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gldno1

New Project

gldno1
16 years ago

This was brought on partly by the ice storm and partly because the shrubs were overgrown and previous owners had planted them about 14 inches from the foundation. The storm really damaged the yews.

I think I will now do a shrub/tree border out from the house about 8-10 feet and try to use some natives. Then the bare area next to the foundation will be a perennial bed kept pretty low.

It's dangerous to start me with a chainsaw. The more I cut, the more I want to cut!

Here are some pictures; if you have any good ideas for shrubs that have done well for you, don't hesitate to share.

This is the front before removing the yews. This was taken before the ice storm damage. They had large brown limbs throughout.



This is what we left and then decided they should go too.

For now I am leaving the limbed up Arborvitae.

I also limbed up a large spruce tree just off the porch side. The bottom limbs hit me every time I mowed and were mostly dead anyway. Next job will be to remove the brick planter and use the bricks somewhere for edging.

This next shot is the area of the front yard between the soft maples by the road and the house that will become the border. We have been told that the maples aren't long for this world anyway so we need to get something in place to screen the road out front.

All suggestions and opinions are welcome. This will be a slow process.

Comments (4)

  • christie_sw_mo
    16 years ago

    I've seen lots of houses this summer with half-dead yews. The ice storm or late freeze must've been hard on them. I have a big yew in front of my house that needs a chainsaw. I cut it nearly to the ground last year and it looked awful for awhile. It recovered but really I should've just gotten rid of it. It's too large.
    How much sun does that area get? Will the soft maples shade it quite a bit? I've planted some native shrubs along my south property line but I think most of the ones I have would get too big to put near a house. My gray dogwoods are suckering so badly, I wonder if I'm going to have to get rid of them. I didn't realize they spread so wide.
    My favorite for part sun is hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'. It seems a little tougher than my big leaf hydrangeas but I don't know how it would do around those maple roots.

  • gldno1
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    The huge e.g. tree to the east casts some shade and there are sorry elms along the drive to the east that do too. Nothing will cast as much after the ice storm. As of about noon on this time of year there is full sun at the house and the center of the yard is now about 50/50 very light shade from the maples. I think it would be too much sun for real shade lovers. I have Annabelle; I need to see how to propagate her.
    I do know the hydrangeas in front of the kitchen on the east side have fried since we lost part of the birch in that area.
    I have been reading all my gardening books for two days now and don't have a real plan. I do want to use Oakleaf hydrangea, kerria, maybe red buckeye (lots of water worries me), maybe a viburnum, an amelanchier.

    The maple roots would be pretty far from where I could plant. I need to get out there with the tape and do some accurate measurements.

  • grnthumber
    16 years ago

    I like summer snowflake viburnum for full sun, but they need regular watering to stay green and bloom. They are more tall than wide in my garden. I love roses, so I would always advocate a few mixed in any bed, preferably one that is very carefree, like Knockout. I need to find a pic of my side bed (which is in full sun) so you can see them together.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Summer Snowflake

  • grnthumber
    16 years ago

    Here's a pic of Summer Snowflake, with a small glimpse of Knockout in the background. It doesn't always bloom that freely--this shot is from the spring--but it does bloom in the summer if watered regularly. That may just be due to the immaturity of my plant--it's been in ground for only 3-4 years. I keep expecting it to outgrow this need, especially this year, but it wilted badly in the recent 100 degree heat unless I watered it daily.

    {{gwi:1119685}}

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