Best rose (or hydrangea, or other idea) for front walkway hedge?
Dottie 7B
4 years ago
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Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
4 years agojjpeace (zone 5b Canada)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help restoring Victorian front walkway
Comments (26)Actually...the more I look at it...the walk wants to be as wide as the brick drainage runnels. I think Ink might be right about the gravel bit...but you DON'T want a gravel walk. They are a PITA unless one has a gardening staff. I did a little research, many houses of this era had brick walks in a herringbone pattern. Not certain if you want to/can invest in that. Wish I were better at mock ups. I'd do a picture for you. Are you wedded to the existing driveway? Perhaps what you REALLY need to do is step back and rethink the whole front yard. You've done such a lovely job with the house...it would be worth the time and trouble to get it right. It's getting late to be planting shrubs and such in zone 8...I'm getting anxious about people planting them here in zone 7b...fall is really the better time to plant here in the south. (I'm up in North Cackalacky.) If you could sketch a rough overview of your plat...where the house sits etc...we MIGHT be able to help you come up with something. Or at least figure out dimensions and such. In the meantime...I'd finish pulling back the sod to the driveway area. I'd plant annuals in the earth you've exposed and mulch it. Then it will look intentional, and you'll be happier. ARE deer an issue? It will make a difference as to what annuals you plant. I work in a garden center. I'm no designer...but I DO know how to help people make things "pretty" until they get their bones in place. If you came in "my" gc the first thing I'd suggest is hiring a landscape designer or architect...and then I'd help you figure out a way to live with it until you could get your plan in place. melanie...See MoreBest for hedge in full sun zone 6a
Comments (11)IME any of the H. paniculatas would work, or as others have suggested, a mix of them is a really great idea. Here they have thrived in full sun without irrigation, unlike the H. macrophyllas and H. arborescens, which like afternoon shade and periodic water. I would visit nurseries and look at the flowers of various types of H paniculata since the panicle's shape, density, and color varies a lot. I have Quickfire and Pinky Winky and prefer QF: the longer bloom time, the looser and more rounded panicles, and the color, which starts with white flowers around July 7-11, slowly shifts through a pale pinkish, and ends with a glowing cerise that lasts until hard frost. Pinky Winky starts later, has very dense pointed panicles, and still has a lot of white at this time of year. I am not overly fond of Limelight's fall color fade, though the summer is stunning, so having it as part of a mix would be a way to emphasize the positives of each while letting the less attractive aspects fade into the background, letting the ones that are at their best capture attention. My H. paniculatas leaf out with the majority of the other deciduous woody plants in my area, not early or late, so you will have time in the spring when you want to be outdoors but they don't provide as much privacy. My computer is in for repair, so I don't have normal access to photos, but I will look for some and add to a followup....See MoreIdeas for new landscaping and walkway - front yard zone 5b / 6a
Comments (10)If it were me and I was going to redo the front walk I would just do poured concrete in an oval shape to mirror the bed around the trees in front of the house. That's the least maintenance. Yes, remove the yews, they should not be trimmed in an unnatural box shape for a home as natural looking as yours. Don't know what the tree is next to the yew shrubs, maybe blue atlas cedar or blue spruce? Either way, it is going to get big so you may want to move it now while you still can. It's a "specimen tree" meant to be viewed from afar, so I'd put it in the back yard, "afar" from the house where I could take it in while sitting on the back patio or looking out the back window. You could take out the front set of birches with two trunks, that is the one that blocks the view the most. I wouldn't do that, but I am a tree hugger. Where the yews and that blue green tree are, I would put some flowering trees or shrubs that would remain small, and maybe something that smells nice to greet me as I walked up to the front door. You don't say your zone, but it appears to be a 4 season area so I'd put in some rugosa roses (but that's just me) maybe mixed with hydrangeas. That's what I have in my front entrance way. Roses can get buggy, so if you want something even less maintenance, shrubby cinquefoil and low growing spirea are just about as easy peasy as it gets. "Knock out" roses don't smell as great as a rugosa but are more foolproof, depending on your zone. BTW, there are small evergreens you could put next to your house. There are some small junipers that would fit the bill, or a bird's nest blue spruce (which I don't particularly care for but some folks love). But like I said, not sure what that is by the yew hedge, it may be a dwarf for all I know but it doesn't look like it from my casual glance....See MoreAdvice for best approach to making garden paths
Comments (27)Bart, I agree that Vinca on a path is an accident waiting to happen. Super stringy, tangly and great murder mystery material. If you want a slightly more expensive but more long term solution, I'd go with crushed rock (NOT pea gravel) and edge the path with some kind of hardscape material--bricks, recycled concrete, etc. The crushed rock will need to be amended over the stretch of time but not completely replaced. The hardscape edging will mostly hold the path material in place. Chunks of broken concrete work well and are cheap and usually free. They can, with safety precautions, be sledge hammered into smaller chunks. Sometimes construction companies will drop a pile of concrete at a homeowner's lot. It saves the company dump and recycling fees. You can combine the crushed rocks and edging with switchbacks and log inserts or other "steps" in the steeper areas. If the grade isn't super dicey and the path is wide enough, a wheel barrow or garden cart can fairly easily traverse this kind of path. I've installed paths like this on pretty steep terrain and maintained the gardens and paths following installation. Prior to the installation of a path, one Portland West Hills slope was so steep that I slid down it on my belly during a particularly saturated winter, fingers digging a trail like cat claws on curtains all the looooong way down to the bottom of the incline! Carol...See Morejjpeace (zone 5b Canada)
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoSheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
4 years agoStephanie, 9b inland SoCal
4 years agoRosylady (PNW zone 8)
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoRosylady (PNW zone 8)
4 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoRosylady (PNW zone 8)
4 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoRosylady (PNW zone 8)
4 years agoLynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
4 years agoLynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
4 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agoDottie 7B
4 years agosummercloud -- NC zone 7b
4 years agoDottie 7B
3 years agoDottie 7B
3 years agoDottie 7B
3 years agoDottie 7B
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoStephanie, 9b inland SoCal
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoDottie 7B thanked Stephanie, 9b inland SoCalnorthlandyogi_mi5a
3 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
3 years agonorthlandyogi_mi5a
3 years ago
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