Need help selecting plants for a problem area

[Becky]

As Ian has mentioned elsewhere on the forum, we removed a laurel hedge from our garden this year. Long story short - the hedge had become very large and it was difficult to keep trimmed (it was about 9ft tall), so Ian did a very hard cut back. Once he'd done this, we realised just how much space the hedge was taking up, and in the end we decided to remove it - which made the garden feel so much bigger. We're now trying to decide what to plant in the cleared area.

There are a few issues which have made this tricky though! There is a Yew tree in the middle of the lawn, which sucks a lot of moisture out of the nearby soil. Secondly, on the other side of the fence there is a conifer, which is also thirsty. Finally, the Yew tree casts shade on the area. So we're looking for shrubs that can tolerate dry soil, being in close proximity to a Yew and conifer, and can also tolerate some light shade.

Here's a photo of the garden:

The area is about 8m long, 1m deep on the left and around 2.5-3m deep on the right.

Ideally we'd like to get evergreen shrubs, but to be honest as long as we find something that is happy there then I don't mind so much if it's deciduous!

Does anyone have any experience growing shrubs in a similar type of area? Any ideas / suggestions?

Any help much appreciated!

 

[DeborahJane]

Good luck with that Becky. Being from such a different climate I've really no ideas but I'm sure "Forum to the Rescue" help is on its way

 

[Esther Knapicius]

your hardiness 9a, not good with that one. Try touring around your neighborhood see if you can find someone else what that situation and if they planted a shrub there. My only suggestion would be hardy geraniums, while not a shrub, they do mound nice, and retain much of their size even in the winter. And they can handle shade.

 

[Chuck]

As Ian has mentioned elsewhere on the forum, we removed a laurel hedge from our garden this year. Long story short - the hedge had become very large and it was difficult to keep trimmed (it was about 9ft tall), so Ian did a very hard cut back. Once he'd done this, we realised just how much space the hedge was taking up, and in the end we decided to remove it - which made the garden feel so much bigger. We're now trying to decide what to plant in the cleared area.

There are a few issues which have made this tricky though! There is a Yew tree in the middle of the lawn, which sucks a lot of moisture out of the nearby soil. Secondly, on the other side of the fence there is a conifer, which is also thirsty. Finally, the Yew tree casts shade on the area. So we're looking for shrubs that can tolerate dry soil, being in close proximity to a Yew and conifer, and can also tolerate some light shade.

Here's a photo of the garden:

View attachment 9102

The area is about 8m long, 1m deep on the left and around 2.5-3m deep on the right.

Ideally we'd like to get evergreen shrubs, but to be honest as long as we find something that is happy there then I don't mind so much if it's deciduous!

Does anyone have any experience growing shrubs in a similar type of area? Any ideas / suggestions?

Any help much appreciated!

Have you thought about Holly, Lavender, Acuba, Fatsia? They can all tolerate shade and are hardy enough for your climate

 

[Becky]

your hardiness 9a, not good with that one. Try touring around your neighborhood see if you can find someone else what that situation and if they planted a shrub there. My only suggestion would be hardy geraniums, while not a shrub, they do mound nice, and retain much of their size even in the winter. And they can handle shade.

That's a great idea, thanks!

Have you thought about Holly, Lavender, Acuba, Fatsia? They can all tolerate shade and are hardy enough for your climate

We have thought about holly - in fact at one time Ian suggested replacing the laurel hedge with a holly one, but I wasn't keen on having a big wall of it. It's a good suggestion though - I think it one holly bush together with some different shrubs would look nice - perhaps a variegated one We had some lavender in the garden near the yew tree but weirdly it didn't do well so we ended up taking it out.

 

[gata montes]

How about - Eleagnus or Nandina Domestica - both of which are well suited to your conditions - as along with being evergreen, easy care and extremely drought tolerant - both are also very attractive and especially Nandina whose beautiful foliage - because it takes on different color hues according to temperature - always looks stunning 24/7 – 365 days of the year.

 

[Becky]

How about - Eleagnus or Nandina Domestica - both of which are well suited to your conditions - as along with being evergreen, easy care and extremely drought tolerant - both are also very attractive and especially Nandina whose beautiful foliage - because it takes on different color hues according to temperature - always looks stunning 24/7 – 365 days of the year.

Excellent suggestions - thanks! Just checked and my local plant nursery has both, so I've added them to my shortlist

 

[Becky]

My shortlist:

• Some kind of variegated holly tree - I'll see what the local nursery has
• Either Elaeagnus X Ebbingei Gilt Edge or Elaeagnus x Ebbingei Compacta
• Liriope Muscari Variegata
• Pennisetum alop. Hameln (not sure about this one, might not be sunny enough)
• Leycesteria Formosa Purple Rain
• Pyracantha Soleil d'Or
• Nandina Domestica Obsessed or Nandina Domestica Flirt or Nandina Domestica Gulf Stream (or perhaps all 3!)

What do you think?

 

[Becky]

Also found a Japanese Maple which would work nicely on the right hand side at the top of the slope - Beni Maiko. Grows up to 3m in height and is tolerant of full sun (which that area sometimes gets).

Getting very excited about getting this sorted!

 

[Bootsy]

Hi Becky,

I've come a bit late to this discussion.

In March we removed 22 conifers that were 40 years old and ended up in a similar situation - with a 55ft x 4ft bed.

The fence is on the east side and it's on the north side of our house. So, in the winter gets very little sun. We filled it with lots of garden compost and horse manure.

We then had the problem of what to put in it and decided on a mixture of perennials with some annuals.

By mid-June it was developing nicely, with the perennials coming along and a maple and a box that will build body to the bed as they grow. We also put in some grasses that will look good October - December. Zebra grass etc.

By the beginning of July the perennials started flowering and will continue until the frosts. Penstemon make up a lot of the perennials with quite a few heucheras.

The plants climbing the fence are mainly annuals. They grow like mad and give lots of flower.

By September the bed looks as though it has been there for years. The fence is now covered by the annuals and has thousands of flowers (not easily visible in this photo.

These are close ups of some of the annuals. One of the grasses (zebra grass) is visible in the foreground.

 

[Becky]

Gosh what a beautiful display @Bootsy! Looks mature after such a short space of time - you would have thought it had been tended for years! I love all the different heucheras

We made a start today and bought some shrubs from our local nursery - still waiting to get a few so it'll be a couple of days before we start putting them in. Can't wait!

 

[DeborahJane]

Hi Becky,

I've come a bit late to this discussion.

In March we removed 22 conifers that were 40 years old and ended up in a similar situation - with a 55ft x 4ft bed.
View attachment 9134

The fence is on the east side and it's on the north side of our house. So, in the winter gets very little sun. We filled it with lots of garden compost and horse manure.

We then had the problem of what to put in it and decided on a mixture of perennials with some annuals.

By mid-June it was developing nicely, with the perennials coming along and a maple and a box that will build body to the bed as they grow. We also put in some grasses that will look good October - December. Zebra grass etc.
View attachment 9135

By the beginning of July the perennials started flowering and will continue until the frosts. Penstemon make up a lot of the perennials with quite a few heucheras.
View attachment 9138

View attachment 9136

View attachment 9137

The plants climbing the fence are mainly annuals. They grow like mad and give lots of flower.

He the bed looks as though it has been there for years. The fence is now covered by the annuals and has thousands of flowers (not easily visible in this photo.
View attachment 9139

These are close ups of some of the annuals. One of the grasses (zebra grass) is visible in the foreground.
View attachment 9140
ATTACH=full]9141[/ATTACH]

Wow Bootsy. That looks really spectacular. And in no time. Must be cracking. Once I've made up my mind I have to get things in the ground so they can get growing.

 

[DeborahJane]

Gosh what a beautiful @Bootsy! Looks mature after such a short space of time - you would have thought it had been tended for years! I love all the different heucheras

We made a start today and bought some shrubs from our local nursery - still waiting to get a few so it'll be a couple of days before we start putting them in. Can't wait!

It is exciting. Looking forward to watching your garden take form.

 

[Bootsy]

Apart from the annuals (the ones climbing the fence) all the other plants were from our garden. The acer (Katsura) and the box were dug out of other beds. Nearly everything else were from cuttings - except the grasses which were just parts chopped off the roots of others in the garden.

I love all the different heucheras

There are twelve different Heucheras in that bed. Some of the Heucheras don't have brightly coloured leaves but those ones tend to compensate with spectacular flowers. The white spiky flower to the right of this Penstemon is the flower of a plain green leafed Heuchera

This Penstemon contrasts very well with the Euphorbia to its right

The Phygelius doesn't look all that fantastic until you look inside the flowers

Just for contrast, this is part of another bed that is well established

 

[Becky]

Excellent stuff! Is that a Crocosmia in the last photo? I love those