Joanne, I just found this post and comments thread while searching for boxwoods that don't smell bad and discovered your beautiful walkway looking EXACTLY the way I want mine to look. I was out looking at shrubs to do this today in fact. How long did it take for the hedge to grow together? Does it smell bad as some people feel about boxwood? Why did you decide on the green ice mini roses instead of knock out roses? I find the regular knock out roses to be to large for this look anyway and the knock out drift roses I've planted aren't doing very well. Where did you find the mini roses and so many of them? My sidewalk curves similar to yours and I just took out the dwarf Japanese hollies that I tried which never flourished. I found enough Green Velvet boxwood at Home Depot today at $17 each for my 30+ sidewalk but wonder if they will be as good as getting the plants from a nursery (and paying more). I am glad you went with your vision and I'm happy that you have shared it here as it's the same one I have. Now I'm encouraged to get the plants in and hope it doesn't take 5 years to be as pretty as yours but I suppose it will be worth the wait if it does. One last question - where do you live? I live in Northern Virginia. Thanks very much.

Well, so far I like this tool. I trimmed around all our trees. Each tree had a huge ball of grass around it. The little grass clipper had no problem with any of it. The hedge trimmer attachment was disappointing. But to be fair I was using it in thick grass. It mite work great on hedges. Hope to try it soon. I could have gotten just the clippers for about $10 less. But I hoped to be able to use the hedge trimmer too. If I ever replace it I will get just the clippers. Pooh Bear

I have created a screen hedge using Alpinia zerumbet 'Variegata' and Blue Java Bananas, but it took 2 growing seasons to reach 7 foot. The bananas are excellent! You might also try Podocarpus macrophyllus. They grow dense and can be kept shapely with a twice a year hard prune. They do drop some leaves, but not a hardship. On my back wall I am trying to grow a hedge screen with Strawberry Guava (Psidium cattleianum). Three years ago I Planted 2 six foot apart, they are now over 8 feet tall, but are not filling in very well, maybe by next year, and the fruit is messy if you don't pick it in time, but tasty. I also have a nice screen from a Tecoma Stans Alata 'orange bells" that I have trained to a fence. It drops some spent flowers but is very attractive and always gets commented on.

Does it matter if the shrubs you use are evergreen? Do you have a maximum height or depth of the bed in mind? Do you like the more formal look of all the plants being the same, or do you want a variety of plants to extend the season? IME with V. dentatum Blue Muffin, the Viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni, chewed the leaves unmercifully until I finally pulled it out and burned it to kill off the eggs (which overwinter in the twigs.) I have other Viburnums which they don't chew up much. This pest is in NJ, so I would avoid the types of viburnums that are particularly susceptible. You should also know that many viburnums aren't self-compatible, and so you need more than one selection to get berries; thus only planting Blue Muffin would leave you without berries unless a neighbor had a cultivar other than Blue Muffin. It also had no fall color in my garden. Having Winterthur and Brandywine would allow for berries, and IME the beetles aren't especially fond of V. nudum. I don't know those particular cultivars, but in general V. nudum has good red fall color. I think you are right about Ilex glabra sometimes being too short, such as the selection 'Shamrock' @ 4', but there are other ones that reach 6'-8'. If it doesn't need to be evergreen, I love Ilex verticillata, winterberry holly. It has tiny blossoms that are unobtrusive other than up close though the pollinators love them, and the berries really sing through fall into winter. You could also look at Rhododendrons. There are selections of natives, and I like the evergreen leaves for long season interest after the flowers or there are quite a number of native and native crosses of deciduous azaleas and rhododendrons, some of which have lovely vanilla-like scent. Many of the deciduous ones have good fall color. I'm afraid I can't help with the deer as I live in an area where the deer prefer to avoid people. However, in general, unless a plant is actually toxic, there isn't much deer won't eat if they are hungry enough, so you will have to judge based on what you see around you as far as deer damage and what alternatives to planted yards the local deer have for food. Before purchasing, I'd consider planning field trips to some of the world class public and botanical gardens in NYC if you are in a reasonably close part of NJ, or if not, check out your more local area to see what is closer. There are some amazing nurseries with demo gardens in NJ as well. There's nothing like seeing the actual plants in person to help you decide.