Gardenia is very nice especially if you like the smell (I do, but I'm sure there are some people that don't). I would certainly go for something shorter than what you had. Those boxwoods seemed a bit big for that space and covered up too much of the house. Homes today don't generally have the ugly foundations of homes built in the past and I think that people tend to over do the "foundation" plant effect.

Nice gate.

esh ga~~You are right about the boxwoods being too big. The pic was taken at a time of year that they needed to be pruned down.
My house is on a slab and this end of the house has a 2 foot foundtion of cement between the ground and where the siding begins. I think that I will paint the foundation with the same house paint and hopfully it won't stand out as much from the street.
The 2 or 3 new plants will be spaced alittle further apart than the boxwoods were. Depth perception in the pic doesn't show it very well but the 2 side plants can be brought out and forward alittle (forming more of a curve rather than all straight in a row).

Keep the suggestions coming, please.

if you like gardenia, i'd suggest putting one on either end so you don't have to prune them so much to keep them out from in front of the window. then you could do a lower, wider specimen plant in between.

or, you could put a climbing rose in the middle, let it spread, peg it out, and then put trellises up either side of the window for it.

I don't think you will be happy with gardenias there. I really like the look of something dense and lush green as a backdrop, and gardenia for some reason doesn't do it for me behind azaleas. The azaleas will be done blooming when the gardenias bloom and will appear to be blocking the view. I like the idea of keeping your eye forward of the azaleas in the summer and whatever is behind them being more a backdrop. Would daphne work there? Or some sort of dwarf holly with a winter berry? Dwarf Bufords would probably be too big, but there must be something that works. Would you consider moving the azaleas back closer to the house and then plant something low in front of them like gardenia radicans? If you want to keep the look similar to what you have then why not do a soft touch holly, they look a lot like boxwoods.

Daphnes? I think you would love the scent!

ggg

BTW what is the blooming groundcover? I can't quite tell. Looks very pretty.

I thought that daphne was a fussy plant?? What experience do you all have with it in our area? This area does not get alot of attention so I don't want to neglect a plant that needs lots of care. I'll even post a seperate thread about daphne if needed. Something to rethink....

I already bought 3 gardenia but I can put them in the backyard.

The pic above was taken last spring. Since then I have planted gardenia radicans in front of the azaleas on both sides of the pathway to the gate.
BTW, the purple flowering groundcover is Mazus reptans.
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