Garden Design: Conifers and Front Garden
We bought our dream home (below) on a partially wooded acre facing North in SW suburban Chicago (Zone 5). I've re-landscaped the front walkway (left side) with Hydrangea Bobo. Under the magnolia on the right side of the walkway (in front of porch) are double knockouts looking mediocre due to lack or pruning and sun. I want to move them and replace with a partial shade-tolerant conifer or evergreen (for Christmas lights!!!).
Option #1: I have a dozen, quart-sized C. obtusa "Nana Lutea" - my only reservation is I've read they can be more upright with age and might overtake the area with time. I don't know... I can use them elsewhere (they are immune/tolerant to black walnut toxicity - which is another post)
Option #2: dark green dwarf yews planted on 3 foot centers with Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') planted en masse between them and cascading over the walkway.
Option #3: Tsuga dwarf cultivars?
Option #4 - any recommendations from you guys/gals?
Comments (16)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years agombrad_plantnut101
4 years agohey Ken, 25-30 miles SW of Chicago in rural area near Joliet (corn, farms, and country clubs near us). The pic is actually from the real estate listing agency drone. I will take some more yard shots this week. I am going more for design here than conifer varieties. My old house was a collection (and the back and side yards will be too). I am trying to not go for one of these and one of that... I am going for color and impact here. Here is the street view... a long driveway. I want to put the knockouts approx. to the right of the car along the driveway - lots of sun there. It is a long and useless section of grass that doesn't mow well. I am thinking the right side of the driveway will be one long and textured border with roses, hydrangeas, natives, and of course dwarf conifers.
Once I get going I will post more pics. I have a lot of land and lots of possibilities. The lot is odd-shaped, and the driveway goes on an angle. Anything in that section of lawn you asked about would actually be dead-center in front of the house. There are two mid-size oak trees in near the street and they will get a lot larger so I am kind of enjoying the lawn as this is the only part that the grass grows well. The lawn in the back with all the trees is patchy and I know its old-fashioned, but I like a thick lawn. This is an old pic and since moving in, there is a dwarf conifer and xeriscape perennial garden in a semi-circle by the stone mailbox. Thanks !!
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Comments (4)Sorry to leave you to deal with our crazy Chinese friend all by yourself. I think you're quite right not to block the windows and as such to go with perennials. The problem with that is that for a good portion of the year you will have empty dirt or dead foliage, as you point out, but on the other hand perennials are interesting to watch up close because they are changing every day and maybe attracting bees. Nonetheless I'm not sure I would put the garden there, but rather outside the main sidewalk. But since the bed is there, you might as well try it, and you can always change it. Plants can be moved. If you are new to this I agree with leaving the grass where it is for now, not expanding the beds. See first what your gardening personality is. I think you'll find your planned planting amazingly sparse at first, and will have a lot of weeding to do before it grows in. So maybe be sure to mulch when you plant, but even so, you will have to be vigilant. Regarding your focal point shrubs, something tall and rangy like a hydrangea might make the doorway seem cramped - for that reason I'd tend to put the height near the outside corners, not near the door necessarily. Near the door I'd go with something narrow and ideally pretty up close. There is a narrow shrub I love called Ilex crenata "Mariesii" or else there is a columnar golden yew. Tall pots with clipped boxwood might also be fun, but the obviously need to be clipped. Just some thoughts; good luck. KarinL...See MoreFront garden re-design help!
Comments (3)Sango Kaku is a very very cool and unique Japanese maple. The fire red bark makes it especially nice in winter. However, they get very big for a Japanese maple 15-20ft and nearly as wide in 10 years. You might want to consider moving that to the far left corner of the house or maybe even into the yard. If you like the look of Sango Kaku, Acer palmatum 'Beni kawa' gives that same nice bark, but much more dwarf growing to only about 7ft by 4ft in 10 years For conifers, you will need to figure out exactly how much direct sun the spot gets. If it's over 2 hours of afternoon sun, I think you could try some really nice cultivars. You might consider: - Sciadopitys verticillata 'Joe Kozy' (Japanese Umbrella Pine) - Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata' (Japanese Plum Yew) - Podocarpus macrophylla - Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' - Cedrus deodara 'Karl Fuchs' - This could be a gamble, depending on how much sun you get. Cedrus is very popular in TX because it's extremly heat and drought tolerant, but does prefer a bit more sun... Might be worth a shot thought, because there are a lot of really nice cultivars in the Cedrus family....See MoreYour advice please? Designing a front garden bed.
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
emmarene9
3 years ago
PROYardvaark
3 years agoThe pictures I want are taken while you stand in line with the front door, on the red dot. Pan the camera widely enough to capture the view between the lavender lines, in slightly overlapping pictures.
If a prime objective is to make the entrance welcoming, I think you are working contrary to that goal by enclosing the entrance walk in continuous bed. It will make pedestrians feel penned in, especially if the enclosing plant material has any height. And it may obscure the path and some of the entrance from the approaching view. People like to easily see the entrance and where they're going before they get there. A low, small tree in front of the porch works against making the entrance seem welcoming, too, and against the best presentation of the house. It would be better to pull the tree farther away from the porch and place it in a new island that occurs at the intersection of the walk and drive, but on the opposite side of the walk. Limit the island to the small tree, of which the canopy must be overhead so as not to block the view to or from the door, and to groundcover and low plants which will not obscure any area from another. The farther a tree is from the house, the less it matters what it's in front of.
mbrad_plantnut101
3 years ago
PROCelery. Visualization, Rendering images
3 years agoYou probably can trim magnolia a little bit.
Here is some option
- PRO
Yardvaark
3 years ago doods
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoShoemaker
3 years agoplantkiller_il_5
3 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years agoplantkiller_il_5
3 years agoplantkiller_il_5
3 years ago
mbrad_plantnut101Original Author