot of grooming or other maintenance required from you. And that's exactly what you'll get when you plant Henryi Clematis. Give it a little extra care the first year after planting, and it will reward you for many years to come with a low-maintenance quality that you'd love to have from all your landscape plants.

Your Mailbox Post Provides the Perfect Support
Henryi Clematis isn't a vine that coils all the way around a support as it grows upward. It actually uses its individual leaf stalks to twine around and attach to structures as the vine grows upward, so it won't "strangle" your mailbox post and pull it down! Your mailbox post already offers the vertical support; all you have to do is loosely wrap something fine, such as twine or fishing line, around the post to create an easy open-weave structure for Henryi Clematis to grow on. And if you'll tie knots along the string every 12 inches, your vine won't keep slipping down the string as it grows. You can also use metal hardware cloth to wrap around your mailbox post for supporting this vine. Whichever support you choose, gently weave your Henryi Clematis through the material when it's young to help it keep growing upward.

A Little Mulch Protects the Roots
The importance of using mulch around your Henryi Clematis can't be overstated. Clematis vines prosper in sunny locations where they like the warmth of the sun on their foliage, but they like to keep "cool feet." This means your vine will grow its best when you protect its roots from the sun's heat. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch around your vine to shade its roots. You'll also find that the mulch helps keep the soil moist and suppresses weeds.

Only Light Pruning Needed
We've already done all the initial pruning and training work for your young Henryi Clematis vine. As it grows, you may want to shape it with a little additional pruning. Clematis vines are pruned according to type. Some types respond to hard pruning each year, but Henryi Clematis responds best to light pruning. A rule of thumb is to cut it back no more than one-third of its growth. You don't want to cut it back hard in springtime as you would other types of clematis vines, because this will reduce its flowering potential. Trim it after its first round of flowering in summer, just enough to shape it and to keep it away from your mailbox door!

Stella D'Oro Daylilies
The classic reblooming dwarf daylily, Stella d'Oro (Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro') has won too many awards to count! Who can resist its sunny yellow flowers that keep blooming from late spring through fall? And you'll have hardly any maintenance to keep these plants looking their best.

• Profuse flowers. Stella D'Oro's long bloom period is punctuated with abundant yellow bell-shaped flowers that are almost 3 inches in diameter! It's a rebloomer, which may even sport continuous blooms instead of multiple, sporadic blooms over a very long season.

• Compact size. Taller daylily types would make your mailbox garden a bit too "busy," so we've chosen the neat and tidy appearance of Stella D'Oro Daylilies to keep this area looking just right. Each grassy clump of foliage typically grows no taller than 12 inches tall, so you are assured that these plants will not overwhelm the scale of your mailbox.

• Vigorous growth. Stella D'Oro Daylilies grow quickly and fill in thickly without becoming invasive. Allow for the clumps to spread out when planting your daylilies.

Flowers Stand Above the Foliage
Although the dwarf foliage has a restrained height of 12 inches, the flowers grow on stalks that rise above the foliage. This means that the flowers will not "get lost" in the leaves, and you'll see them brilliantly waving in the breeze.
Edible flowers: If you've never added fresh flowers to your salads, daylily blossoms are one of the best. For your next ladies' luncheon or garden party, add some Stella D'Oro flowers to your summer salad!

Carefree Cold-Hardy Perennial
Even though Stella D'Oro Daylily is a miniature version of standard-sized daylilies, this doesn't mean it's more delicate. This cold-hardy perennial can withstand winter temperatures of minus 30 degrees F in USDA Zone 3 and keep blooming year after year! In the warmest regions across its perennial range, Stella D'Oro Daylily may be evergreen or semi-evergreen, but in most zones the foliage will die to the ground in winter and re-sprout the following spring.

Three Secrets for Prolific Flowers
If you want continuous flowering from your Stella D'Oro plants over a long bloom period, here are our three best-kept secrets:

1. Plant your daylilies in full sun. One of the reasons daylilies don't flower profusely is because they are too shaded. Although these plants tolerate partial shade, they'll bloom much better when planted in a full-sun location.

2. Remove the spent flowers and seed pods when they form. This is an easy task, because you'll be going to your mailbox garden every day to gather your mail! While you're there, if you notice a spent flower or seed pod, simply snap it off with your fingers.

3. Divide your plants every three to five years. As Stella D'Oro Daylilies grow, clumps become very thick, which can reduce their flowering potential. Dividing Stella D'Oro Daylilies is so easy. Simply pop out each clump with your shovel, and use your shovel (or hands) to divide the clump into sections. You can also use a serrated bread knife to slice through the round clump as if you were slicing a pie! Separate the clump into as many sections as you'd like but dividing it into four divisions is sufficient. Plant five sections back in your mailbox garden as you originally did, and now you have lots more Stella D'Oro divisions left over to plant in your landscape!

Butterfly and Hummingbird Bonus
We don't think you'll mind the little bonus that comes with your mailbox garden plants '– butterflies and hummingbirds love Henryi Clematis and Stella D'Oro Daylilies! Because these two plants form your mailbox garden, you'll be able to enjoy these fascinating garden visitors in addition to the spectacular flowers each time you gather your mail.

Tips for Planting Your New Mailbox Garden
Clear all the grass from around your mailbox post in a wide arc. If the soil there is poor, amend it with some well-aged compost. Attach twine or other material to your mailbox post so that you can begin training your Henryi Clematis to climb upward '– the post itself is too wide for the small leaf stalks to grip. Once this is in place, plant your Henryi Clematis vine at least 6 inches behind the mailbox post. Begin weaving the stems around the newly attached support, and continue to do this as your plant grows, until it grows upward, supported on its own. After you plant your Henryi Clematis, plant your Stella D'Oro Daylilies in an arc around your mailbox. Apply mulch around all your plants, water them thoroughly, and keep them well-watered until they become established. The following year apply a slow-release fertilizer in springtime according to the label directions, and fertilize your plants every year afterward.