Garden

[Rosehill_1]

I have made so many landscaping mistakes over the 25 years that we have been in our home. I can't even begin to tell you how many plants I have purchased, planted, then taken out- or have died. We have an area in our back yard under our bedroom windows that looks so bad. Last year we took down two really overgrown yews that were growing on both ends of the house in that area. One stump is still there- the saw blade got messed up when our son was trying to cut it down. We need to remove that asap- then I would like to improve the way this area looks. This area that I would like to begin with in our yard is around 30' long and is a semi circle area with the widest part in the middle being around 8' deep.

The remaining plants that are there are 4 Girard's Rose Azaleas- they are small (1' tall & 1' wide) and have not grown much in the two years they have been in. They look pretty desperate right now after the terribly cold winter we had here in NE Ohio. There are Cottage Farm day lilies planted in front of the azaleas ( about 8 clumps of them). My husband doesn't like the day lilies where they are at all, so I could dig these up. The only other plants are an Iceberg rose planted against the house - (it is struggling too.) There is only a tiny bit of new growth coming from the base of the rose. And, there are a few autumn sedums in the area. That's it. Two Lasting Love Rose bushes were planted there too, but didn't survive the winter. (I am sick about that- these are such beautiful red, fragrant roses.) I just loved them.

I don't know where to begin. I feel we need some "bones" in this area, as well as some perennials. There is nothing against the house foundation, except for the struggling Iceberg rose. I have a Blue Atlas Cedar in our front yard that I am thinking of moving to this area. I thought it had also succumbed to the bitter cold, because all of it's beautiful blue needles have turned brown, but I am not sure. It may be alive. It is about 6' tall-just wondering if it a good idea to try to move it or not. It looks ridiculous where I planted it-it's in an island planting next to a lamp post.

I am posting this, because I am searching for ideas. I can post a photo of the area, and also one of the Blue Atlas Cedar if anyone needs to see what I am talking about. I can also describe what the other landscaped areas around our house are planted with, if this matters. (could post photos of those areas as well) This area looks soooo bad, but I don't know where to start with plant selections. I really could use some advice on what to do. I love beautifully landscaped areas, but cannot seem to master how to reach that end. Thanks in advance, to anyone who can help.

[Lucky Charm]

You may need the help of your local nursery. If you don't want to keep throwing money away, spend some money on a specialist. Or look at someone else's yard that you think looks stunning and copy right from them. As long as it's the same sun exposure as your area, you can plant exactly the same plants, use the same mulch, etc. You must be diligent with feeding and watering until every thing is well established as I'm sure you already know. Good luck!

[JustJazzmom]

Azaleas prefer morning sun and afternoon shade but with the other sun loving plants you mentioned are the azaleas sited in a shady area?

Roses had a tough time with the winter-- you may want to investigate own root vs. grafted roses. If the top of an own root plant dies due to the winter, new shoots will emerge from the root area; not always the case with grafted roses-- usually the graft takes over if the top dies.

Take a look at the sun shade conditions of the area -- is the area in sun still by 3PM or is there shade on that area at 3?

Keep in mind when shopping for shrubs of the mature height and width and plant accordingly. Most people's biggest mistake is overplanting that within 5 years either have to be moved or the area looks crowded. Use perennials in the area to maintain interest (many bloom at different times than say the azaleas) until the shrubs you purchased grow larger.

I'm currently redoing an area that held 4 huge (over 4' high) English hollies, a Hinoki cypress-- all over grown into each other over the course of 15 years. Currently planted where the hollies were are 2 Viburnum 'Conoy's. These reach a height and width of 5' and I have put 2 plants back where there were 4. I am using perennials (in this case sun loving ones as its a Southern exposure with full sun all day) for interest-- I planted Asiatic lilies and am awaiting poppies from a mailorder company. I have 2 clumps of daylilies 'Raspberry Wine' there too with a pincushion cypress, 2 'Blue Star' junipers, an azalea 'Hiniocrimson' (this is in the shade of a Kwanzan cherry tree on the lawn) and finally 2 false cypress 'Golden Mops' on either end of the plot. My color scheme is yellow (cypress) and various shades of red with dark pink for those plants with flowers.

[Rosehill_1]

Thank you, LuckyCharm. The nurseries around here will do a plan for you, but charge a hefty price. I suppose they will do one if you purchase everything there. I will have to shop around for the best prices, since I don't have unlimited funds to do this job. It wouldn't hurt to describe the area to them while shopping, and ask their suggestions for plants.

[Lilysmom]

Hi Rosehill. Do you have an avid gardener in your neighborhood? If so, drop by one day they are working and bring up your subject area. In our neighborhood, we have all become gardeners to one extent or another. We share information, plants, ideas, etc. We span about three decades in age range. One thing you can do is google foundation plants for your zone. When I did my foundation planting, I took a design from a magazine and followed that with plants hardy to my zone 5. I have made a few edits and it is looking good. It may be a simple thing, but as Luckycharm points out, you can't plant them and forget them, especially in the first few months. Find out by google or otherwise what the care is for each plant and make sure they get it. One of the big culprits in new plantings is keeping them watered properly especially in the heat of the summer. Let us know how you progress. Good luck. LM

[Rosehill_1]

On 4/30/2014 JustJazzmom said:

Azaleas prefer morning sun and afternoon shade but with the other sun loving plants you mentioned are the azaleas sited in a shady area?

Roses had a tough time with the winter-- you may want to investigate own root vs. grafted roses. If the top of an own root plant dies due to the winter, new shoots will emerge from the root area; not always the case with grafted roses-- usually the graft takes over if the top dies.

Take a look at the sun shade conditions of the area -- is the area in sun still by 3PM or is there shade on that area at 3?

Keep in mind when shopping for shrubs of the mature height and width and plant accordingly. Most people's biggest mistake is overplanting that within 5 years either have to be moved or the area looks crowded. Use perennials in the area to maintain interest (many bloom at different times than say the azaleas) until the shrubs you purchased grow larger.

I'm currently redoing an area that held 4 huge (over 4' high) English hollies, a Hinoki cypress-- all over grown into each other over the course of 15 years. Currently planted where the hollies were are 2 Viburnum 'Conoy's. These reach a height and width of 5' and I have put 2 plants back where there were 4. I am using perennials (in this case sun loving ones as its a Southern exposure with full sun all day) for interest-- I planted Asiatic lilies and am awaiting poppies from a mailorder company. I have 2 clumps of daylilies 'Raspberry Wine' there too with a pincushion cypress, 2 'Blue Star' junipers, an azalea 'Hiniocrimson' (this is in the shade of a Kwanzan cherry tree on the lawn) and finally 2 false cypress 'Golden Mops' on either end of the plot. My color scheme is yellow (cypress) and various shades of red with dark pink for those plants with flowers.

JJM, thank you for answering. I was hoping you would. The area that I am describing, is an eastern exposure, with partial shade by 3 pm, and mostly shade by 4 pm. In the heat of summer, it is in full sun by 7 am in the morning. I forgot to mention that we have tons of deer around our home, and we struggle with them eating everything. We have resorted to spraying our azaleas and flowers with deer spray. So we have that to contend with too. They eat my new guinea impatiens, azaleas, hydrangea, vegetables, and much more if we don't spray.

I have some questions for you, and hope you don't mind me asking. Where do you shop for your shrubs? Do you frequent big box stores, or nurseries? I realize that nurseries have the nicer plant selections, and big box stores have plain jane varieties that no one wants a lot of times.

If it were you, what would you place as foundation plants in this 30' wide area? There are two windows that are around 5' in from the edge of the house on both sides. It's a 2 story house, so our bedroom windows are on the next story. Do you have some tried and true perennials that you could recommend? I will probably keep the Girard's Rose small azaleas there, and possibly move them slightly if I need to for the over all design. I love the idea of your yellow, shades of red and dark pink for your color scheme in the area you are re-doing. When I buy annuals and perennials, I tend to gravitate towards the pink shades. I would love to use the same color scheme for this area of mine, since I have four Dwarf Golden Threadbranch Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera "Filifera Aurea Nana" in an adjacent patio planting area. These dwarf cypress were purchased at Home Depot for around $45 a piece maybe 4 years ago. They might be a nice thing to repeat in the area I am refurbishing. Are the false cypress Golden Mops you mentioned a plant that I could use if I couldn't find the dwarf variety that I already have?

Are there any pointers you could give me on plant placement? I really struggle with what to start with in the back, mid section and front. I realize that plant placement can make or break a design.

I am going to take a photo of this area and try to post it this afternoon. I am such a visual person, maybe others here, are too.

[JustJazzmom]

So this is a mostly shady area by the mid to late PM. You will want to go with shade loving perennials. Check to see if boxwoods are deer resistant. Unfortunately, many plants if they are deer resistant, means that the deer are less likely to nibble on them. This rule goes out the window if they are hungry. They do dislike 'smelly' plants to eat like daffodils (bitter tasting) or various herbs. But most herbs require full sun so those are out of the question. They also dislike thorny or sharp edged leaves like hollies or European barberry bushes.

I start with the taller items at the back of a border, foundation area and go downward in size towards the front of the border. Mountain laurels are a nice evergreen shrub for shady areas as are Japanese andromedas. Laurels bloom in later spring and andromedas in early spring.

I go to either big box or nurseries. I kinda know what I am looking for at both and that 'Golden Mops' cypress can get to about 5' high and wide. I usually prune my cypresses in the early spring but be careful not to prune to bare wood as they will not 'grow leaves' on those areas.

Look for shade loving perennials in your nurseries and try to buy in odd numbers. Examples are ferns, hostas (Not good as you have deer), astilbes for late spring to summer bloom, bergenia -- I like their maroon leaves once the cold weather sets in. They have usually rosy pink flowers above their leaves. Brunnera is another nice shady perennial blue forget me not type flowers above their leaves. The variegated varieties like 'Jack Frost' add some needed light to a darkened area. I do not have deer by me so I do not have to worry about those critters, yet.

I do take a folding or expandable tape measure ruler and figure out what say 5' in width is and place the potted plant in the center of that area (try and imagine a 5' circle). You do not want plants too close to your foundation due to lack of air circulation and once they grow they will crowd against the foundation. This link of me googling: 'deer resistant shade loving perennials' from the Garden Web forums has more plants listed that deer dislike. I have Lady's Mantle and sedges at my house too.

[Rosehill_1]

[Rosehill_1]

JJM, I am so surprised at how little I know. I always thought that since this area had full sun from 7 am- 3pm in the summer, that it was a full sun area.

I love mountain laurels, and had two of them a while back, which eventually died. If I can find some plants that aren't too horribly expensive, I will consider them. I never thought of andromedas. Is this the plant that japanese beetles love? Maybe the plant hybridizers have come up with one that the beetles don't go for now. They are pretty and I might think about those as an option too.

I love boxwood, but we have lots of hedges 1 alongside the driveway, and some in knot gardens around the fishpond. They need to be sheared 3 times or more a year and my hubby hates doing it. The ones around the fishpond are showing some winter damage that must be cleaned out. The same goes for hollies-I love them but he complains when it is time to pinch out the new growth on the ones in the front of the house. I have some jack frost brunnera in the front flower bed under an pin oak-they are beautiful. I have never heard of bergenia.

[Rosehill_1]

If you are looking at the area under our bedroom which needs to be re landscaped, this area is to the right. It is a patio and an area where there are two of the dwarf golden thread branch cypress that I was mentioning.