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New in town
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Posted by hoving44 Illinois (My Page) on Tue, Aug 25, 09 at 14:46
| I am new to the gardening world and in need of some advice. My wife and I bought our first house last summer but waited until this summer to redo our landscaping. It's 99% done except for one spot in the front yard. I'm looking for a plant/bush/flower, etc. to be the center of attention in the front yard.
Requirements:
-grow to be at least 3-4 feet high
-last year round
-some type of bloom
I'm basically looking for something that's going to stand out and compliment the house and the plants around it. It sounds like I'm looking for the perfect plant. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: New in town
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| Welcome. A bit more info would help. Where in Illinois are you (what zone) and what type of soil (clay, sand) and what kind of light (semi shade, shade, etc) do you have? tj |
RE: New in town
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1.) Zone 5A, a suburb right outside of chicago
2.) I beleive the soil is mostly clay
3.) The light is shade in the morning and afternoon sun Hope that helps! |
RE: New in town
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| Go to the Morton Arboretum website (www.mortonarb.org) and search out small and intermediate sized shrubs. For year around interest beyond bare branches, you might need to look into dwarf conifers - the dwarf globe blue spruce is nice, albeit pricey unless you stumble on one just off the truck at Lowes or Home Depot. 3-4 feet is pretty limiting too and most things will exceed that. For the deciduous types - there's weigela, chokecherry, Jaanese barberry, clethera, some of the new varieties of spirea... |
RE: New in town
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| Thank you so much! That was very helpful. I'm a big fan of the varieties of spirea. |
RE: New in town
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| It also sort of depends on *when* you want this plant to be a center of attention. Nothing shrubby or perennial will bloom all season long. And by "last all year," do you mean an evergreen, or do you simply mean a plant that won't die over winter? If you like spirea, I'm a fan of 'neon flame' or 'neon flash.' It's a deep pink bloomer that lasts longer than some of its peers and will rebloom some of you sheer off spent blooms. If you want something that's interesting all year long, you might also consider something weeping or contorted, although that won't necessarily get you flashy blooms. |
RE: New in town
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| How about a butterfly bush |
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