Foundation shrub suggestions - Zone 6b/7a - Philadelphia

5 years ago

Hi everyone!

I'm asking for any ideas/suggestions y'all might have for the arrangement of some shrubs in the front of my house. After countless hours of reading articles and watching videos and looking at photos, I think my head might explode. :)

We recently tore out all of the dead shrubs the prior owner blessed us with (sigh) and are starting over. Problem is, just when I think I have things figured out, I read something that makes me second guess myself. For example, Loropetalum....ok in my zone...not ok in my zone? Apparently I'm right on the cusp of where it will thrive.

Things I do know...my house faces south and slightly east so it gets full sun out front. I want low maintenance, evergreen shrubs. I'm in zone 6b / 7a - NW of Philadelphia. My soil is pretty dense....somewhere between clay and silty, if I had to guess. Behind my house is woods so we get lots of deer, rabbits, fox, groundhogs, squirrels, etc.

As for shrubs, I love the chartreuse/purple combo. I bought 5 Emerald Magic Meserve Holly bushes to start with and thought maybe I could combine them with Sunshine Ligustrum and/or, if I can get away with them in my zone, Purple Daydream Dwarf Loropetalum? All 3 bushes might be overkill though. Maybe instead of the sunshines, I use Everillo Carex grass? Or instead of the loropetalums, I use some purple coral bells? Agh!

Lastly, the little tree is a holly, the big tree is a maple and those are 4 little winter gems in front of the garage.

Any thoughts on the best shrubs to use & suggestions on how to arrange them would be most appreciated!!

Thank you so much!!

Amy

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
to have the height you need for that tall facade.. you need to come out into the lawn.. and grow the plants out there ...

the holly would have been so much better 6 or 8 feet from the house..

and all that is planted inside that walkway.. should be some nice flowers to enjoy during your walk ... to the door

you need a 3D landscape.. not a bunch of stuff plastered against the house...

never forget.. foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation.. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION...

walk you neighborhood.. and just look for things that please you .. and note how they arent right on the foundation ... snap a pic.. and we can discuss what makes it pleasing to you..

once you can put it into words.. you can make a plan .. right now.. its frustrating.. because you dont know what you like ...

so turn off the gizmo.. and go for a walk ...

ken

ps: whats the name of that style house.. colonial what??? ...
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
5 years ago
Here are some ideas using Goshiki Osmanthus, Otto Luyken Laurel, Lenten Rose, Yellow Nandina, Purple Dragon Lamium & Magic Carpet Spirea:
Amy C thanked Dig Doug's Designs
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Amy C
Original Author
5 years ago
@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 - thank you so much for your quick response. I find in my neighborhood that people have a lot of hedges & arborvitaes and deciduous shrubs, which is exactly what I tore out. Or, they use a lot of azalea's, which I love but fear would last about a week with the deer in my yard. That said, I've attached some photos of homes that I saved on my gizmo that struck my fancy.

I like round, symmetrical (some might save "typical" or "boring"), but I'm not afraid to try fun stuff. I just think in the front of the house, the less is more approach would be better for me. (I'm very "type-A" and I accidentally killed an indoor bamboo plant, if that's any indication to my style and skill set. :)

PS - I agree with the Holly tree. I don't think it's very happy there.

PPS - I think the house is considered a traditional colonial...pretty typical for the NE suburbs.
Amy C
Original Author
5 years ago
@Dig Doug's Designs - thank you so much for the sketch!!! I'm a visual person and have a really hard time picturing things, so this is great!!! Thank you!!