| Your choices for evergreen shrubs for foundation plantings that are neat and low growing, AND which flourish in the shade are more limited than they would be in the sun. What you have there are some of the better ones (depending on the type holly you have). Some other ones to consider would be: dwarf Nandinas (Firepower or Harbour belle are good ones), Sasanqua Camellia, either Shishigashira (hot pink bloom) or Hot Flash (red bloom), or Purple Pixie Loropetalum (any other kind will get big FAST). The boxwoods' "feet" are probably bare because the tops of the shrubs have become so broad that they are shading out the lower portions of the shrub. Boxwood will take severe shearing pretty well. If you shear the crowns a slightly inverted V shape, you should see new growth in the lower part of the shrub. If you decide to do this, do it soon so the plants have time to put out new growth and harden it off before cold weather. Without seeing your place, I can only say that I would at least consider trying to salvage the boxwoods. They are slow growing shrubs that, once properly shaped, only require a once or twice annual shearing, which is pretty low maintenance. Also, your shrubs may have been planted too closely together in the first place. Most azaleas (with a few commonly used exceptions) should be planted four feet apart. You measure from the center of the plant to the center of the plant next door. Korean boxwoods need three feet spacing and Japanese box need four feet. Helleri, Soft Touch, and Dwarf Burfordii need four feet, and the Burfordii can go with five feet between each shrub. Many landscapers plant shrubs much closer in order to give instant gratification at the time of installation. Then the poor homeowner, after paying for more shrubs than he really needed, is constantly and continually having to prune and prune and prune as the plants struggle to do what nature intended. If your shrubs are reasonably healthy, they might just benefit from being dug up, the soil being amended, and then being replanted with proper spacing. Since it can take 3 to 5 years for newly purchased shrubs to come to a mature size, this would save you alot of money and time. If you decide to do this, plant shrubs of a kind together in a double or even triple row, if possible, and select a "vertical" shrub to connect the different sweeps together. I often place vertical shrubs at each corner or angle of a building. One of my favorite verticals is Emerald Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis, "Smargd"). It is a nice, narrow, easy care plant that won't quickly outgrow most homes. Although it accepts shearing well, it has a nice natural shape that shouldn't need much shaping for years.Monkey grass would make a nice edging in front of your shrub border around your foundation. As far as lining your walkway with plants, I'd advise you to just let your lawn grow to the sidewalk and keep the grass neatly edged. If you design a really good looking foundation planting, you will probably find you don't need walk edging too, and that will save you alot of maintenance. If you just want some color, leave some areas in front of your shrubs, say at the entryway, that you can use to plant with seasonal annuals and/or bulbs. It will be time to plant pansies in a couple months. Hostas could be planted there. Just keep in mind that they go completely dormant in the winter. That's not necessarily a problem, though, if you plant annuals around the crowns in the fall. Personally, I think it's easier to do annuals in areas like that. It gives you a place to try something different if you get bored down the road. |
