OPINIONS NEEDED: Landscaping / Boxwood border
Ganny Williams
10 months ago
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
10 months agokitasei2
10 months agoRelated Discussions
Landscaping ideas, opinions, etc on pics
Comments (10)Thank you for the comments thus far. I'm in the St Louis, MO area -- 6a hardiness. We'll get down to 0-10 in the winters and 100 in the summer. Last summer decimated the grasses if you didnt have a sprinkler system. I ended up stripping off my whole lawn and reseeding from scratch in the fall. aloha2009: Thanks for your comments! I'm worried about planting a 30' tree so close to the house. It looks a little odd to me, especially when they mature, and there's always the leaves, twigs on the roof and risk to the house. BTW, no fancy software, just an ipad and a simple paint program to freehand on the photo. I'll post some additional photos later of the planting beds....See MoreFront Yard Landscape opinion
Comments (7)barefoot, thanks for the input. I should have stated that the front landscaping, i.e. boxwoods,spirea,spruce, and mulch have all just been put in within the last 2 weeks. The landscaping isn't done by any means and I intend to add ground cover, flowering perennials and such. But for the moment I am just trying to add one more plant/shrub/tree to the corner of the flower bed where the utility boxes are. I can get a gold mop cypress approx 5'X4' for a minimal cost. I was just worried if it would become too much of a focal point on the end of the garage. We intend to add little princess spirea, origami columbine, sweet flag or boulder blue grasses to the bed as well. I just want to get a large specimen tied in to the corner first. again, thanks for any input you may have....See MoreNeed opinions and expertise on landscape bed
Comments (2)Camellias do pretty well in full sun for me as well, but they get more winter damage in sun than in shade because they lose a lot of moisture to the sun on bright, subfreezing days. Acubas seem to be pretty difficult to grow in sun. I have not seen one grown in sun locally, but there are many beautiful specimens in shade. I also have cast iron plants that do great unprotected. They cant tolerate too much sun (probably can handle a bit though since they are tolerant of just about anything!), but do well in shade. There are lots of really beautiful Optunia cacti that would do well in a full sun spot and I personally like Yucca faxoniana a lot since it looks a lot like an agave and is very hardy. I think rhodedendroms would do okay in a spot like that and some cultivators nowadays are really beautiful with multi colored blooms and other nice characteristics! Good luck! -Alex...See Morelandscaping help needed for ideas for hydrangeas and boxwood
Comments (4)I wouldn't use H. arborescens or H. macrophylla in a settng with 8 hours of sun since both do best with morning only sun or dappled sun. I'd use some variety of H. paniculata which is the most sun tolerant of the hydrangeas. I am in a much cooler setting than you, but mine do fine in all day sun. I don't know how they would do for you in VA, but none of the other hydrangeas will be happy with 8 hours of sun in your zone. As far as combining boxwoods with hydrangeas, I'd first be sure that you and other family members are fine with the scent of boxwood foliage since you are looking at using them around a deck. Some folks are fine with the scent, but some folks find it extremely rank and unappealing, so wouldn't want it where they will be spending extensive time. If you are fine with it, I'd visit the blog of Deborah Silver, a Detroit area designer who uses both boxwood (and other evergreens) along with hydrangeas. Just type boxwood or hydrangea into the blog's search box and you will get a number of posts that include plantings that use one or both. Most of the gardens she plants are fairly formal, and often she plants rows or hedges of Hydrangeas, often combined with evergreens such as boxwood, yews, or arborvitae. Her most often used H. paniculatas are Limelight and Little Lime, but there are a wide range of varieties that vary in plant height and width as well as in branch stiffness (stiffer branches hold the flower heads more upright) and the shape, size, and density of the flower heads. My favorite is Quickfire, which is about 6' in all directions and has stiff branches that hold the flowers well upright. The flower heads are lacy looking and rounded and bloom for a long time, changing from white through pink to a rich cerise over the course of 4 months. In warmer areas I don't think the flowers last as long. Here are photos of a couple of mine which are planted in informal mixed borders. Quickfire early July. QF mid-August QF color Labor Day until frost - doesn't seem to change or fade for several weeks PinkyWinky color late August; it starts pure white in early August. PW late September PW mid-October If you do a search here on the GW hydrangea forum (type paniculata into the search box and then click on the option that pops up to search in Hydrangeas) a good number of discussions will pop up about the various types Hydrangea paniculata, many of which include photos....See Morekitasei2
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