foundation shrub options/design

16 years ago

I'm new to gardening and I'm feeling overwhelmed so I'm hoping to get some more experienced advise here. We recently bought an attached, brick, tudor style home, and I'm having a hard time deciding what to plant in the front foundation bed.

The bed to the right of the front walk has white evergreen azaleas, but the bed to the left (13x6, full sun) is totally empty. Behind this bed is a low (maybe 2 feet) brick foundation to a covered porch which then has two windows into the house, you can't see the front door from the walk.

Here's what I'm thinkingÂ

Dwarf Burford Holly to the far left to anchor the bed, be 4-season interest, and hide an ugly window well cover. Because this will eventually be a 4-6 foot compact mound I was thinking a more natural/organically shaped upright shrub (max. 3-4 foot wide) would be nice contrast in the center of the bed. I'm not big on showy flowers so I was thinking a Little Henry Sweetspire, or Chokeberry, which would give nice fall color, but they both seem to send up suckers and I'm concerned about them taking over the remaining right side of the bed where I was hoping to put a small herb garden (full shade backyard is a subject for another day).

So I guess my questions are

1) Any thoughts on the layout idea: 4-6 mounding shrub, 3-4 ft. upright, rosemary and lavender backdrop to an assorted herb garden?

2) Any suggestions for that center plant: 3-4 foot max, maybe upright deciduous with white flowers or an interesting fall color?

3) If I plant a Sweetspire or another suckering shrub, can they be controlled at all?

I appreciate any suggestions people might have.

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
a pic would sure be nice ...

i cant think of a single shrub that would fit in a space 6 feet deep ... with plants behind it...

i fear you are thinking of jamming too much in this bed ...

in a 6 foot deep space.. a nice little 3 to 4 foot shrub would be it.. with space behind and in front ..

NEVER FORGET.. foundation plantings hide the foundation.. they are not to be plant on the foundation ...

ken
Iris GW
16 years ago
I have not found sweetspire to sucker so much that you can't control them.

I agree that a photo would be helpful. Consider posting a full sized one on a photohosting site (like photobucket) and then provide a link to the picture.
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WendyB 5A/MA
16 years ago
Daphne Carol Mackie
yetanotherjenn
Original Author
16 years ago
Sorry for not adding a picture before. I hope this link works. The photo is from last Fall and the giant mums are no longer in the bed on the left, which is the empty thorn in my side at this point. The bed is 13 wide partially hidden in this photo by our neighbors hydrangea and I've also made the bed a foot deeper since this photo was taken.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3502625&l=22db77d7ff&id=612912714
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
i will have to mull it over.. but frankly.. i would not put anything there that blocks the horizontal of the porch ...

there is so much in front of that house ... too much more would be less.. if you get what i mean ...

what is the sun .. and can you step back a few feet .. and get a pic of the whole front of the house..

one thing for a newbie... dont rush into making a problem for yourself..

if at worst.. you only get some annuals in there for this season.. we can plant some nice stuff in fall ...

there is always tomorrow ...

ken
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
16 years ago
Thanks for the photo. Lovely house!! I'm not going to make specific plant suggestions since my zone is so different from yours, but I will give some general thoughts.

With your porch, will a 4-6 ft shrub cut off too much of the light into your windows at the back of the porch and make that room too dark?

Is there a reason that you can't or don't want to make the bed a bit deeper? To my mind, a 6 ft deep foundation bed is still a bit shallow.

Consider whether you like variegated shrubs, which aren't flowery, but will add some lightness to the front of a dark-colored house.

If you don't want to deepen the bed, would you consider having your bed a majority herbs, since you've already mentioned lavender and rosemary, both of which are shrubby herbs. Would several lavender be large enough to hide your window cover?

Most New England gardeners, even in warmer areas than mine, haven't been successful with Itea 'Little Henry'. You might want to check with gardeners in your area to see how it does around you.
yetanotherjenn
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks everyone.

I'm trying not to rush any decisions because I don't want to have to redo anything or have regrets. However, sometimes I tend to over research and end up floundering.

When finding the photo for you I started to second guess my original plan too. I agree anything over 3 feet would probably overpower the tiny yard and porch, what with the neighbors tree and hydrangea (both of which we enjoy). While the yard gets full sun the porch is so deep we never really get a lot of light in the windows so that isn't really a concern.

The whole front yard, from porch to sidewalk is only 22 feet so I was afraid that if I made the bed any deeper than 6 feet the proportions would be off (other houses on our street seem to have the same proportions).

I like the suggestions for a variegated shrub which might stand out nicely on the brick.

I might just go ahead with the herbs for now while I continue to ponder the bigger commitment/investment of bushes.