Can you stand at the corner where the 2 walkways meet and take a picture towards the house. How wide are the bed and the walkway across the front of the house?

I will get a picture in the morning when the sun is up. We measured and it’s 21 x 3’7”

Thanks!

At 3'7" that's a narrow bed. Is that walkway narrow too, or is it as wide as the one going towards the front door?

The walkway in front of the bed is 4ft wide. The one going to the front door is 4’11”.

That’s really awesome, Doug! I hadn’t even considered adding flowers around the tree in front. This is beautiful!

Go with Yardvaark.

I like the simplicity of Yardvaark’s design. Looks like it would eliminate the need to do a ton of replanting to accommodate the seasons. However, my husband really wants those Cypress (?) trees that don’t grow very large as part of the design. Is that possible?

Here is the image that I promised yesterday of the walkway.

You would need to stick with dwarf versions (or small variety) of the trees you are considering If you want them to stay small. Please note that the size given on a plant tag is usually the 10 year size. Plants don’t magically stop growing after 10 years, so keep that in mind with your selections. Good luck.

That planting area is too narrow to accomodate them....sorry. You are probaby referring to arborvitaes, Thuja occidentalis cultivars. Even the narrowest growing forms will get 3-4 wide eventually, so they will brush up aganst the side of the house as well as impinge into the walkway.

Yes, as mentioned above, the bed is way too narrow for trees. If it were my house, I would use that area to grow colorful annuals and change the scheme as I liked. Or plant a groundcover perennial like Geranium maculatum (if it works in your zone).

Maybe a fetching birdbath surrounded by colorful flowers?

@gardengal48 - That's unfortunate, but good to know ahead of time. I would stink to have to pull them up later. Any alternatives that you can think of?

Will not give the same skinny Christmas tree effect but Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' makes an excellent tallish (6-8') narrow vertical statement. If that is what you want :-) I have never had them exceed 18 inches in width but you should allow for at least 24". And they are far more amenable to pruning than most conifers would be. Another possibility - if you can find it - is Taxus x media 'Beanpole'. Could possiby get wider than ideal (2' width is typical after 15-20 years) but is also very accommodating to pruning, as are all yews.

But these will not produce a narrow, pyramidal Christmas tree shape that your hubby seems to prefer :-) Anything that does will rapidly outgrow that width of planting bed.