- A picture would sure be great

- Except for annual flowers and vegetables it is more efficient to just mulch after planting rather than amending

Just a comment on the distance from the house for the Pagoda Dogwood--8-12 feet is too close. This is a wide tree.

Hmmm the sites I have found say up to 20'x20' in size. It's the variegated form I will plant, not the species, which I understand grows much larger. Plus the edge of the house is actually a one story open porch, so It would have a bit more room to spread if it needed. If I have the size of this tree wrong, please let me know. I'm basing my info on what I found on the web. Thanks!

Sorry no pictures. I'm not good with a camera.

You do like the specimens! to help you achieve a more cohesive look, consider planting fewer types of shrubs and repeating your fav. in large drifts.
Also when you say triangular do you mean the edge into the lawn will be straight? If so I'd reconsider that, you'll never have a relaxing feel to the garden if you don't have some curves.

A Cornus controversa 'Variegata' planted in Ireland around 1924 was 35' tall with an average crown spread of 45' by the time it died in 1980.

I have a similar situation, except mine is flat. My triangle is 30' long and 12' at the base, and the right angle side is bordering a lawn. Although i am using palms, i had to debate whether 3 palms, spaced at 10 feet apart, were too many. After some advice from other people growing the same palm (phoenix canariensis) i've only used 2 instead of 3, since each can reach a span of 25'. I think crown spread is the major concern, as you don't want to have them crammed into each other and look messy.

Here is a photo of the area i'm talking about before adding the plants and two palms. It is the triangle area to the left.
{{gwi:32372}}

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

ilikemud - The line won't be perfectly straight, but it won't have sweeping curves, just vaguely bulging at the mid point. I need to compromise between wanting as much garden space as possible and keeping enough grass for a front-yard soccer field for two kids. I know what you mean about going for a cohesive look. I am thinking with the space I have I can fit small three trees and four large shrubs, with some smaller shrubs in front. Would you think it was terrible, if I picked four different large shrubs (i.e., 6-10 feet), but tried to unify the smaller plantings, i.e., had grouping of two or three smaller shrubs, like daphne 'Carol Mackie' sized, in front of each of the larger shrubs.

central_cali - In a way, my triangle is a third again as large as yours, so do you think three trees would fit in my space?

bboy - I found this discussion on a European site: It says Cornus alternifolia 'Argentea' (which is what my nursery has) is more slow growing than Cornus controversa 'Variegata' and is much more suitable to small gardens. Now the ones they have are about a foot high, which means it will probably be 10 years before it has any presence at all. I was thrilled to find any form locally, so it's just a matter of finding a spot that fits it. I'll definitely ask at the nursery.

This is fun and hard! I am so glad I am eliminating perennials from this bed (at least for now). There would just be too many choices then!

Thanks so much!

Lisa

Yes, much more shrubby. Have not seen it taller than about 20'.

So you think 12 feet away from the house would be ok on that one?

Lisa

I think it's great that you have identified the kind of gardener you are. I found the sentence "I am a plantsman, not a gardener" in a magazine about ten years ago and it was my gateway to the same understanding. No drifts for me either!

I have a quantity of plants that no other person would try to cram onto a property the size of mine, and individual plants that by themselves would occupy the whole space if I did not (a) control them by pruning or dividing or staking or tying, and (b) cull the occasional individual that tries to grow to its full size. My conclusion about shrubs in particular is that you have to have a plan for the airspace that they can occupy and keep them to it, otherwise they will just take all they can get. But trees too... you decide which major branches will be allowed to grow, and which will go. You do need to take light direction into account, as a certain amount of leaning for the light will occur among deciduous shrubs.

So my answer to your question would be to plant as you wish at this moment. Ten or twenty years from now, you or a future home owner may make different decisions, but you can only make decisions for today; you can't control what people do down the line anyway, so why try to plant for the needs of twenty years hence? To leave a reasonable amount of space is only rational, but to strive for leaving the perfect amount of space is to sacrifice your current needs for future needs that you cannot even guarantee will play out. The next owner may clearcut the whole lot, or cull a specimen they dislike anyhow. In addition, you will be able to move these specimens around for a few years anyway.

By the way, the aerial view is not the only one you should consider. You have no doubt done so, but think about view corridors and window blockages and such too.

KarinL