You might find as I have, that some time after planting, your job becomes more about cutting.

There is no such thing as a completed garden, it is in constant change as things grow. Most plants do not grow in the form you would expect them to grow. As the garden grows some things crowd out other things and a choices has to be made.

From the pictures it is hard to tell exactly what needs to be done. However it looks like some of the plants need trimming. Only you can get in among the plants and tell what has to be removed, what has to be trimmed, or if some thing new needs to be planted.

PS It looks like you have a very nice garden. It is a little lacking in flowers for my taste though

Both of the magnolias will grow relatively large and are therefore too close IMO. Interesting that the Yellow Bird appears to be more vigorous than the straight acuminata.

Arbordave, the acuminata was root stock for a yellow flowering magnolia that didn’t make it. It was at another site and I moved it here around 2016. It was very slow to recover, but has grown rapidly the past two years. The Yellow Bird has also shown vigor the past few years, which is what concerns me. If push comes to chain saw, the acuminata will have to go, which would be a damn shame. Unfortunately, the Fringe Trees are also too close to the Yellow Bird.

Krnuttle, my spouse is in complete agreement about the need for more flowers. If it was up to her, the whole garden would look like this:

Are you sure the root stock was acuminata? Hard to tell in the photo, but the foliage doesn't look quite right for species acuminata.

I’m not 100% sure, but I posted a few years back asking what it might be, and the response was that it’s most likely acuminata. BTW, it was purchased as M. ’Sunsation’.

i figure you have 10 more years to get up the gumption to worry about it .. and perhaps you wont give a furry rats behind by then .. lol ...

ken

A little tweeking every year keeps you in the game and opens up some new opportunities!
Great photos!

The main problem, as Arbordave pointed out, is the ultimate size of the two magnolias. M. acuminata can get to be immense, and Yellow Bird Magnolia reaches 40' tall x 25' wide. I obviously erred by planting them this close. The quick and easy solution would be to remove one of them, but I was hoping to find a better way through pruning. That's probably magical thinking, and there's always the risk I mess up both trees by trying to finesse the situation.

Tj, I hope you'll let us know how the "seating arrangements" turns out. :)

love the weeping white spruce!

I struggle with the same questions albeit with different plants.

David, have you developed a strategy for this? I’m thinking of taking off one lower branch from each magnolia over the next 2-3 years. It may buy me time, but probably not a good long-term solution. I do use an arborist and will get his opinion.

Lane, is weeping white spruce commonly used where you’re at? They’ve become very common around here, but not as common as it’s sibling, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, which I’m guessing is easier to propagate.

I can't say I have a strategy per se, yet, just that I'm seeing the necessity to evolve from being a 'Plant Collector' to a 'Garden Designer'. Necessity is the mother of invention bwahaha. Although there should be plenty of overlap between those two areas. A plant collector would want his or her plants to look 'their best', and their best form in my opinion, will enhance almost any design with them!

Mackia- no , weeping white spruce is not common. i planted two in my yard last year. There is one in my town that is probably 30 feet and beautiful. So skinny and elegant and unusual.

Mmm, that’s kind of surprising. It probably will gain in popularity once the buying public gets a look at a few nice specimens around town. What’s not to like?!