| Does your mailbox stick out like a sore thumb? | | | | successful mailbox mask but will need a better |
| Landscaping around the mailbox can transform | | | | foothold than the standard four-foot post. Install a |
| that corrugated tin-container-on -a-stake into an | | | | trellis behind the post firmly supported by metal |
| attractive anchor for flowers, ornamental grass, | | | | stakes, and train your climatis or wisteria around |
| or evergreens, according to The Washington Post. | | | | the post and trellis. |
| One way to start is to simply surround your | | | | Ornamental grass can be planted into the late |
| mailbox with flowers. Just keep a few things in | | | | summer or fall for an exotic visual touch. You'll |
| mind. First, you need tall, upright varieties that | | | | need to maintain your grassy oasis to keep it |
| won't get dwarfed by the mailbox. But don't get | | | | from becoming a thicket--ornamental grasses |
| so carried away that you block your letter | | | | grow slowly but steadily. Some showy varieties |
| carrier's access. Black-eyed Susans, threadleaf | | | | include Flame grass, which turns blazing orange-red |
| coreopsis, purple cornflowers and other daisy | | | | or purple in the fall, and the giant varieties such as |
| family members will form a colorful cluster. | | | | the 12-foot ravenna grass with its two- foot-long |
| Additional distinctive alternatives would be dwarf | | | | flower stalks. |
| or medium hybrid sunflowers, hollyhocks, or hardy | | | | For a dense mass of green, there are the classic |
| hibiscus. Decide whether you want your flower | | | | evergreen bushes--yew, for example. Take it to |
| bed to stick out or blend in with the surroundings. | | | | the extreme if you want, sculpting the bush as it |
| To make it more prominent, mulch heavily and | | | | grows around the mailbox until only the door |
| install a border of metal edging, stones, or tiles. | | | | peeks out. |
| Traditional climbing varieties can make a very | | | | |