sweet viburnum is gorgeous big fat bright green leaves fast grower and can be neglected. PERFECT for covering 6ft privacy fence and smells lovely in the spring and in the fall the foliage is golden and red. so prettty. it's evergreen here in south louisiana. they don't get big from front to back. they get tall and wide. but are really easy to hedge. they don't require hedging often though. i hedge mine once a year just to sharpen it up a bit. sometimes once every 2 years

got out in the rain to take photos of this ugly strip.

I agree with Embothrium above, that's far too close to plant those shrubs (imo)..I did this with both....that's how I know. Also ninebark will DIE if it gets too dry. Also from experience.

Maybe one of the dwarf Oak Leaf Hydrangeas if they really do max out about 4 foot? (I've never grown but the straight species). Or a dwarf Clethra?

Would Clethra like that much sun, though? I thought that they much preferred shade.

Mo Botanical garden says: Full sun to part shade, which I agree with.

I would plant a busy perennial. Something with a shape like Amsonia.

Many perennials would work. I suggest you go to the Perennials Forum and ask for more choices. I am not making a recommendation on specific plants as I do not live in your area.

I also think you should paint the meter the color of your siding.

You do not have room for a shrub.

Amsonia is a terrific perennial. Hardy, clean foliage, and deer resistant. Oh, and pretty.

The meter looks like a good place for a curve. Could you come out with the edging around the meter? A dwarf conifer sounds good to me.

I absolutely adore amsonia, but you (maackia) raise a very valid point about an evergreen, because all my suggestions will still leave the meter visible during the leafless period.

maackia, my husband just built the raised bed. My suggesting doing a bump out would not be met kindly! There is also a ditch that collects rain water next to it. He made it so I would still have a strip left to walk on.

The bed is much too narrow for anything but a dwarf evergreen. A huge bump out for a large shrub would look very peculiar, even if the OP wanted to do it.

A grass would only be bare in the short period after you cut it back in late winter. Just to offer an alternative to the unicorn of dwarf dark evergreen. Are you planning to landscape the whole border? I would, as a cohesive design.

Yep, not enough room for a virburnum. Whatever you put isn't really going to be much of a camoflauge though, since you have the window wells on the side preventing screening on all three sides, but side plantings really would be much too close to the house. Have you thought about a decorative screen, perhaps something out of a wood or one of the very nice metal ones? Something like these:

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/castlecreek-3-panel-air-conditioner-screen-38?a=2073358&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI75jB6I2Q6QIVAdvACh2pNQAyEAQYASABEgK_nPD_BwE

https://www.wayfair.com/Veradek--2-ft.-H-x-4-ft.-W-Screen-Series-Metal-Privacy-Screen-SCVB1-L3361-K~UBGK1059.html?refid=GX99081641362-UBGK1059&device=c&ptid=517026651805&network=g&targetid=pla-517026651805&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=68778262&fdid=1817&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI75jB6I2Q6QIVAdvACh2pNQAyEAQYAyABEgLk8_D_BwE

^^ They have freestanding metal ones, you can find them on Etsy.

many of us in the cold north... really dont care about what stuff looks like in winter.. mostly because we arent going to tromp thru a foot or 2 of snow.. to go see what it looks like ... lol ...

i agree.. my first thought was ... way too much potential for a small foundation bed ... unless you came out into the lawn 3 or 5 feet ...

though theoretically there is little chance of them needing to look at it.. sooner or later.. they might want to replace it.. or work on it.. and that usually happens the season after you declare it looks perfect ... i usually planted so that there was at least 2 feet between the leaf canopy and the house .. and i maintained that space thru pruning ... the giant investment is the house.. and you dont want the plant scraping such.. or staining it ... etc ....

going out into the lawn.. with a larger plant.. would also break up long straight wall .. visually ...

what ever you decide.... CALL MISS DIG... before you do any aggressive digging in the area ... where a pipe should be.. rather than where it actually is.. could become a problem ...

ken

A large perennial or a trellis with a vine. I have a ninebark and I can tell you it won't work there.

Don't plant or install something in front of the meter and then not have anything similar nearby in the same bed or the element that is supposed to be hiding the meter will instead flag it.

In my area what is seen repeatedly is small groupings of exclamatory (narrow and pointed) 'Smaragd' arborvitaes huddled around heat pumps. With nothing of comparable height or shape planted in the vicinity, so that the spot where the feature to be hidden is located becomes a focal point rather then one that is overlooked.

They do have a dwarf viburnum(lil ditty) that is suppose to grow 1'-2' T x W.

Will

First I would see if there is any way to get that meter removed if it's not being used anymore. If that's not feasible, then the next thing I would do is paint it the same color as the siding. Then I would look at that wall as a whole as previous commenters recommended. The following comments are based on the assumption that your site does not get too wet and soggy. If you are going to be limited to 4 feet wide, you could put in an effective but unimaginative row of densiformis yews, for example. Another possibility would be a row of hydrangea paniculata. There are lots of cultivars, and you would have to do some research at local garden centers. Some would get too large for your four foot bed. They wouldn't screen the meter completely in the winter, but they would look nice the rest of the time. I have several ninebarks of different kinds and I can tell you that they have a tendency to get bigger than you probably want and they require a fair amount of pruning to keep them looking decent. Viburnums are nice and you have a wide choice of cultivars, but if you go with non evergreens, I think you would get more bang for your buck with hydrangeas. I don't know of any viburnums that would be evergreen in our zone.

Since the backdrop is not geometrically symmetric I would not plant a single row of one kind of shrub from one end to the other. Rather a mixture of different plants.

I would plant a mixture of sun loving natives that cover the meter in the growing season, and just put up with a few months of seeing the meter when everything goes dormant or dead. They would draw a lot more wildlife to enjoy

We like our "Lemon Candy" Ninebark. It is definitely smaller than a traditional Ninebark and the chartreuse foliage is very nice.

I second 'Lemon Candy.' Not too big (so far), lovely yellow/chartreuse foliage. But, my ninebarks are absolutely defoliated every year by a bug/caterpillar that escapes me right now. I didn't expect that. I have LC and 'Amber Jubilee.'

are you sure it is a water heater ... looks like my gas meter...yes, they are unsightly, but everyone has them