Yikes, that is bad... they look like arbs growing in shade & not liking it. The fence is in good condition: do you think that you need a green wall there (holly?) or could you be happy with a lower line of mixed shrubs?

removal would probably be my choice ...

there might be things you could do.. with lots of patience ... if they were in full sun ...

but in shade.. they are lacking vigor.. and therefore.. it might take decades for any kind of potential recovery.. if any ... in other words .. there might not be much to 'save'...

ken

The fence is in good shape, I'm open to any suggestions, not attached to one look or the other

one of the base problems here.. is that there is a lack of diversity ... so when one started failing.. they basically all started failing ...

when you remove them.. and replant.. look to a diverse number of plants ... so that you dont run into this again ...

any chance there is a large maple to the left of them .... there might be severe water competition ... which exacerbated the decline ... the tree is definitely competing with the grass and cutting its vigor ....

ken

I'm a huge fan of the parent species from which these horrid plants were derived. But these things are done. Take them out and start something you actually would like to have there. Choices are near-endless!

There are huge maples everywhere! The property is fully (overly) irrigated, though I'm not 100% sure if it's in this area or not.

Pull them up. I have two suggestions.

If it were me, I would plant espaliers along the fence, things like firethorn, rose of sharon, fruit trees, etc. If you want something low maintenance, this isn't an option.

I think that rhododendrons, or maybe pieris would look nice.

Uh...Pyracantha (firethorn) needs full sun, as do rose of Sharon and fruit trees. If these arbs can't make it, your suggestions surely cannot. Rhododendron and Pieris can both grow beautifully in shade, but have completely different profiles. That may be fine, but they are not substitutes.

I've had success with Annabelle hydrangeas everywhere on my property which is shady..I would do as NHBabs suggested and plant away from the fence..

If deer are a problem, rhodies and hydrangeas may not be good choices. Otherwise, they're great choices, though rhodies will need acid soil as will Pieris.

Deer aren't a problem. I don't need necessarily a similar replacement idea. Maybe something to bring beauty to the side yard, it's just so drab and ugly. Should I do the same thing all along the fence? Or figure out something else?

I love 'Annabelle' but she goes down completely in winter, so I'd use it as an accent shrub.

Maybe an herbaceous perennial border would be more interesting. Many choices suitable for shade-you could have some nice contrast with that fence.

"Should I do the same thing all along the fence? Or figure out something else?"

That's such a wide open question that we would really want some guidance. What you do there depends a lot on how you use your property, what kind of time you have available to spend working in the garden, and what appeals to you aesthetically. For instance, if you have little kids that like to play soccer in the yard and you like to spend lots of time with them, you aren't going to want what Ken refers to as "foo-foo plants", ones that are fussy, delicate and take lots of attention to keep looking good. Two goals you've stated are that you want the area to look more appealing and to have plants that do well in shade in your zone. What else is important?

If I were you, I'd spend some time looking at gardens in your area, both public and in neighborhoods where you find the gardens appealing, focussing particularly on shade or part-shade gardens. Take photos both of the gardens and of individual plants you like and get plants ID'd on the name that plant forum here on GW. Look through books from the library, visit landscape designer's websites and browse photos. Meander through the Houzz landscape photos for your zone or area. Get some kind of an idea of what appeals to you and then ask for suggestions in the relevant forum on GW: Landscape Design, Perennials, shrubs, etc. Figure out as well how deep a space you are willing to use. What is planted right now realistically isn't wide enough for anything other than grass/groundcover, so you need to decide if there is a max width you will be willing to use for something that looks nice or if you are willing to give free reign to ideas of depth of the bed.

Once you have some idea of where you want to go with this (and the possiblilities are wide from a single row of plants all of the same kind, to just grass or other groundcover to a perennial border to a mix of shrubs or a combination of shrubs and perennials) then you can get constructive suggestions on what to do. When you ask for specific suggestions, I'd start a new thread, and stand in one corner of the yard and take a series of photos (not a panorama shot) that fans across the yard so we have an idea what the whole thing looks like. As well, a shot from your plot plan or Google maps would be useful to see the whole thing in plan view.

This is unused, empty space. In my opinion it should have been fenced off for the backyard, maybe bylaws prevented it, I don't know. I can use as much of the yard as is needs for whatever project I choose. I don't want anything that needs constant attention, but don't need to go no maintenance. I will browse and take pictures etc.

Hard to get a good pic, but it is the corner lot , the shrubs are on the other side of the pool.

So you own all that space from the pool to the road? If so, don't plant anything against the fence but instead plant various sized things out in the open to give the space a 3D feel. Planting against the fence is too linear. As for the fence facing the neighbor, do nothing there.

Like Babs said above, see what you like in your region- although I am not convinced shade killed those arbs. They are on a berm and they may have died of thirst or poor planting techniques.

Not sure how far you are from Wilsonville, but a trip to Whistling Gardens would be a start for conifer ideas. I met Darren at an American Conifer Society gathering in 2008 and he is good people.

tj