I'm with Ken - you've got enough in there already; don't forget they need room to grow.

The other side belongs to the neighbor, who has promised to trim the peonies. The previous owners of both homes had a joint prairie meadow in that space.

I was worried about crowding as well. Many thanks for your responses. I'm a newbie gardener, who inherited a wild yard :)

Oh, and I use small whole pine cones for mulch to deter rabbits, cats and slugs.

The peonies needed to be staked upright before they bloomed and the heavy flowers pulled them over - they are perennials that make one set of stems each year and cannot be trimmed back until the foliage dies away in fall. If they are to stay where they are then other, compatible border perennials such as day lilies and hostas need to be planted near them rather than dwarf or small-growing evergreen shrubs that can be buried by them and don't have the same kind of visual character.

Also small-growing dahlias can be planted among peonies for summer interest - again as long as the peonies are kept from flopping onto them.

Daffodils look great blooming among the reddish, developing peony stems in spring.

The best book I have seen on organizing mixed border plantings is Garden Design Illustrated by John and Carol Grant.

I've thought about that as well. I think I'll move the purple gem rhodos to another area of our yard and put thuja bowling balls or green velvet boxwoods. I also plan on increasing my section of the bed's size.

I highly recommend the book Garden Design Illustrated by John and Carol Grant. It's one of the better books out there on landscape design.
Ron, you can lead a horse to water......
mike Like Bookmark

Except where taller growing box are used to form hedges or tree-like specimens dwarf conifers and box are rock garden style evergreen shrubs same as the rhododendrons so if you move those in there you will just be continuing the same visual and physical conflicts - especially if the neighbor never gets the peonies propped up each year (they need to provide support for them to grow up into or onto each spring).

You probably need to make your part of the border wider so you have enough room to operate without his unsupported peonies getting in your way.

Also it would look better if the border came out and around the tree instead of being a rectangular strip - the narrowness of the border relative to the height of the tree makes the tree look out of scale (too big). Another enhancement would be to plant taller shrubs around the tree so that the planting flows up to the tree instead of going past it, without incorporating it.

See the book for more of this kind of thing, including sample designs and drawings that show what they are talking about (hence Illustrated).

Thank you. I got the book today.

I added landscape edging a few weeks ago in front of the hostas around the tree, but havent moved or planted anything there yet. So much to do in this yard :)

Congratulations on getting the book.
Now you will learn how to make your design flow and look more professional.
mike