VIburnums (many kinds to choose from), dwarf conifers if lots of sun. Balsam fir piccolo (sp?) if partial shade. How much sun does the area get?

You could always go with wildflowers if you want to change each year. Sometimes I just plant a bag of wildflowers to keep the weeds out until I figure out what to do with a spot.

Whatever you plant, use the three-foot rule. Get yourself a yard stick and plant each rootball so that it is centered three feet away or more from your home/foundation. It is important for the growth/health of the plants as well as the maintenance of your home.

@seagreen_turtle

I have this backside to plant plus the left and right sides of my home. The backside gets the most sun 80%, while the left side gets 60%. Right side 40%.

I prefer conifers that don't grow too tall for around the foundation. Blue spruce for the 80% sun side, Balsam Fir Piccolloe for 60%, viburnums forth 40-60%, or even the 80%. Japanese maples for 40-60%.

I like a number of individual shrubs mixed together but most people like to have symmetry (i or 2 kinds repeated). The symmetrical look usually looks better but I like to have as many species as possible so I get 1 or two of a few different things.

@seagreen_turtle

Could you give me an idea of what you mean by everything being symmetrical?

Blue spruces could grow huge, are you sure about that one?
How much spaced apart should I have these?

dinosaur1, I'kll take some pictures of smaller conifers tonight after work. I have a great big blue spruce, a medium sized montgomery spruce and a small globe spruce. I was suggesting the smallest type. More details later.

I tend to space things a little closer than recommended sometimes because I like a natural look but it will vary with the plant what the recommended spacing is to allow for growth over time. Good nursery labels usually tell you that. If not, google the species to find whatever info you need. Or write here after you decide on species.

What I mean by symmetry versus lots of single specimens is this: Usually if you choose 1 or 2 species and repeat them along you walls you'll get a more symmetrical look that is more pleasing to the eye when you look at the whole scene. But someone like me gives that up in favor of having more species because I like to have a least one of everything I like plant-wise but I only have 1 and a half suburban lots.

Single specimen planting can be beautiful but it takes more thought about arrangement than just getting one (or 2) species and planting them in a row. Both options are fine but you just go with your preference ,

Again, I'll post pictures of some small evergreen, etc. this evening.

@seagreen_turtle

I like the ideas. I just don't want any type of shrub that gets very large. The Japanese maple is nice, but I don't want any leaves flying all over when it comes time at the end of the year. I also need something economical. Can't break the bank.

Post a picture of your whole lot.

It will help to see the whole picture ...

@aegis500. Aerial or just individual shots of each corner around my home?

It would be good to see the whole house in one photo, but not aerial, ... rather like you would see it from the ground level.

This will give us some idea of what landscaping already surrounds the house, which will help with shrub suggestions.

You may be able to get a good photo of your home by googling your address ... and bringing up/saving the google maps photo.

As love_the_yard has said, you want to be thinking about placing your shrubs out at least 3 foot from the house. Any closer is not good for the shrubs, your house, and for shrub maintenance.

It's likely that once we see how the house is situated, we can suggest a FEW shrubs to place at appropriate spots to accentuate your home.

@aegis500. Google has a very old layout. I'll take some new pics today and post them here in about 2 hours.

@aegis500
@seagreen_turtle

Here are the pictures:

http://i.imgur.com/0RbAmDx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/N3Y7O3q.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XAkMQZO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Ufd4CDZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8ctFayy.jpg

I plan on tackling this project tomorrow. Any help today is appreciated.

Wow ...

Your front looks beautiful ... there's not much I would recommend there.

I assume that you are focusing on the (bare) spots around the back ?

Those look like they get pretty full sun ... that's why your hostas are not really making it. Hostas are for shadier spots.

The Knockout roses had a tough winter. They will come up from the ground, if at all. I lost two or three ...

For planting now, I would recommend Japanese Spirea (Goldmound, Magic Carpet, Goldflame, Little Princess, etc.)

{{gwi:258426}}

Spirea Little Princess

{{gwi:258427}}

Gold Flame Spirea

Gold Mound Spirea

These are all fairly small shrubs that will do well in full sun. You should be able to find them all at your local LOWES, Home Depot, or other hardware big box store.

You also might want to look at "Ivory Halo" Red-Twigged Dogwood. It gives a nice silvery aspect to your landscape in the spring/summer and the bare branches turn a deep red in the fall/winter.

{{gwi:258429}}

Ivory Halo Red-Twigged Dogwood

P.S. Also, these are pretty inexpensive shrubs $15-20 per.

I'd recommend placing just a few in some strategic positions.

This post was edited by aegis500 on Thu, May 22, 14 at 14:43

Could you give me an idea of how many to buy, what size and where to place them?

@aegis500

I love those shrub ideas. Does the Walmart gardening center carry them you think? I just need an idea of how many and where to place them now. I plan on going to buy them tonight and plant them tomorrow. Afterwards I can send you pictures of how it looks!

Wow, all my pictures that I posted yesterday just disappeared. I wonder if a moderator deleted the post for some reason. It took me quite a while to post all those. Maybe they were too big?

@seagreen_turtle I don't need that many shrubs. Just a few simple ideas. Will the shrubs that are yellow around my house now turn green or should I remove them?

@dinosaur I'm not sure what you mean. I was just wondering what happened to the post I made yesterday showing some small shrub examples, Sorry for the confusion.

I ended up picking up some Spirea's and a few knockout roses. I'll post pics soon.

How about some for fragrance like mock orange and lilac? They come in dwarf sizes too.

dinosaur1 ...

I'd place my shrubs in corners, ... and where I might want to hide something.

Also maybe between the windows in the back.

You can either mulch or let the grass grow back in the non-planted areas.

Finally, lovetogarden's ideas about dwarf lilac is good too. Miss Kim makes a nice smaller shrub .... with a spicy scent in the spring.

{{gwi:258430}}

Miss Kim Dwarf Lilac

I have Mock Orange too. It has a nice scent, but doesn't look too good to me during the off-seasons. Could be the variety I have.

Flowering Almond also makes a nice shrub that blooms bright pink in the spring.

{{gwi:258432}}

Flowering Almond Shrub

This one is in my front yard. Will it survive or should I replace it?
http://www.imgur.com/gallery/DloKNaj

I have 2 of these shrubs on the corner of my home. Keep them or replace them with something?

They tend to grow long arms that get into our home's siding.
http://i.imgur.com/vp1Oi7F.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wJDXFHb.jpg

The first shrub is a goner, I'd say.

The other (2) look like Euonymus Fortunei. These, unfortinately, are highly susceptible to Euonymus scale, which will make a powdery looking mess of them.

I'd pull them out. I've had to get rid of (3) myself.

Replace them with the Spireas. Much better shrubs ...

@aegis500

Ok, I'm headdd te the nursery. Give me a few quick ideas.
Should I replace the dead blue junipers and keep them or rip them out and replace them with something entirely for my front area here? I have 2 more of the junipers in between the Spirea's that I just bought. Should I rip those out too and add more Spirea's or would that be too much?
http://i.imgur.com/C9zqcv7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WpRxFOs.jpg

And what should I put in the corner here after I rip out those ugly Fortunei?
http://i.imgur.com/0DizFHO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oSusY9s.jpg

The Blue Star Junipers don't look dead, just a little winter-burned. I'd keep them, as long as the area gets plenty of sun. I'd also move them out from the wall to the grass-line. Everything will grow much better away from the wall (more room for roots).

I'd replace the Fortunei with Spirea or one of the other shrubs I mentioned..

This post was edited by aegis500 on Sat, May 24, 14 at 14:55

@aegis500

Would you agree that I should also leave the blue junipers in the front walkway and just replace the 2 that have gone bad?

@aegis500

Would you agree that I should also leave the blue junipers in the front walkway and just replace the 2 that have gone bad?

I would agree ...

@aegis500

By the way unless you could tell in the pics...
I put 2 Spirea Japonica on each end of one side of my house and 1 Spirea Little Princess in the middle. I did the opposite on the other side, but more towards the front. I hope they grow now!

@aegis500. I forgot to ask. Should I put 2 of the same kind of Spirea where the Fortunei used to be or 2 different kinds?

Will this Spirea survive that I just planted?
http://i.imgur.com/tTiNPZ8.jpg