what kind of trees ...

and how will you access the area .. you have no walking path .... not that it has to be anything like brick or whatever .. you just have no access ... or do you plan on never walking in there .... nor watering ... nor fall cleanup ... etc ..

how will you drag a hose thru there????

otherwise... the plants and placement seems good... just plan for your movement thru it ..

ohhhh.. unless of course.. you are a fairy and can hover on rainbow wings ... lol ... while dragging a hose ... rotflmbo ... [and i mean fairy literally ....]

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: which one is you????

Actually, there is a path from the back of the garage. there is no fence with the neighbor on the side, so the area can be access from all side, (except the side with the garage) Not sure what sort of tree it is, but they are not evergreen. I am thinking most likely Ash.

No one really walks through the area, the path goes to the fence in the back and then the back of the garage. Right now, it's been raining a lot so no one wants to go back there and be eaten by mosquitos.

I am more interested in plant placement though, should we have taller plants against the wall to make sure everyone get enough light. Will this serve as an architecture anchor?

Paul

The Lily of the Valley are extremely invasive, and the Solomon's Seal, one of my favorites, will arch toward the light and obscure everything beyond them.

When I plant under trees like that, it's impossible to say what height the plants will be. It depends some on the tree roots in that particular pocket.

I have had better luck with foxglove than with astilbe, which may want more water and fertilizer. Foxglove has an architectural presence, the spires won't shade the rest, and it comes in pink or white or yellow. It reseeded for me for years. Goatsbeard is pretty too, and mine grew deep under trees. Daffodils and crocus, or dwarf iris might do well too.

I tried foamflower but it had little burrs that got stuck in the dogs - nasty.

Be careful to keep the slope away from the garage, so water doesn't drain to the garage. For the path, I would just lay spaced small pavers like stepping stones on top of the soil - because if you need to do spring cleaning before the plants sprout, you may trample them.

There's a couple of ways to approach this.

First, how will the garden be viewed? If from where the paver is placed, then taller growing plants would be best at the far end with lower plants in front. If the garden is viewed from side (i.e., from the tree side), then taller plants should be towards the face of the garage or the back of the planting. This is not always a hard and fast design rule......taller growing plants can be placed more forward if they are somewhat airy in habit but you want to avoid anything taller completely obscuring what is behind it.

Second, is this going to be a "formal" planting bed or more of a natural, woodland type planting? That can also determine placement as a more natural planting will be less structured in the placement of specific plants. The trees may also have a significant bearing as well -- if they are quite 'rooty', they will influence what does well where. One of the reasons woodland plantings tend to be rather random with regards to plant placement :-)

And both planting styles have their advantages/benefits.....it's pretty much gardener's choice! If you intend a more formal look, a more defined access path may be appropriate while a looser, less structured access will suit the woodland style.......perhaps just a narrow barked or chipped route through the bed.

The Lily of the Valley are extremely invasive

Not to single out any poster, but I really dislike statements like this. I know many gardeners who have great difficulty attempting to establish LOV......it performs quite differently under different conditions and in different locations. And while it can spread aggressively, it is not invasive in that it does not choke out other plants or become an ecological nuisance. And not at all hard to remove if it encroaches into areas where not wanted. One just really needs to be cognizant of the habits of the plants involved and site accordingly.

Hi,

It would not be to the side, since only the neighbors would see it. I wasn't planning to have a access path either since one can walk on the side of th yard. However, a path in the middle wouldn't be a bad idea. Perhaps with some sort of stepping stone?

As for formal vs woodland. I think may be more formal. I was hoping to get clumps of different color and texture together. Now that you mention it, one should place the plants in the back then. Though I am worry too tall of a plant may block the light. The side faces the south, so perhaps it will still get enough light.

Paul

You say 30' long? That's about 5-6 feet of Lily of the Valley from your picture. I think that area will look like it's missing something since LOV is a very low plant.
JMHO

OK, the area turns out to be 5 x 25, so I wasn't too far off. Judging from everyone's response, I should place the taller plants in the back, so I revise my plan to:

* Put taller plants in the back, I am now thinking of an Annabella Hydrangea, Foxglove and maybe bugbane in the back. These are guys that can be like 6 feet tall.
* Next would be the medium height plants like Trollius, and Toad Lillies.
* Finally the rest of the yard can be mix up with patches of the following plants. They can vary in height and texture. Plants includes: varies kind of Hosta in different colors, Lily of the valley, variegated solomon's seal, Lungwort, Brunnera, Lamium, Heuchera, Astilbe, foamflowers, and crested irises.
* A set of stepping stone will be installed so one can walk through the area.

What do you think?

Paul