Hello,

There are two categories or groups of plants that would be choices for a pretty flowering planting around the mailbox.

The first type of flower is an annual. Annuals are the type of plants that will die after the first hard freeze and do not grow back in the spring. Most annuals that you may find in the garden stores are not native to Ohio, but rather are native to warmer tropical climates.

The plus side to annuals is that their blooms can be constant. You can buy them blooming and with a little maintenance the blooms should continue through the fall. Proper watering, an occasional application of granular fertilizer, and deadheading (snipping off faded blooms) will help maintain a vibrant plant.

Commonly used full sun annuals in Ohio gardens are Zinnias, Lantana, Verbena, Salvia, Marigolds, Celosia, Cosmos, and Vinca.

The second category of plants, perennials, appear to die after a hard freeze but will grow back in the spring. While many perennials found locally are native not all of the perennials offered in the local gardens stores are, in fact, natives. 

Unlike annuals, many perennials do not bloom for the entire summer and so you would have to combine plants that bloom at different times in order to ensure constant blooming. 

So, for example, you might plant a spring bloomer, a summer bloomer and fall bloomer around the mailbox.  

Another idea would be to have a combination of both annuals and perennials. In this way, you would have color all season.

There are many combinations of flowers that you could decide upon. One singular choice of flower could work in the space that you're showing. Or, you could divide the space into thirds or possibly fifths and go with three to five different kinds of flowers, planted around the mailbox.

If using more than one kind of flower, you may want to use plants that grow to similar heights in order to keep one flower from blocking out another. The rule of thumb for gardening is to plant in groups of three's, five's, seven's etc., depending on how much space that you have. 

The number of plants that you plant in each space should be dictated by the amount of space that each plant needs which will be indicated on the plant tag. 

The color of the flower, size/height, space needed, and bloom time all need to be considered when choosing plants. Similar light, moisture and soil requirements are recommended for a small planting such as this one.

Again, all of this information will be written on the plant tag or stake. The tag should also indicate if it is native. If the site gets more than 6 hours of sun a day, then you would definitely want to look for the full sun symbol on the tag.

I have found several articles with plant lists. The links for these are below. But there are many, many flowers to choose from and unfortunately it's difficult to find a comprehensive list of all the possible perennial and annual choices.

Commonly used perennial natives in this region are Nepeta (catmint), Baptisia, Geranium maculatum (Hardy Geranium), Echinacea purpurea (coneflower), Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan), Monarda fistulosa (Bee Balm), Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) and many kinds of Asters as well as Goldenrods.

It would be best to visit a local garden store and see what you prefer, according to all the criteria you need to consider for your space. 

Please write back if you should have more questions.

Thanks for asking Ask Extension.

Betsy B. - MGV

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/annuals-for-sun

https://extension.umn.edu/landscapes-pollinators/annual-flowers-pollinators

https://plantpath.osu.edu/nativeplants

https://essex.cce.cornell.edu/resources/native-summer-blooming-perennials

https://essex.cce.cornell.edu/resources/native-fall-blooming-perennials

https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/master-gardeners/pollinator-friendly-gardens/how-to-prepare-a-garden-bed

https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/designing-a-flower-bed-with-view-in-mind/