Asiatics bloom for me in June, Orientals in late July. I plant them behind/between other full-foliaged plants so that you really only see the blooms. Then when the flowers are done and I cut them back, it doesn't matter so much what the foliage looks like.

It varies from year to year, but I can tell you that my Blackouts (asiatic) had crummy-looking foliage by the 4th of July. I wouldn't want them visible in my front yard... but then I have to cage my lilies to protect them from bunnies, and anything caged wouldn't go into my front planting area anyway, so moot point.

I'll take a look through my photos and see if I have any showing where they're planted...

Found an example:

{{gwi:262648}}

That's Corrida, another asiatic of mine, behind the iris in bloom in the center of the photo. After they finished blooming, the geraniums in the foreground were good camouflage for the lily foliage.

One more thing, and then I'll shut up! :)

While the foliage doesn't look bad in May (this photo was taken in early June), after they're deadheaded I really don't like the look of the spikes that are left. They always seem sort of "scalped" looking to me... another reason to camouflage them, far as I'm concerned.

Wow, what a beautiful garden! I'm jealous :)
Yes, I'm worried about the foliage not being very attractive on it's own even when it's not wilted and brown.

What on earth ELSE can I put behind a boxwood hedge for some height---the bed is narrow (1 ft.)????? I need WHITE too for the flower. I've decided Phlox is too risky and probably too bushy for the area, Delphiniums and hollyhocks are too hard to grow (I am a complete newbie and I need easy for sure...) I'm at my wits end, and time is running out (if I want to plant something in bulb form for fall)

I don't want anything too high (about 3 ft. high) because it will be in front of my porch (don't want to block to view too much) but it also has to be able to peek out behind the boxwood ledge (which won't get higher than 2 ft.)

Ah, I remember your boxwood hedge discussion! I didn't connect your user name to it, though. I'm slow that way.

Can you post a photo of your porch area? In my mind's eye, I still don't see where you have enough room to plant anything behind the boxwood. But perhaps there's a way to work in a flowering vine or something... a picture would really help!

I left a foot behind the hedge, but didn't want to leave much more since I thought it would look silly in the fall and winter with nothing blooming behind it: Here is a picture.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w268/josielovesdan/DSC01834.jpg

I know it doesn't look like it from the street, but there is a full foot behind the shrubs in front of the porch. I just feel like I need height behind them, and then can plant shorter border plants in front for a 3 tiered effect.

Now I'm looking into peach leaf bellflower or alba bellflower..... Think either of them will work? They should be tall enough (3 ft.)--- then there's the question of foliage looking nice from May-Sept.

Here's your photo in-post, for easier viewing:

{{gwi:262650}}

Sorry, I still think I would leave it as-is, especially now that I can see what you're working with.

Here's the thing -- you have a very formal look going, both with the house and with the boxwood, as well as the evergreens flanking the front door. As it grows together, you'll end up with a very traditional, formal boxwood hedge fronting the house.

But most perennials don't fit as well into narrow straight spaces. They end up looking like sad little soldiers when planted one-by-one in a line. And if there's actually room back there for them to grow and expand, I think you'd find they look... messy and untidy compared to the straight clean lines you have everywhere else.

Campanula (bellflower) has a tendency to spread and reseed, so I really can't advise that. Anyone out there with a knack for Photoshop who could do a mockup of joannemb's porch with some campanula behind it? Maybe I'm just not good at envisioning it.

I think I mentioned this in your last thread, but you could always use pots. If you planted your lilies in pots, you could remove the pots after bloom and replace with a pot of something else. Keeping things in pots may help to keep the plant smaller too, although you would need to pot up/divide every few years.

BTW, I do have lilies in my front yard, but I guess it's a moot point now, lol. Besides, I never put that much thought into my garden that there was an actual design, lol.

{{gwi:262652}}

Two points - these lilies were taller than me, so definitely wouldn't work in your spot, lol, and these lilies were the only ones in my yard that the lily leaf beetles did not find. I don't know why, but I'm grateful!

:)
Dee

I agree with deeje that you might be best to just leave it plain. When the boxwood grows in, there won't be any space. If you must have something there, perhaps a groundcover like orange-scented thyme with white spring crocuses and autumn crocuses underplanted with it would do. Pros and cons: a pro is the lovely scent of the foliage of the orange-scented thyme - it's heavenly if you touch it or step on it; a con is that bees love thyme and that could be a negative in an entranceway if you know anyone who is afraid of or allergic to bees. The thyme flowers would also need shearing after bloom to keep the planting looking tidy. Spring and fall crocuses would extend color and are small enogh that the dying foliage would be hidden by the thyme. The plain and simple hedge does seem like the best answer though. I don't think looking for height as a companion for the hedge is the right way to go. What are your plans for the rest of the empty beds in the picture?

Something white and low in front of the boxwoods along the porch area? Annuals would last the whole season if chosen right. If you have sun all day, white catharanthus(Madagascar periwinkle) would look nice all summer. A few potted plants on the porch would break up the horizontal lines of the house front and give you interest when you are on the porch.
Lilies bloom for a short while and might look a little haphazard in such a formal setting. Over time, lilies will get crowded in such a narrow space.

I agree with other posters about leaving the area behind the boxwoods empty, at least no perennials. I would go with some spring bulbs in front of and/or between the boxwoods to be planted this fall. Then in the spring you could lift the bulbs (if tulips) and put in some low annuals. Does the overhang from the porch roof come out over that one-foot strip between the hedge and the porch floor? If so, you don't want to plant anything there, as it won't get enough rainwater. Just put some nice mulch instead.

I agree with everyone else about leaving the area empty and planting some bulbs or annuals in front. If you plant behind in such a narrow area how will you get in there to take care of it?

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Everything you said makes perfect sense and you brought up points I never had even though of (like the porch overhang etc.) I like it: Pots on the porch (and I will resist the urge--strong as it will be, to line them up LOL) I'll group them in clusters, different heights-right? Then some bulbs planted in the fall and annuals in the Spring. That even I can handle. :) Thanks again for taking all the time to answer--I really appreciate it and obviously needed some insight and wisdom!

Woodyoak, those are not beds in the front---I know it's hard to tell from the picture---we are in the process of replanting grass there. There is a bed on the left side which I thought I'd fill maybe with some bellflower, hostas, maybe some malva or delphiniums if I get brave. There's another one on the other side of the porch --can't see it in the pic---where I will be planting a tree (and then more of the same...) I also have vinca on my list (I think someone mentioned it as an annual suggestion) to put in front with some other taller annuals in between. Also maybe some dwarf hostas (carrie ann has white flowers I hear) in front of the boxwoods to get a lighter shade of green into the mix.

Joanne, when I was thinking pots, I wasn't thinking ON the porch, but on the ground behind the hedge. If you are going to put them on the porch, perhaps you might want to consider including plants that trail.

I wonder if you'd want to add some hanging pots too...

Let us know what you finally decide - and pictures would be nice too, lol!

:)
Dee

Agree with the above about leaving the space behind boxwood alone. . .you
have, indeed, created a fairly formal (but handsome) look. As suggested, pots
on the porch are the way to go - and you're right, resist lining them up! - but
tie them together with one of your formal elements (the columns) by arranging
the pots, one on each side of the columns, close in. And it might be wise to
put a fair amount of experimentation into choosing those pots - my eye sees
squat urn-shaped - but most reputable nurseries would let you buy one each
of, say, a half-dozen pots to try out, with the understanding that you could
return the other five and replace them with five of the type you settled on.
I know it sounds like a lot of bother, but particularly in such a formal setting,
you'll be very glad you spent the effort to get it just right. By the way, I'm
talking pots at LEAST 12"-18' high and wide. A single vertical element in
each pot will echo the columns, and Dee's suggestion of something cascading
will tie it all back down to the boxwood.

Depending on how much sun you get on those boxwoods, irregular clusters
(NOT a straight line!) of medium-sized alliums, like A. 'Purple Sensation', planted between the porch and the boxwoods, would really look terrific in late Spring, just before you put the pots out. . . The alliums have a rather
rigid, formal air (in this setting) and would certainly compliment the rest of
the look. Good luck!

Carl

Yes, yes! Some 'Purple Sensation' Alliums behind the boxwoods for some fun colour in the spring. They are fairly drought tolerant and wouldn't mind growing in that position. Don't be skimpy. Plant a couple of dozen at least.

I agree with above: Leave it as-is. It is a very formal design and to me, perennials would just clutter it.

Dee: PLEASE tell me you know the name of your lily! I love the color! Exactly what I want!

Hi Connie,

The lily is Orania, and I really love it. I'm so happy the beetles did not find it this year. They hit every other single lily in the yard, but for some reason missed this bunch.

:)
Dee

Carl,
Thank you for your detailed advice---you have NO idea how much that helped me! I had looked at Alliums--I'm not sure why I ended up off on the lily tangent.... Probably because they are early bloomers, and then I'd be without flowers for summer. Your plan solves that---and my dh laughed at your sentence : "I know it sounds like a lot of bother, but particularly in such a formal setting,
you'll be very glad you spent the effort to get it just right." He said: "He obviously does not have any idea who he is dealing with" LOL--I am a perfectionist to a fault, and so I will fiddle with different sized/shaped pots for the next week for sure ;)

One last question: In researching alliums, I am in love with the "Globe Master" variety. They just seem to be the biggest blooms (but the right height at around 3'-- I don't want the 5 footers) and the most striking. Does "purple sensation" have something that globe master does not---making it a better choice for that spot?

Thank you again everyone for your input. I'm getting closer to some kind of vision finally :)

Thanks Dee! I'm going to be looking for that one, for sure!

Deeje, your garden is lovely! Dee, those Lilies are gorgeous! How nice they escaped the ravages of the lily leaf beetles.

I had a patch of Lilies in the front garden - they would be very lovely mixed with the other plantings except that the Lily Leaf beetles are terrible here. This Spring I was unable to do any garden maintenance due to injury, and the beetles ruined the Lilies.

I'm digging them up and composting them...:(

Joanne - my only hesitation with the Allium 'Globemaster' (and I have some in
a mixed Spring bed where THEY are the focal point) is their immense size, fully 10" globes. . .everything else you have going there is pretty dwarf, the boxwood
and the conifers, with the one exception of the Hydrangeaa paniculata - or is that a Syringa reticulata? Anyway, the A. 'Globemaster' might just be too overpowering in this setting - the A. aflatunense 'Purple Sensation' has globes
only about the size of a softball (5"). . .they are also 6"-9" shorter, which would seem to be in better proportion to the boxwood.

Someone above has suggeted that you not stint on quantity, stipulating "at
least a couple of dozen". . .hmmm. . .myself, I'd be looking at NO LESS THAN
five to six dozen, especially since I cannot tell if that porch continues further
to the right, or has a return back to the house. Now, if you'd like to add a
little extra "punch", randomly intersperse about a dozen or so WHITE alliums
amongst the purple - my choice would be A. stipitutatum 'Mount Everest', with globes just an inch bigger, and which stand 6" or so taller. . .they would appear to be floating in a sea of purple!

And again: does this area get plenty of sunlight? Most alliums will NOT do well without sun.

Not knowing your location (or Zone) in the country, I didn't know if you might
need sources for alliums; John Scheeper's (link below) is my bulb supplier of
choice - the offer at least thirty (30) different alliums in their current catalogue. Another excellent supplier (whom I use frequently) is Brent and Becky's Bulbs at www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

Please keep us posted (with photos!) so we can see how it all works out. . .

Carl

Here is a link that might be useful: John Scheepers

Carl, Yikes---I didn't realize they'd get 10 inches. I had read 6" and now that I've done some more searches, it seems they are listed anywhere from 6-10. I guess I antipate that I could clearly never grow anything to it's maximum potential---so I'm counting on 6 :)

The boxwood hedge was just put in, and I'd like to keep it around 2" tall once it does grow in. Hopefully once it's grown in, it won't look like several little dwarf balls. The conifers on either side are green mountain boxwood:
http://www.monrovia.com/learn/plant_catalog/detail.php?id=370
Hopefully they will also get taller in time.

I think I like the idea of mixing in the mount everest with the purples. Help me NOT to be so anal though, because my first instinct is to plant them in a v formation (purple out, white in, purple out, white in..) That's wrong though isn't it? :( Should I just place them in randomly even though the 2 varieties will be different heights?

Lastly, If I do decide to give the globemaster a try (a risky move I know) and mix in the mount everest, do they bloom at the same time like the everest and purple sensations do? Can't seem to get a clear answer (bloom time is so vague) online.

Oh, I am in zone 5 (Cleveland Ohio) and they face east (morning sun and afternoon shade)

If I plant them about 6 inches apart I can do 3 groupings of 12 in between the pillars (to the left of the pillar on the left, and there are 4 pillars on the right, so I'd do a group between each space.) Hopefully that is enough for now (dh wasn't excited about how much they cost!) and maybe they will multiply as the years go on...

Oh, and I bought urns/pots today for the porch (dh even commented how 'crazy' I got by mixing them up rather than getting multiples of one style! LOL They do all "go" but don't necessarily match.

I'll post pics for sure!
Thank you!

You're going to hate me for this, but based on what you have just posted, you
really can't use alliums there after all. . .I've double-checked every resource I have, but no one will cut you any slack: allims MUST have full sunlight !
Planting them in partial sun (you say afternoon shade) would end up being a huge waste of your time and money.

Two substitute ideas immediately popped into my head: first, buy yourself
some more time to design/research, by simply planting single late tulips this
Fall. . .single late's are the tallest class (26"-30") and would bloom in May
before you did your porch pots. The two sources I gave you, both have great
collections of single late's, with all kinds of interesting color combos. . .a
one-season shot, yes, -these type of tulips are NOT reliably perennial -, but it does give you more time to explore future options.

Second choice would be to substitute Camassia leichtlinii for the alliums -
they can tolerate a little less sun, you'd have the option of mixing blue/purple with a scattering of white again, and they DO multiply. Once they're bloomed out (late May/early June), cut the stems down and all the foliage goes
conveniently dormant for the remainder of the summer. Both the Camassia,
and the tulips, are very vertical and relatively formal, as we've discussed earlier.

Sorry to pop your bubble, especially after building you up - I should have
gotten your full light situation first, before making any suggestions. My
apologies. . .

Carl

Carl,
NO! You cannot do that to me! LOL I have actually fallen in love with this flower. Ok, I'm really going to watch today to see exactly how many hours of morning sun they get. They started at 8:30 this morning. Dh thinks they get direct sunlight till about 1-1:30, but we shall see.

2 things make me want to not throw in the towel just yet:
I've read several people say they grow theirs in part sun--and it's fine (even the online nurseries say full sun/part sun---which would mean about 5 hrs right?) The other thing that my dh reminded me of is that we actually had a single allium that popped up in that bed every year when we first moved to the house. There were other perennials in the bed, but dh reminded me that I made him pull out the "weird, random lolly pop flower" after 3 years because it didn't make any sense there. Now, expert gardener that I am now (lol) I know that it was allium..... so it actually will grow in that spot!

I think I'm going to just go for it and pray (a lot.)
I just love those Globemasters.... What if I mix the purple sensations in with them to get different heights and sizes? Maybe it'll make the gm'ers a little less overwhelming? If so, can you give me an idea about how to arrange them? Group of 3 gm'ers in back, group of 3 ps'ions up front (since they're shorter right?) How close together would you place the bulbs too.... I've read anywhere from 3 per sq. foot to a bulb every 10 inches. What's a literal direction seeker like myself to do with this varied kind of information!? ;)

O.K. Fasten your seatbelts, folks, it looks like she's going for the alliums, come
hell or highwater. . .

Wouldn't be the first time, Joanne - nearly every gardener I've known has tried at some point to grow SOME plant in less than optimum conditions, including myself ! And that's what those light condition suggestions are: "here is the light your plant needs for ideal growth". . . the alliums WILL actually grow in your situation, but their overall appearance "may" be compromised - the size of the flowers,their height, and in some plants even the gradations of color. . .but not necessarily. . .so this now takes on the aura of a brave experiment !

(Why do I have this gnawing feeling that a lovely
perennial island bed , incorporating early waves of alliums, and tons of sun,
would look terrific in that lawn area you're re-seeding?)

By the way, checking the sun exposure NOW for a plant that will bloom in
late May/early June, can be deceptive. . .remember that the position of the sun changes pretty drastically from Spring to Fall - it's more impotant to know how much sun there is on the front porch area in the late Spring than now. . .it is significant for a plant like allium since it goes dormant shortly after blooming and only requires that maximum sun when it's leaves are soaking up the strength of the sun (for next year). Once they've gone dormant (by early July), the amount of sunlight is a moot point. . .which
is why alliums are such perfect plants for planting among later blooming
perennials - in my own garden, there are dozens and dozens of Spring blooming alliums and their locations are currently BURIED by all the other
perennials. One other side note: that sun hitting your porch at 8:30am isn't
usually counted. . .that infamous "six hours of full sun" is generally assessed
between, roughly, 10:00am and 4:00pm, give-or-take depending on your
location and the time-of-year. . .

So: now we have Joanne's Awesome Allium Experiment, otherwise known as
JAAX. . .use a few of the 'Globemaster', if it really tickles your fancy (this IS
an experiment, after all!), but the operative word is "few", probably not more
than a dozen or so, and always planted in triangular "threes" . . . which is going to be a real challenge given that you are working in a mere one-foot wide space ! You just have to flatten the triangles out: 2 GM bulbs closest to the porch and the third centered between them, closest to the boxwood -
and remember, if you get "optimum" bloom size (that's 10" ! ), your bulbs
need to be a MINIMUM of 10" apart. . .you really don't want to crowd these
big boys. . . Using the GM as the centerpiece of your grouping, now plant
the 'Purple Sensations' (PS) in tighter groups (5" apart), in odd numbered
groups - you've surely heard the old design mantra about planting in odd-
numbered groups (1-3-5-7-9). Without going into all the visual and
metaphysical rationale for doing this, I can only attest that it actually works,
and I suspect that a vast number of other gardeners would concur. As for
how you apportion your groups of alliums along the porch - well, I am of the
highly asymmetrical school of thought, while others (possibly like yourself)
are very symmetrical. No right or wrong, here, just a choice - and either
choice will please, or displease, proportional groups of people. . .just bite
the bullet and do what pleases YOU !

That said, here's how I would see it: one grouping each, to the left and the
right, of those door-framing pillars. . .the central GM's would be about 18"
off the centerline of the actual pillar. I would then repeat these groupings on
either side of each of the remaining pillars, with the result that you'd end up with a combined cluster of PS's directly at the base of each white pillar.
Why am I doing this? Same effect I was trying to achieve with the the pots
on either side of the pillars, rather than evenly spaced across the breadth of the porch - those white pillars are a powerful vertical element in your design,
and you really can't ignore it. . .siting your pots (and the allium groups) as
I'm suggesting, highlights this element, instead of fighting it or contradicting it.

If you're having trouble visualing this - and many people do - try this little
trick: take a bunch of 3' bamboo garden stakes and tape paper dinner plates
(usually 10")to the ends for your GM's, and cut smaller 5" circles for your PS's. . .now stick them in the ground below a pillar, as suggested, and see how it works for you, making any adjustments that suit you. Add some stand-ins for the pots and get a complete visual. . .you might even leave the stakes in place to help with planting positions later - without the paper plates, of course, because we don't want the neighbors talking any more than they might be already ! :)

Whew! I really got off on a long-winded tutorial here. . .a really bad habit,
'cause all the other folks reading this post have long since dozed off or gone off for ice cream.

Best of luck!

Carl

Hi,

I realize I am at the end of a long involved discussion, but I just read your initial post and had to put my two cents in.

I have had orange daylilies in my front yard for years.
They do bloom for a relatively short time; they are the end section of my perennial bed. But I can tell you that there is no more joyful sight when you arrive at home and those lilies are waving in the breeze over the fence. I have never moved them or wanted to. And they were a gift from my neighbor!

Someone in an earlier post mentioned the idea of an island bed in your front yard. That sounded lovely.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck.

Have to be honest, too many boxwoods, get rid of some and plant some perennials. Maybe change the shapes of your existing beds to acquire more sunlight.

Carl,
Thank you for taking the time to write all of that---with all of the detailed directions!

Yes, I know--I just really want to give it a go, and I know there's no way I'm getting 10 inch diameter globemasters... (I'd be thrilled with 1/2 that) We'll see---I cut my order in half and will do them as you said (as accents by the pillars.) The purple sensations are really affordable on colorblends.com---totally worth experimenting with. The man at colorblends said he has his in front of his use too--east sun--about 5-6 hours (like me) and they have done fine. They come back every year, but his are about the size of a softball (rather than a vollyball.) So obviously the light is not optimum for them.... but I'm hoping they will still *grow* just not as large.

At this point, if I put anything at all there, it will be alliums so I might as well give it a try before I resolve to just leaving it empty anyway. LOL---give yourself credit for turing me onto a flower that years ago I thought was 'weird looking' and didn't give a second thought when it popped out of my front bed. Something about seeing them planted in masses gave me a whole new point of view.

BTW, I really appreciated your design advice. Really helped me to get on the right track as well as placement. Thank you again so much!

Mayhem 69 (we have the same birthday) I know, it's a lot of boxwoods. I'm not ready to give up on what I have visioned in my head just yet, because it's such a work in progress. I still have to add a bed with a tree, some hydrangea bushes (on the side) and low perennials (or annuals) in front of the boxwoods for color. I envisioned the boxwoods as the bones of the design, and want other flowers to go in front and behind(in the bed on the left) them for contrast. I'm also hoping that in a few years (green velvet boxwood should fill in relatively quickly) the little balls will be more of a neat little hedge. Adding garden lighting, lots of flowers, etc. will hopefully soften the look. After things fill in a bit I will decide if it does or does not work and may end up moving some boxwoods to the backyard.

As far as adding a bed, I would love to! But, I have 3 kids who love playing baseball in the front yard. We tried to keep as much 'yard' as possible for them.... for now at least :)

Thanks all for your wonderful advice! I'll post pictures in the Spring!

BUNNIES? Ate your lilies? So that's what ate every last one of my Muscadet orientals TO THE GROUND in the Spring! Thank you for the tip, deeje. Where did you get your cage or fencing for your lilies, please?

Oh my goodness yes, patann. That's why in the photo I posted upthread, you see so many geraniums and penstemon... they don't eat either of those.

Lilies, phlox, echinacea and veronica are the only things left in my beds that are sure-fire bunny food, and I refuse to take them all out. So I make rings out of green vinyl-coated chicken wire, and use landscape staples to secure them to the ground.

A circling that's 2' tall (the width of the wire) will deter the bunnies in spring. By the time the plants are tall enough to peek over the ring, the rabbits have mostly moved on to greener pastures.

Here's a photo of a different part of my backyard. You can JUST BARELY make out the green wire surrounding my Crater Lake Blue veronica (front left, behind the heuchera and yellow-flowering sedum).

{{gwi:44971}}

The last couple summers have brought deer, though... I'm probably doomed! :)

I have enjoyed reading this long, interesting, and involved discussion on what to add to your boxwood bed.
I like the hedge. It will give you the bone of the garden as you said. I also like the idea of different Alliums. They will look striking in late spring.

I have Allium in my garden in full sun and part shade. They are doing fine.
Their size diminishes in subsequent years, though.
'Globemaster' blooms a little later than 'Purple Sensation' in my garden. GM has secondary florets to prolong the bloom.

But won't you consider miniature daffodils and blue scilla between Alliums for earlier blooms?
Mini-daff leaves fade fast in spring, although Scilla leaves will stay on for a while. It reseeds too if you don't cut off the seed pods.
These bulbs don't have to be planted as deep as Allium.

deeje, that last picture is absolutely gorgeous! What an inspiration.

I will definitely put up the fences you mentioned above in the Spring. I was putting birdfood out until recently (August) for all the critters to eat so they'd stay away from my plants. What a joke! I won't be feeding birds or anything else in the late spring and summer anymore. Passersby used to rave about all my lilies out by the street lamppost. I hope the lack of growth did not harm them for next year.
Thank you for sharing your method of protection.

Wow, this has been a very interesting thread to read and many informative points. Just my two cents: you may want to thin out your boxwood every year, so adding perennials both in back of the boxwood, and in front of it, could make the thinning/pruning process sort of difficult. A similar idea was pointed out to us this spring by some helpful people on GardenWeb when we were pondering adding plants in front of our yew hedge.

My feeling is that the landscapers who planted your hedge left that one foot of space behind the boxwood so that the boxwood has room to grow, and so that the boxwood gets enough air circulation. It may just look odd right now because the boxwood are so small. I'm sure the boxwood will look lovely once they fill out.

In the meantime, I think container groupings on the porch are a possibility. It looks like your porch has a nice, possibly dark (?) wood finish on it though, so just use caution when watering any containers that you don't get water seepage onto the porch floor. You could always move all the containers off the porch for watering and then put them back, but this will get sort of labor-intensive, especially in the height of summer, when you'll need to water anything in a container frequently. A protective dish of some kind under the containers could help...hopefully the porch floor is weather-sealed with some kind of water-resistant coating.

Have you considered hanging planters instead? They may be a little easier (and weigh less) to unhook, water, and then put back once the water has drained from the planters.

Also, what is the space where there is currently just bare earth in the foreground of the photo? Looks like a nice spot for a perennial garden? Or is this a future walkway or driveway? Just wondering ...

Here is a link that might be useful: U.S. National Arboretum: Thinning boxwood

Wow---lots more to think about---thank you!
Pitimpiani: Thank you for saying you like the hedge... (I needed some positive reinforcement! LOL) I do have a vision in my head of what the end result will look like and in my head it's really quite lovely. :) Unfortunately we can only afford to do this in stages, so what everyone sees is just this mass of ONE shrub which may seem boring and unimaginative.

I love the idea of the daffodils playing off the purple allium. I will definitely consider that! I gave up on planting tulips in the yard (will put them in pots on the porch) because the chipmunks just devour them but I've heard they don't touch daffodils as much (as well as allium--which was a huge plus.)

Topie: My dh and I actually planted the boxwoods ourselves (my back still hurts--lol) and I left the room in back specifically to plant something. But now that it is there, and I'm NOT planting anything, it's probably a blessing that the space is there, to make trimming easier and for the reasons you mentioned.

I think I changed my mind about the pots on the porch, and convinced dh to build us some long rectangular porch boxes that will give me the height I'm looking for behind the boxwoods. I'll be able to plant tulips again and will a bunch of them in the spring. I'm going to place the alliums on either sides of the pillars to accent them, and then the tulips/daffodils will be in the planters in between.

In front of the boxwoods I was planning on putting some carrie ann (dwarf variated leaf) hosta and white clips (bellflower...growing in their little mounds.) In front of the hosta/bellflower will be white annual vinca.

I'm hoping these small perennials won't be too much in the way when trimming the hedge... that is a good point. Maybe I could do the first trim in March before they pop up? Then the second trim in the summer won't be so bad?

I decided on a kousa dogwood (after much discussion on the tree board!) I called the Lake County nursery and they grow a hardy version of a kousa called "prophet" that is hardy to zone 4---they grow them here in Cleveland and they do beautifully (I'm told) :) The tree will go over to the right (where the picture cuts off... there will be a bed rounded off in front to cut the straightness of the line.)

Ah, so there it is in a nutshell. An anal retentive, research happy art teacher trying her hand at landscape design with zero knowledge of plants in general. LOL

Here is a picture of how things are coming together. I LOVE the globemaster allium and took an expensive risk in planting them. They bloomed beautifully in the part sun and several people have commented about how unique and beautiful they are! They are definitely a flower you don't see every day in our area. My husband built the planters and hopefully by mid-summer the new guinea impatiens will grow up in height some more. Next year I'm going to add some foxgloves in pots for height behind the conifer boxwoods. The small hostas in front skirting the boxwoods will hopefully grow in in a few seasons and add a nice lush groundcover in front. There is also dwarf candytuft planted in front of the hostas. It will take a few years for everything to grow in, but I think the potential is there! Thanks again to everyone for your help and inspiration :)

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Wow, you've really done a great job, especially for someone who claims not to know much about plants. Your artist's eye is doing you proud. I hope you'll post a picture later in the summer. It should be beautiful. Kudos to your husband on the beautiful big planters. The white flowers look so pretty against the brick of your home.

Now that I look at your pictures again...you might try placing the planters by your door against the brick. I think they would show up even better. But I'm no artist, just a thought.
Peace

Peace of mind,
Thank you! And I just moved the planters out against the brick--great suggestion definitely shows the white flowers better. During the winter months I have taller topiaries there, and so I always place the planters inward because they are too tall and would block the mailbox if I move them out. Funny that a simple habit like that made me fail to see that with the summer flowers they fit just right below the mailbox, and look better there!

I had a couple issues with the allium in front (you can see there are only 2 bulbs by the door instead of the 5 I had planted) Hopefully next year I will get it right on that account. I can't wait for the hostas and boxwood hedge to fill in. I'm so impatient and cannot wait for lush greenery abounding :)

Glorious!!! Thanks for posting a follow-up. The new allium, hostas and planters look fabulous!

Wow, it looks great. The alliums turned out to be a perfect choice.

Thank you so much! I have learned so much from everyone on the forums---I cannot even begin to thank you for taking the time to help. I went from someone who would forget to water her one flat of annuals planted out front only to have them die after a couple of weeks to someone who is totally hooked on gardening. I love digging around in the dirt and watching things that I planted GROW---such an awesome feeling :)

I removed the globemaster blooms yesterday (they bloomed for about 3 weeks) and replaced them with pots of Miss Mannors Obedient plant. I did what another person suggested earlier in the thread and kept them in pots, just setting them down behind the hedge. I'll divide them next year (and get the 6 plants I need--saving some $) after overwintering them in the ground out back. The pots were a perfect idea (thanks again) so that I can continue have blooms throughout the summer where there isn't much room to plant

I grow lilies and allium in my front yard but not in the same bed. I have my allium growing under an Oak tree, done this for years. However I have had to move some of my allium to the other side of the oak due to my neighbor's maple tree. One thing to keep in mine is that full sun has different meanings depending on your zone. Some plants that grow in full sun on the east coast would be cooked by full sun in the midwest. So do some research on the plants for your zone to see what will work for you.

Couldn't possibly read ALL the posts, but I do agree that the A & O lilies would have looked awkward, considering how tall they get. I had mine in three different groupings in my front garden in front of my porch (but my garden goes out further to the sidewalk).

They looked fine the first year, but they following years the reproduced so much that I hated the look. Too tall (did block my view) and just too thick.

Dug them all up and iInterplanted with tulips this fall (first experience with them). Thought I only randomly planted a few lilies. And didn't know what colors I had planted. But have ended up with very same look, all thick and bunched together. Apparently the bulbs made babies over the winter.

And they are almost all 90% pink, with only two of my burgandy and a few of my coralish-with burgandy edging. Only one yellow and none of my orange. I get 2 or 3 huge white ones later in the year which I did not disturb.

But not happy at all. I learned not to pick out the same size bulbs when replanting if you don't know the colors. Needed to look at the different shapes and textures of the bulbs because I think that would have told me the color differences. OH WELL !! Live & learn.

Just my 2 cents worth :-)

BTW, I know you were looking for something behind your bushes, but there ARE some beautiful somewhat compact daylilies that come in various colors and even shapes that might look nice between them. Go check out the daylily forum !!

And I didn't think your bushes looked bad with that space behind them. Possibly you notice it more from sitting on the porch and seeing them everything from behind?

And those purple ones you planted (forgot name and can't look back now) were gorgeous !!!!