Someone sitting on that bench with a gin and tonic?

Uh, a collie? Colorful flowers? Kids playing frisbee? I give up.

nothing ...ken

I like large rocks/boulders in the yard for contrast.

“Possibly removed a tree. hmmm......maybe opening things up for some sunshine?”

Bingo! However, I do like the gin & tonic idea. A couple months ago I had a large White Pine removed exactly as Al surmised.

Another clue is the espalier-like oak. The sun now pours into the border area and is already making a difference with V. nudum and Fothergilla. I will be shrinking the lawn area, but that’s next years project.

Good suggestion, Yardvaark. It needs to be tied together for aesthtic and practical reasons. I don’t know for sure what I’ll do, but I like your idea more than any other at this point. The only thing confusing is the line from the oak circle to the weeping hemlock.

Removing an established — but troublesome — tree is not something I enjoy doing. Still, several weeks later I feel it was the right thing to do. Or I’m rationalizing...

This is what it looked like:

"The only thing confusing is the line from the oak circle to the weeping hemlock." That line belongs to the bed behind. Not the hemlock. Just cut the end part of drawing off.

One of the beautiful things about plants is that they don't have feelings or care about the future.

"One of the beautiful things about plants is that they don't have feelings or care about the future."

As far as we know.

I try not to be too cavalier about it.

some ideas:

I just had two live oaks removed; they were adolescent, been in the ground maybe 15 years. We have an enormous valley oak and I was nervous about its future so I was planting possible replacements. Well, I had the valley oak ultra-sounded and it is 100% solid at the base, 95% solid six feet up, and the live oaks were way too close together so I took out two, leaving the one farthest away from the granddaddy. What a breath of fresh air...and what an opportunity to plant something else! So I appreciate the difficulty of deciding to take out an established tree, but also the feeling of new possibilities once it's gone. And hey, that summer house is a PERFECT spot for a g&t.

Here's the biggie:

"As far as we know." [that plants have no thoughts or feelings.] The study has been exhaustive and not an iota of evidence has come forth to show that it's even a remote possibility. Without any brain or nervous system structure, ability to have thoughts or form concepts, there is zero reason to think claims to the contrary should be entertained. It would hardly be cavalier to believe what all evidence supports and none opposes!

WOW what a grand daddy,, not to mention the form & foliage surronding (that would be a good name for a blog)

& Mac ,for collectors , losing a species & gaining cultivar room...priceless

ron

"My trees get happy..." But "happy" in a plant's world, which is mainly looking fine, is not anywhere close to thinking and feeling.

Yardvaark don't be a downer here. This is a happy forum. We don't get too technical. :-)

Sara Malone, I think you're misinterpreting something.

I should stop joking...

And I shall continue. They come, here and there.

@maackia: your garden is beautiful but I do like Yaardvark’s suggestions.

@plantkiller: Form and Foliage IS a blog! :). https://formandfoliage.wordpress.com/

That big white pine had to go.

Something with some rocks, even a small pond with fountain or water fall in that same area. I've always liked the sound of trickling water.

My trees never divulge their true feelings. :0)

Plantkiller was making a joke, too! Ron, no one understands us...

"no one understands us..." that would make a good name for a band

Or:

Sara and the Plantkillers.

Ironic in some ways. ;-))

I was going to wait until next year to tackle this project, but I couldn’t help myself and decided the best time is now. The sod has been removed around the Bur Oak, but I’m now pondering how to tie the large two-stemmed oak and the weeping hemlock together. Any ideas?

My thought is to plant a small tree or shrub to the left of the hemlock, but struggling to identify something that might work. I could make this a separate bed, but if I felt really ambitious I could tie it in with the border.

Consider any mounding you want to do before you plant in a new area. Boulders too. :-)

Boulders? Mounding? Geez, Bill, lifting sod is physical enough! Are you coming down to help with this? Bring boulders and skid steer...

I agree the little hemlock looks out of place, especially since the pine was taken down. I could move it, but it is always reminding me how happy it is (Yardvaark humor). I really do want to shrink the lawn, which will not only allow me to plant, but also make mowing easier.

BTW, if you look at the second to last pic you can see the Bur Oak suffered damage at the base from riding lawn mower, which was being operated by my spouse. She does most of the mowing, so I didn't dare get upset about it. However, it did light a fire under me to get this project started. She mowed yesterday and stated how much easier it was. :)

P. Banksiana ‘Uncle Fogy’. Looks to be about the right amount of space (to grow long term) and sun as well. I think one would thrive there and look great.

You’re missing colors, beautiful roses. There are a lot of hardy roses can take the cold in zone 4.

I was going to say the same thing about colors. Repeat a border plant like catmint which is a breeze to take care of. Get some purple foilage in there. Add some late summer blooms like H. paniculata.

I like the tie in with the oak. perhaps more angles of the hemlock may help us but based on what I see I agree move it out of there and include it in the bed as it doesn't seem that the area would benefit from a little mini bed

'are you coming down to help with this?'

Sorry this board is strictly for discussion. No soliciting allowed. :-)

Yes, Roses! I love roses, but so do deer. They browse them relentlessly. I do agree that some color would be welcome, but we are knocking on September’s door. Color this time of year is a challenge, but I won’t say impossible. Suggestions are always welcome.

Whaas, how do you suppose P. omorika ‘Bruns Pendula’ would look along side the hemlock?

Crazy ‘Uncle Fogy’ would be thinking outside the box. I will work on that image tomorrow. :)

LOVE the uncle. I have 4-5 of them. Always entertaining. For color, what about yellow foliage? It pops!

How about some uncle fogy pics Sara (so we can imagine them in the spot:) ?

Lol Sara, I have 3 uncles myself on just 1 acre. You really can't have too many!

Many refer to the Jack Pines as scrubby ugly things, but the cultivars are great. Mostly bulletproof, they do very well for me.

This one i'm keeping on the ground

'Schoodic' is a good one also if 'Uncle Fogy' is too wacky for you

maackia, it's hard to tell for sure without seeing it in person, but have you considered making a seperate bed around the lone hemlock? Forget the flowers, stick with conifers!

Wow. Your Uncle Fogys are real beauties! Is one of your Uncle Fogys in shade?

For color now you have plenty options that go nicely with conifers. Hydrangea blooms are now turning a nice burgundy and pop off of many different conifers. There are quite a few sedums as well. For a larger specimen consider seven son flower. Mine is just starting to bloom and the pollinators are digging it.

pendula Bruns might work but I like gold fingers better for that area!

Thanks Stu. The 2nd one is in light shade under a medium-sized bald cypress. I don’t think it would like full shade, but seems to like it‘s filtered sun location.

Coniferbros, I hadn’t considered a separate bed around the hemlock. I was sort of locked in on including the large oak, which is why it’s valuable to get ideas from others. BTW, the ‘Schoodic’ growing over the rock looks great.

"The 2nd one is in light shade under a medium-sized bald cypress." If this tree does well in shade then I have the perfect spot for it. Thanks for the info.

I think groundcovers are missing. Maybe a few flowers too. I regularly take down large trees, some native and some I planted 30 plus years ago.

“I regularly take down large trees, some native and some I planted 30 plus years ago.”

And you feel no shame? ;)

LOL, Not at all. I'm a tree hugger with three chainsaws.

Everything grows like a weed out there though!

It's because our growing season is so long. Winter that's cold enough to stop growth is short. There's plenty of moisture in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. Winters aren't cold enough to stop growth for very long. Summers are dry. This Summer has been particularly dry. One inch since May. Lawns are brown and some trees and shrubs are dying, even natives. My largest and deepest pond is almost dry. The goldfish are suffering. If you look close, you can see a little bit of water. In the Winter the water is about six inches below the bridge.