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Landscape Design

4 acres - needs design, gets blueberries

15 years ago

I don't have a photo yet.

My front yard East of Atlanta is about 100' wide. The 7 year-old brick house (12' pillars on brick bases, two dormers, full rocking-chair porch) faces the road and is set about 100' back on a gravel drive that comes right down the middle of the yard.

Gravel road out front is not busy, is set about 30' higher than the house, so there's a bit of a grade.

House faces North and a little west.

West yard is heavily treed.

East yard (50 x 100') was completely rototilled by a pile of machines that took up every single tree about 2 years ago (leaving a 10' border of 40' miscellaneous pines along the East boundary). Last year we planted grass, and there's a bit of green fuzz, so far this year.

Now it's time to replant.

DH bought 27 (I kid you not) 3 gallon blueberry bushes due for delivery two weeks from now, with 2 (one white, one pink) crepe myrtles.

DH almost certainly wants to create a wall between us & the neighbors (don't need one, but the 27 plants would work). My own design philosophy is that a wall of blueberries is unimaginitive and boring - and probably 4-6' high and wide, each one. And the two crepe myrtles need a home (DH figures I'll "stick them somewhere").

Could I plant 3 or 4 (or 7) blueberries in circles around the crepe myrtles to create "islands"?

Objections:

1) Maybe blueberries don't like direct sun and crepe myrtles do?

2) Maybe blueberries will grow almost as tall as the crepe myrtles & their branches will compete & tangle?

Would it look better to have two, single crepe myrtles surrounded by blueberries, or plant the crepes next to each other with a bunch of blueberries around them? Should each crepe myrtle have its own island, or can they share one without tangling branches? Or is tangling OK?

Alternately, would the crepe myrtles thrive along the east border between the blueberries and the 40' pines (I think it's too dark for them)?

Yet another alternative: I could plant the crepe myrtles in the middle of the 50' x 100' hill on the east side of the driveway and leave the blueberries in a row (maybe plant clumps of azaleas and dwarf nandina to break them up, color & height-wise), but any suggestions what short evergreens I could plant underneath the crepe myrtles (and perhaps a companion tree with them) so I've got an "island"?

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Comments (9)

Embothrium
15 years ago
Hard to get into details without seeing the situation. Another thing that is true is that it works best to frame and flesh out your garden areas with evergreen plants rather than deciduous. Probably it would have been better if he had bought 27 evergreen shrubs like hollies, a perhaps smaller number of blueberries being added after the "walls" were in place.
isabella__MA
15 years ago
Don't use them just because you have them, and don't use them without some big-picture plan in mind. Keep the BB's alive and give them away on Craigslist.

It sounds like your in pine country, so try researching for some interesting evergreens to add to your border like Wates Golden pine.
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laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years ago
If it's important, deer will LOVE the blueberries and keep them trimmed to about 2 feet.
Iris GW
15 years ago
The deer don't eat my blueberries (and I bought mine as 3 gallon plants)! They do eat the hydrangeas nearby so clearly they are moving through the area...

Blueberries like sun. I would consider putting the blueberries in a "grove" with room to move through them (to pick the fruit).
Embothrium
15 years ago
Deer vary in what they go for. You can't count on consistent behavior and must fence them out if you are not to be under constant siege. Bucks will also spoil small trees and shrubs that are not on the menu by rubbing them.
itsmyparty
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks very much for your suggestions.

I like the idea of putting some evergreens behind them - cleyeris (sp?) is one of my favorites, and not all that expensive. I can certainly leave space for them.

Hadn't thought about the deer. We get a lot of them.

2' tall? That sounds great. Our original bushes were over 10 years old and well over 6' - that's a great idea, and might help in the planting.

Thanks, I'll try to space them for easy picking - you['re right, that will be critical.

Again, I appreciate all your input.
lisa_z5wmi
15 years ago
If you are considering adding a veg garden at some point, you could use the blueberry bushes as the 'fence'. Make a big square with them, and put your beans and tomatoes inside it.
karinl
15 years ago
Many blueberries have outstanding fall colour. Wouldn't make the worst hedge at all; deciduous hedges are done.

You mention "island" more than once - you've obviously got room for one or more, but I'm not sure circles would be my choice - I've regretted every geometric decision I've ever made in my garden. Think "groupings" or "drifts" for a more designed look. Also, your islands will screen the view to/from the road, so consider sight lines.

KarinL
Embothrium
15 years ago
In USDA 7 it's not necessary to use deciduous shrubs as structural elements. Evergreen plants are much more effective for this and there should be plenty of kinds to choose from.

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