Hello, Vic-pa,

Your inquiry took me on a pleasant jaunt this morning. I googled +victorian +foundation +planting and got over 500,000 hits. I'm guessing that you could refine that to get something more specific or to pull up images related to the topic.

One site not too far down on the first page came back from the "Old House Chronicles" website. Seems they ran a 4-part series on American landscapes from the Colonial period through the Arts & Crafts movement. Below are the references they suggested for further understanding the Victorian garden.

Maybe a trip to your local library is in order? Might be fun for your winter reading!

Bibliography

Early Victorian Garden Style

Downing, Andrew Jackson. Rural Essays. De Capo Press. 1975 reprint.

Downing, Andrew Jackson. Victorian Cottage Residences. Dover. 1981 reprint.

Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of the Country House. Dover, 1969 reprint.

Major, Judith K. To Live in a New World: A.J. Downing and the American Landscape. MIT Press. 1997.

Schuyler, David. 1996. Apostle of Taste: Andrew Jackson Downing, 1815-1852: creating the North American Landscape. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1996.

Mid to Late Victorian Garden Style

Carter, Tom. The Victorian Garden. Cameron Books. 1984.

Leighton, Ann. American Gardens in the 19th Century: For Comfort and Affluence. U of Massachusetts Press. 1987.

Leopold, Allison Kyle. The Victorian Garden. Norton. Clarkson Potter, 1995.

Morgan, Joan and Richards, Alison. A Paradise out of a Common Field: The Pleasures and Plenty of the Victorian Garden. Harper and Row. 1990.

Stuart, David. The Garden Triumphant: A Victorian Legacy. Viking. 1988.

If it were me... I would plant it to look similar to when it was built. Thinks like tardiva hydrangea,spirea, newer junipers, rose of sharon, and many others. The idea of skinny evergreens in my opinion would not look right. I am a landscape designer for 27 years in east central illinois. im in zone 5 also. If I can be of any further help ,,, please email me at marigoldhead@hotmail.com
Good Luck
Todd

I think I put the cart before the horse on this one, bought the plants before I posted and now am stuck with them. I bought the Nandina because the garden center told me it wouldn't spread like other bamboo, but now I'm reading that it sends out suckers and is invasive in the south. Maybe I can keep it under control if I put it in the smaller flower bed to the right of the steps. Thanks for your suggestions.

Was the question simply where to place the plants you already bought, then?

I guess that is my question now, since I'm having a hard time figuring out where else I can plant what I bought. I agree with Todd that all victorian plants would have looked better, but I definitely have to put the pussy willow here because I can't find anywhere else for it. If I put the nandina around the side, then that still leaves most of the front bed open.

I think itÂs a big mistake to limit yourself just because you feel you should do something with the plants you already bought. The investment in the plants youÂve bought is likely relatively small. Assuming you plan to stay there a while, the time youÂll be looking at the plantings is long. YouÂve just removed unsatisfactory plantings. DonÂt recreate the problem by planting things that youÂre going to always look at and wish you had chosen Âreal Victorian plants instead. Give the plants away to someone or try to return them to the garden center in exchange for more suitable ones. DonÂt let relatively low Âsunk costs dictate the longer term future of the front garden. That house and its beautiful brickwork deserves an appropriate garden.

Thanks, that's a good point. I just found out we can't paint the gas meter to match the brick. Any ideas what to use to camouflage that (besides holly or boxwood)

Well, just about any decent sized shrub will be tall enough to cover up the gas meter, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

I have to admit, when I think Victorian garden, the only thing that comes to mind is bedding plants - not exactly low maintenance! I *think* big grasses (Pampas grass) would be another appropriate choice - but I'm sure those articles have more and better ideas than that, lol. Of course, I doubt many people will know if you have planted "Victorian" plants.

That being said, other things that spring to mind about design in the Victorian era is a fascination with detail and pattern - much more so than we would tend to find appropriate in this day and age. But, that would suggest things like plants with variegated leaves, such as some geraniums (I planted one variety, Samobar, this year, that seems like a perfect example).

Oh, and that sloped area *would* be a perfect area to put in patterned bedding plants, if you were so inspired, lol.

What a charming home. I love Victorians--definitely my cup of tea! ;-)

I see roses (old garden roses that set hips) and perrenials, punctuated with evergreens (with berries) appropriate to your zone. Don't forget bulbs.

Sorry, no help with actual selections as I'm in a totally different zone than you.

Oh, be sure to check out the rose forums here on gardenweb, if you decide to go that route.

Good luck!!

Becky

Have you looked into how much it would cost to move the gas meter around to the side where it would be less visible? If it weren't for that, I wouldn't plant it out at all. At least,not in an attempt to hide it. The brickwork on that foundation is lovely. Why hide it?

In my experience nandina doesn't run like bamboo...it is spread by birds via seed. It's not really a bamboo, you know.

Could you post a picture of the ENTIRE front of the house, so we'll have some idea of the big picture? Perhaps taken from across the street?

melanie

Actually the Nandina could look quite nice once mature and pruned to accent its potential laciness, here in California it can ultimately get 8 feet tall and form multiple trunks, but is more likely a much slower grower in your zone 5 conditions. I would guess that taller growing plants such as Rose of Sharon and Peonies would also be suitable choices and work with a Victorian period planting scheme. How tall/dense do the Pussy Willows get in your climate? I would be hesitant to plant a willow if I didn't really know what it would do locally, they can be much too big and spreading in some instances.

Here in California, Victorian architecture was almost always associated with the newest plant introductions in the trade at that time, and exotic ornamentals such as Pampas Grass, or 100 year old Norfolk Island Pines and Canary Island Date Palms are almost always indicators of a Victorian in the neighborhood.

Maybe the best help would be to drive your neighborhood and see what landscaping still exists around other period homes in the area, which would also help you visual ultimate sizes of appropriate plants and proper spacing.

To back up a bit, what didn't you like about the yews? Those would be a good, normal Victorian planting. Another very common plant is rhododendron, though those will eat the porch. There are a lot of deciduous shrubs which would reveal the brickwork during the winter.

My guess is that what the house is really missing is shade trees. Before air conditioning, large trees were practically an essential near the house. However, that close to the house, once a tree develops structural problems it has to come down.

Isn't nandina a houseplant?

Nandina domestica is a shrub...it is on Florida's invasive plants list. Most people think it is native to the US--because of it's name (domestica) or it's naturalization? Probably the latter. It was introduced in 1804--so I really DON'T understand the point of it being on the invasive plants list. That horse is LONG out of the barn!

Though, since it's such an old intorduction--it certainly IS appropriate for a Victorian foundation!

melanie

Well, I did some looking around, and apparently it's sort of like a peony. It dies back to the ground, but regrows and blooms. If it didn't prefer acid soil, which I do not possess, I'd give it a try. If I ever see one for sale, cheap, I may try it anyway. Though no doubt it would be much happier as a house plant.

mad gallica...can you point me to the site that told you nandina domestica was like a peony? Because here in NC it is very much a shrub.

But neither I nor the OP are in NC. We are in zone 5, and I honestly have never seen nandina, nor heard much about it as anything other than a shrub for the deep south. I thought it was like aucuba - something that could grow as far north as LI, so long as it was in a protected location. What I found out was that it drops it's leaves around 5°F, then dies back to the ground around -10°F, but will perform well enough after that to be worth growing. So from a garden perspective, that would make it like a peony or a baptisia - a relatively large structural perennial. It might not survive our winters of -15°F, but since my willingness to kill plants is inversely related to how much I paid for them, I'd be willing to try one if it's cheap enough.

However, if anybody in zone 5 has firsthand experience with nandina, I'd certainly be willing to listen.

Ah. Now I understand. I missed that submitter was in zone 5. I'm surprised a nursery in zone 5 is even selling Nandina domestica.

Thanks for clearing that up!

melanie