I think it's great that you have identified the kind of gardener you are. I found the sentence "I am a plantsman, not a gardener" in a magazine about ten years ago and it was my gateway to the same understanding. No drifts for me either! I have a quantity of plants that no other person would try to cram onto a property the size of mine, and individual plants that by themselves would occupy the whole space if I did not (a) control them by pruning or dividing or staking or tying, and (b) cull the occasional individual that tries to grow to its full size. My conclusion about shrubs in particular is that you have to have a plan for the airspace that they can occupy and keep them to it, otherwise they will just take all they can get. But trees too... you decide which major branches will be allowed to grow, and which will go. You do need to take light direction into account, as a certain amount of leaning for the light will occur among deciduous shrubs. So my answer to your question would be to plant as you wish at this moment. Ten or twenty years from now, you or a future home owner may make different decisions, but you can only make decisions for today; you can't control what people do down the line anyway, so why try to plant for the needs of twenty years hence? To leave a reasonable amount of space is only rational, but to strive for leaving the perfect amount of space is to sacrifice your current needs for future needs that you cannot even guarantee will play out. The next owner may clearcut the whole lot, or cull a specimen they dislike anyhow. In addition, you will be able to move these specimens around for a few years anyway. By the way, the aerial view is not the only one you should consider. You have no doubt done so, but think about view corridors and window blockages and such too. KarinL

Wellspring.... Glad the post was helpful for you too. :-) Yes, you are right, inkognito stirred the pot, didn't he? [g] When I refer to my 'design project', I was actually thinking in terms of my whole yard, which this border is a subset of, but you are right, my questions pertained only to the border/bed design. I think it might help if I back up a little and share what my design project has been so you can have the 'big picture'. We have a small cape on a 1/4 acre, level lot which had been neglected for about 15 years. At least the shrub borders had been. It was necessary to pull out all 120 feet of shrub with many volunteer saplings etc, which was the motivation for the redo of the yard. I started by evaluating what was going to remain. I wanted to keep our lawn, but reduce the size and reshape it, keep the fencing which hasn't worn out quite yet. Would have loved to add some hardscape, but haven't been able to do more yet. We do have a very inexpensive brick colored paver patio that we installed a long time ago and we simply updated it with new pavers. Most of what I added were easy because I just put things where they made the most sense to go. pathway from gate to backdoor and patio, patio near the kitchen,vegetable beds where I had the most sun, perennial bed where I had the most sun. Actually the shrub border is the largest and most significant area of our yard. It runs from the left side of the yard all across the back lot line and around the corner of the right side of the yard. We have a wide and fairly narrow lot, so there is the house, then a small area of lawn, then this 90 foot lot line that I want to add shrubs to. Every window in the back of the house faces that border. The areas that need screening because of unattractive views are on the other side of that border, mainly because we put a 4ft post and rail fence there that makes them quite visible. The sides of the yard have 6ft stockade fence. We installed the fences at least 15 yrs ago. The reason I put the post and rail in the back was because the idea of putting 6ft stockade all around the three sides of the yard would have left me feeling claustrophobic, like being in a box. Our property is in the middle of our block and there are two properties behind us that meet in the middle. With all their silver maples, I cannot really see the horizon which I really miss but at least with the post and rail, I can see their yards and other houses further down the streets on the side. The silver maple branches start pretty high up. No one in our neighborhood gardens. They all have grass, trees and maybe a few foundation shrubs, that's it. One neighbor behind has small children with an above the ground pool, a swingset area and an old truck under a bright blue tarp. [g] The other neighbor has an in the ground pool, a shed and has health problems, so they are not always keeping up with their yard. The old shrub border was overgrown and we were not even aware of what was behind it until we took it out..lol. Part of my problem is that the old shrubs were over 30 years old and were installed and had a chance to grow before the maple trees were mature. Now I have a much harder task to try to get something to grow large enough to screen the view, with the shade and tree roots to compete. As for design goals, I wanted something that would allow me to grow a variety of 4 season shrubs and perennials that would provide food and cover for birds, an area to grow vegetables that was attractive, a comfortable place to sit and eat outside, something attractive to view from inside the house, privacy and as low maintenance as possible, using as many native plants as possible and keeping costs to a minimum. In order to keep the costs down, I chose to stick to the basic layout of the yard that was already there and functioning fine, but without the attractiveness that I was looking for. We removed the shrubs ourselves with shovels to further reduce the cost. Choosing to spend our money on plant material. As for garden style...I don't know what my style is. [g] I like a lot of different styles, but for our yard, I guess a modified english garden would be my favorite and that would seem to fit with my cape house. But for low maintenance, I am trying to do that in small doses and keep it a little neater. I love meadows and grasses and prairies, but don't have the conditions for one, so I try to add some of these to the perennial borders. I think my goal of low maintenance fits in with a 'park like' style of shrubbery and trees. So that is about it. Nothing all that innovative or exciting, just the basics. I am sorry if I was slow to catch on, that you were wanting context. I hope that helps. :-) gardengal.... I hope my description of my property gives you a better idea too of what I have been working on. Yes, you have summed it up correctly, I would really like to end up with 'successful placement and combinations', which I have been trying to do for awhile and feeling like I was stuck somehow. The limitations of shade and tree roots has made it a LOT harder to work with a more limited pool of material to choose from. I did go over and read the thread on 'good and bad design books' but I guess there aren't many who are using design books much? The discussion on design vs a list of plant material is what you are referring to though, right? Yes, I can see the difference, one is a subset of the other. Someone posted a list of what design involves, such as balance, proportion etc. and I was happy to have the reminder. When I read that list of what design involves, I think that personally, I don't find it easy to 'apply' some of those design principles. I often have wondered if it is actually something that can be taught or is it something you are born with? The problem is I can definitely recognize good design, but to 'create' good design is a different story. I have accepted that I will always struggle to create something that I recognize as good design. [g] In the meantime, that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of my 'garden'. No need to apologize. :-) Your explanation of 'transtional' plants does make that clearer, thanks.

Plant what you'd like in spots you can see from the house. Fill in the other areas as you acquire plants. Drifts are random groups aren't they? That's how I plant. I try to balance evergreens with deciduous plants because I want year round interest out my windows. With some dappled sun all day and direct sun mid day I've been able to mix it up and add some great blooming beauties for color. July photos of a bed we planted last year in front of the chicken and duck coops. One side we kept the native plants and divided up the bed with a dry creek bed made of rocks we found in the soil. Wood chip paths were a great addition to the yard and I enjoy walking it to take care of the animals. You can't see everything in these photos, but it shows you how a woodland bed can be interesting. We're working on our area between the woods & our back lawn after the January ice storm's damage. I attend plant swaps and haven't purchased anything for filling it back in with shrubs and trees. I would suggest you find a swap in your area and learn how to propagate shrubs as many root very easily this time of year. We did some hardwood cuttings in January before the storm and I wasn't sure where they'd all go, but now I know. I have been given evergreen huckleberry and variegated elderberry to plant that will give us edible fruits, plus an interesting screen with fall color.

Hi there, neighbor to the north. Vashon Island here. Going with the natives? Small trees: Vine maple, Indian plum also called sand plum, a small tree about the size of vine maple - white flowers just starting to bloom right now and very pretty. And you must plant the native dogwood with the greenish white flowers - tall slim and gray barked, grows in sun or shade, a beauty. Cornus nuttalii. There's a native currant that is large enough to almost be a small tree, with pretty pink flowers. What about the eastern Washington elderberry with the blue berries? It is GORGEOUS and delicious. About a 30 foot tree. Likes to grow by water over there, but we're so moist here you can grow anywhere. These are all doing very well in my forest edge garden here, and I do nothing to care for them - they're all adapted. Shrubs: Evergreen huckleberry (beautiful), Snowberry, and my favorite: Thimbleberry - Grow a thicket of these and you'll smell the lemony scent of their leaves several feet away, they have pretty white flowers that look like strawberry blossoms in May, and they fruit in July - to my mind the most delicious berry - a winey flavor that lingers on the tongue. Not as many berries as rasp or black, but far tastier And a clump of these is really attractive with something growing in front - they have bare legs. What about a hedge or clump of salmonberries? They look scraggy in the winter, but in summer they are light green and fresh, and they are the staple food of hummingbirds around here in March - ours always attract the hummers & then we supplement with feeders by the window to watch the birds