Yes.

Because it's there.

There are a lot of shrubs with a tendency to sucker that are best used in the middle of lawns. That way the lawnmower automatically controls the spread.

when i moved to this 5 acres.. the first year i took me 6 hours to mow the horse pasture.. not quite lawn ... EVERY WEEK

after 12 years of planting trees/shrubs/ and conifers.. it takes me about 2 years to mow ...

and!!! .. they do not need to be mowed every week.. once that part of the lawn is given to something other than grass.. its no longer a weekly job

ken

Ken, my question is not about taking lawn out its about planting various shrubs in the lawn area. SOmething I never see today. Everything is tucked in the flower beds. What are your thoughts on this?

ken, honey.....it takes you two YEARS to mow? Where can we send 'care packages'? ;-)

I used to have a lawn mower like that....

The more you grow, the less you mow.

I don't know where you are that you don't see shrubs planted in lawns. On the short trip to take DD to the library this afternoon, I saw forsythia, roses, barberry, flowering quince, spirea, yews, junipers, and lilacs all planted as shrubs in the middle of lawns.

mad_gallica's The only way I see a shrub planted in a lawn is if they make an island bed or a bed of sorts with grass taken out. I know people will plant trees in grass but I can't find a shrub or bush planted in grass. I even looked on line and can't find a picture of this either. Thanks for the encouraging information from your area.

yeah yeah.. typpo...

this one acre.. used to be plain horse pasture ... one hour to mow..

now the paths take about 3 minutes ...

who needs a lawn ..

ken
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Ken, that's gorgeous. I have tree envy.

Wow Ken! No wonder they allow you to be snarky around here :)
Gorgeous!

Goodness that is out of this world! How long did it take you do create that? Thanks so much for sharing!

No doubt, Ken doesn't post pics often enough. Absotively posilutely Fantabulous!

I think it's more of a north culture / south culture thing. I've been trying to figure this out since moving from OH - where hardly anybody plants a shrub without a bed around it - to AL - where hardly anybody has a bed around their mid-yard shrubs. There are a lot of factors in play but I think a big one is this vine-like grass that's much harder to keep out of beds. I still can't get used to looking at all of the yards like this. Personally, I'd rather maintain the edge of a surrounding bed than try to add more things to trim individually. There are 2 small trees in the front yard and I've been thinking about making a bed area to "connect" them. Howevwer, like "mad" said, I may just be inviting a lot (more) suckering if I do that, which would defeat the primary goal of trying to make the yard easier to maintain.

But anyway, if you want to carefully trim around the trunk without hitting it with your mower or weed wacker, there's no reason not to. That's the main drawback that I know of. We did recently add a confederate rose to the yard by just digging a hole big enough for its' roots. Bumping that with mower or trimmer won't hurt it once established. There's no definitive answer.

I guess it might be easier to discuss the particular species you have in mind.

they allow you to be snarky around here ==>>> most of them know.. when i get into professor mode.. that i am 'seeming' to be lecturing ... i try so hard.. but when the knowledge flows out.. it just sounds cranky ... and nothing i try changes that..

i moved here 1/2000 ... and that area was probably planted by 2005 ... note not much right next to the cement pad ...

riding mower.. with attached garden cart...the paths are simply for mulch delivery ...

a few other pix below with updated patio plantings ... cat for scale .. lol

thx for the kind words ...

ken

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Those are beautiful beds, Ken!

I think it's easier to care for shrubs if they have a bed around them. I didn't do that for a long time and found that some of my roses were losing their leaves. Learned that the roots of the St. Augustine grass were interfering with the nutrients the roses could get, so I made beds around them and they're doing better in a short time. Having grass a foot tall or so growing at the base of a bush doesn't look good, anyway. See attached picture for example - Crinum 'Madame Bosanquet' is next on the list to get a bed made around it.

And I'm starting to plant shrubs in the middle of my yard, though I don't see it very often here. But I want blooming plants that will attract butterflies and hummers, so I'm making beds in the middle of my yard for them.

perhaps a problem we are having.. is defining a bed .. it is possible to have a single plant ... which i dont really call a bed ....

the pic above.. is wrought with potential failure.. mostly due to the inability to maintain the grass AROUND the plant.. rather than IN the plant.. weedwhipping.. lawn fert.. etc..

in my book.. that plant would have 6 to 12 inches of mulch around it ... and i would still call it a plant in the lawn.. rather than a bed ....

for sure.. i am NOT talking about directly in the lawn ...

ken

Yes, eahamel, that's so common to the south, for all kinds of plants. Is that what you had in mind, Mary_max (besides the fact that pictured is a clump of bulbs instead of a shrub?)

The crinum will have a bed around it soon, and will be connected to some other plants to make a large bed. I see this sort of thing all over the place.

I have found that grass almost always wins out over anything planted in it; as eahamel said, the grass ends up with all the nutrients (and water!), so the shrub or perennial languishes.

Ken your pictures are absolutely gorgeous! You've created a beautiful and perfectly serene oasis to just relax. I love it. I could sit there all day and enjoy the scenery.

I also saw your adorable cat. I bet it was following you around to see what you were up to, you know how cats like to be curious all the time. lol