hedge of grasses... or other ideas? (UPDATE! this looks so stupid)

last year

last modified: last year

I am looking to plant a short hedge in the middle of my backyard to replace some wild lilies I inherited, which the deer annihilate every year. The spot is visible from my kitchen window so I would love something with movement and color/interest. Any suggestions?

Looking for 3' or taller, space gets full sun.

PS: "no" to zebra grass...

Featured Answer

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

last year

Part of the issue is that it is out of scale, too small for the large expanse of yard. It also has the issue that it is pretty much a straight line of plants in an unstructured area. I would most likely return it to mowed lawn grass and use the plants elsewhere in gardens. Otherwise I would make it much larger and not lined up in rows. Use some taller plants like large shrubs or even a couple of small trees toward the center of the bed with several layers of perennials moving out toward the outside of the bed.

Comments (8)

laceyvail 6A, WV
last year
I'd go for one of the Panicums (switchgrass). Maybe 'Northwind'.
Lauren W. (z5b - CNY)
Original Author
last year
I need help!

This area was like this when we moved in - a patch of lilies in the middle of the yard (see original photo, above).

I thought if I pulled everything out, I could put something more appealing in its place. Attached is what I ended up with... now it just looks like randomness in the middle of the yard. Do I just need to give it time to fill in and make a hedge? The grass is panicum heavy metal and I have them with russian sage. I was going to add a groundcover for the front, but now I don't know. I don't want to go too far if it's not going to look right. Do I need to make changes, and if so, what do you suggest?
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Thanks for the responses. Ken. I did post previously about a single dwarf conifer specimen for the front yard. Im in the burbs north of Detroit. And yes, I have no plan to buy anything I don't see with my own eyes. Which is why I initially limited my selections for blue spruces to varieties such as bakeri or fat albert that are available at Bordines or any of the many nurseries in Romeo Plank area especially since I want to start with sizeable specimens. Dax, thanks for the suggestions. Will look for these in local nurseries. The reason I intially started with arborvitae was the small footprint which would allow planting in groupings of three. Somehow that sounded better than individual plants at intervals but I might be wrong. Do you feel I am being over-ambitious with the number of evergreens? The current trees belong to the neighbour and unfortunately I don't know what they are. In 5 years perhaps, they may provide the coverage I want now but considering they are without leaves half the year, don't feel thats enough. I work all day in a windowless office, would like to come home (esp in winter) and look at my slice of nature. The burning bush while on my property is maintained by the neighbour as per prior agreement (he was worried we would chop it down) so I have little control over its shape. Agree that lack of privacy is the price to pay for living in suburbia. One could argue that I should have thought of this when purchasing the property but other factors came into play, namely proximity to the in-laws for baby sitting support................. Right now I'm more focussed on picking the evergreens for the spine. Have some ideas for the plantings in between but that will come later. It will give me room to plant shrubs/conifers that I would not have had the space for otherwise, Deutzia, pinus strobus nana, hydrangeas, viburnums etc etc What I don't want is a solid wall of green which might be somewhat claustrophobic and somewhat dull. I also realize I need to worry about how big these may get 10 years from now which is why I would never plant a colorado blue spruce but rather one of the "dwarf" varieties
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Oh, now builders - there's another story. We built our house we're in now. The builder only put shrubs in front of the house. We planted our own trees. Then someone moved in a couple doors down who works for the city. City ordinance says the builder must provide a tree in each front yard, so they came back with the sickest bunch of trees and plunked them down in the front of each house. They didn't add one to our yard since we already had trees planted. At least four of those trees had borers in them when they were planted and were since replaced. I remember looking at these trees thinking they were the worst looking trees I've seen - not in good shape at all. Some of them have filled out and have become nice looking trees. Builders really don't get the landscaping part at all. They just plunk a bunch of shrubs in across the front and call it "beautifully landscaped." I don't think they put in more than $200. There is a neighborhood here in Allen that has some nice looking Knockout roses. They look great. I just hope they don't treat them like annuals and rip them out in the fall!
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I would suggest you rethink the Endless Summer idea unless you don't ever get spring frosts or you can cover them all in that event. The problem with Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars, even rebloomers like ES is that once the buds start swelling prior to bloom, they are vulnerable to frost. So if you have a warm February and then a cold dip, you may not get any of the spring blooms at all only the ones that form from new buds later in the year. And I am not sure how well they will do in your area with morning sun, especially with the sun heating up the wall. In my area, northern New England, morning sun is good for any of the Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars (as long as I winter protect) but in TX you may need much more shade based on comments in the Hydrangea forum. There is a poster there from Hurst which is your part of TX, so you might check out his suggestions for morning sun, afternoon shade. I think that any of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivars such as Limelight, Quickfire, Bobo, etc would be better in that spot as far as healthy growth and good blooming.
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D M PNW
last year
Why are you thinking hedge? How do you use the space? Is all of the grass yours or some of it your neighbor's? Part of the randomness is the rigid planting arrangement in an amorphous shaped bed with nothing else around. It will look totally different once everything grows big and intertwines.
KW PNW Z8
last year
last modified: last year
@Lauren W. (z5b - CNY) If I understand correctly, you want a planted area in the midst of very large expanse of grass & trees on your property. The placement of this planted area is viewable from your kitchen window(s).The daylilies, which had nice summerlong color, didn’t work because deer snacked on them. When you dug up the daylilies, you didn’t change the shape of planting bed, correct? My suggestion is that you expand the bed to at least triple the size, giving it an organic or curvilinear shape. Using the Panicum as the foundation or backbone of the bed, layer lower plantings of different types all around the bed. The panicum reaches @ 5’ & the bed should have the layered plants all around it so it looks good from any viewing angle.Chose evergreen & perennials so you don’t have the monoculture that you have now. I can’t offer deer resistant planting suggestions but a local nursery should offer great advice base on your drawing of shape, size & sun exposures.
cecily 7A
last year
If that's the usual parking space for the trailer, could you add a row of shrubs behind the panicum to screen out the trailer?
ShadyWillowFarm
last year
It looks random because it is random.
BillMN-z-2-3-4
last year
Those were along the same line of thoughts I had.

It needs to be more of a centerpiece, with something larger in the center and lower height plants cascading down to the lowest plants near the outside. And not all in a straight line, but either a 'cross' or 'star' shape or at least a bit more circular.

hedge of grasses... or other ideas? (UPDATE! this looks so stupid)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

Comments (8)

laceyvail 6A, WV

Lauren W. (z5b - CNY)
Original Author

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hedge of grasses... or other ideas? (UPDATE! this looks so stupid)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

Comments (8)

laceyvail 6A, WV

Lauren W. (z5b - CNY)Original Author

Related Discussions

D M PNW

KW PNW Z8

cecily 7A

ShadyWillowFarm

BillMN-z-2-3-4

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Lauren W. (z5b - CNY)
Original Author