Forgot to mention that I'm in N IL - zone 5.

I am not a professional but we do have viburnum in our landscape along our foundation. Personally, I much prefer the Sambucus "Black Lace" and the Weigela 'Wine and Roses' and wondered if you have considered something along those lines. Or, if you are set on the viburnum, have you thought about Korean Spice Viburnum? One of the things I regret about my landscaping is that we did not pay more attention to scent.

Your house is beautiful, by the way.

Wine and roses needs sun - this is a part shade location. The reason for the summer magic is that the mature size is about 6' x 8' and I want something this size to cover the blank white stucco wall between the windows.

don

The plant selection might be a bit heavy on deciduous shrubs, but that might be acceptable for you. I would wonder why the bed does not include the walnut tree. It is hard to comment more on the shape of the bed without more knowledge of your backyard and how it is used.

- Brent

So your thinking to extend the bedline to include the walnut tree? I could do that. I'll have to see how far into the yard the bed would extend. I don't want to take away from the yard area where the kids play. I have more pics of the yard.

As for more evergreens, would you suggest more yews (the only conifer I can use I think because of the shade), or add something else like rhododendron?

thx, Don

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics of yard

In Illinois, you may or may not have the soil for rhododendrons and their relatives. And if you don't, then shade evergreens pretty much equal yews.

What you should think about is what the combination of deciduous and evergreen shrubs look like in the winter. To my mind mixing the two often produces odd gaps. If the gaps make sense from a design perspective, that's one thing, but too often they seem to be random.

Since this seems to be a backyard, another factor is how often anyone is out there during the winter.

We are seldom in the back yard during the winter, so that won't be much of a concern.

I thought of adding another brownii yew to the left side of the viburnum, and moving the 3 hydrangeas closer together (since I think they'll probably be 3' max). So I would have 1 brownii on the left corner and 2 flanking the viburnum.
OR, since my concern is covering the blank wall should I consider maybe a capitata yew instead of the viburnum?

Any other thoughts on whether or not to extend the bedline to include the walnut tree? My initial thought was just a foundation planting leaving most of the grass in tact. If I do extend the bedline, any suggestions for plants in that area away from the foundation? I would think maybe some varieties of hosta and other shade perennials, possibly pachysandra around the tree.

thx, Don

I like the idea of incorporating the tree with the foundation plantings if you can make a large enough bed coming out toward the playground. However, my personal experience with Black Walnut is that they tend to stunt or outright kill shrubs (and especially expensive perennials) planted too close; it's a chemical released by the roots.

Other than that, my personal preferance is that any tree that drops viable seeds or nuts be surrounded by grass or perhaps mulch rather than a planted bed so I can keep the volunteers in line.

Living in N IL as well, I can say, I don't see very many happy and healthy rhodies around here - we don't have the acidic soil they like. A shame, since I dislike yews with a passion. ;)

Everything I have read about black walnut trees suggest that they exude phytotoxcic chemicals, so I wouldn't put any plants around the black walnut.

Pond features are the rage on TV shows, but they are also an additional maintenace feature and insect breeding ground. A bog garden with astillbes would provide a low groundcover and great summer color.

I too would include the walnut as part of a larger planting bed. There are a great many plants that are resistant to or tolerant of the allelopathic effects of juglone, many of which are shade lovers, so you shouldn't be too limited by perennials or groundcovers to include. Larger shrubs may be a bit more of a challenge - not that there aren't as many that are resistant to the effects, but rather that it is harder to dig and plant and establish larger plants within the dripline of large, stablished trees - too many roots to deal with.

Here is a link that might be useful: juglone tolerant plants

Thanks all for the inputs. I've read some articles on black walnut that say yews are sensitive, but I just ripped out the row of old yews and they seemed to be doing fine.

For the bed I would not want to be more than 3' out from the opposite side of the tree so that I do not lose much of the yard. Sound OK?

Any more suggestions on the foundation planting?

thx, don

Just a notion. I like the look of annuals in a variety of containers. They'd need to be rather large under a tree but offer opporunities for color and textture.

I know from nothing about northern climes. Is there anything deciduous that could be espalied (sp?) on that white wall and give a sculptural effect in winter?

David

The pictures of your yard show a nice relaxing space for you and your family! In the view from the porch, the tree looks like it is out further than what is shown in the plan. I would still be tempted to include the tree into the bed. You would not have to plant anything near the tree. I was thinking mulching out 2' around the tree and maybe a stepping stone path behind the tree. The idea of plants in containers is a great idea.

I would also think about creating a perennial garden over by the porch. I love shrubs but they can be a bit static. I love to observe the month to month changes of perennials.

- Brent

Thanks Brent. The position of the tree in the drawing I think is right on - it's about 15' away from the house. I was also thinking the bed would go 2-3' out fromm the tree with a flagstone path behind, and perennials like hosta, astilbe, fern, etc around the pond (or fountain). The purpose of the everlow yew in the corner was to give some color in the winter instead of looking out at an empty bed. I suppose antoher option would be to start the waterfall in the corner.

The next problem is the WT. Both yew and hydrangea that I have in my plan are sensitive to juglone from the tree (according to the Ohio State web site - and the list of shrubs that are tolerant and also grow in partial shade is short). A poster on the hydrangea forum said he had success with hydrangea under a WT, but I don't want to take that chance with $45 light-o-days I just bought. One thing that I'm confused about is why the old yews that I just ripped out seemed to do fine in the root zone of the tree.

Any other suggestions for foundation shrubs? The viburnum is tolerant, and I think the yew on the left corner of the house will be far enough away from the WT. Other than that there aren't many choices for evergreeen, and I need a substitute for the hydrangeas.

thx, Don

Hi Don:

Another shade tolerant evergreen that you might consider is holly. Some like more sun, but many, including the blue hollies do very well in the shade, and the berries would be beautiful in winter. Mature size will probably be bigger than what you're looking for, but with a little effort they can be kept in check. I don't know if they're tolerant of juglone, but maybe someone else could chime in and let us know.

I searched the web and found conflicting information - 1 site says Amrerican holly is tolerant, another says it's sensitive. Other holly types were not mentioned. I may go ahead and plant the 3 brown's yews I was planning only because the ones I ripped out seemed to thive.

Any other general comments or suggestions on the layout/placement for the foundation plants?

thx, Don