Freshening up front landscaping in zone 5

3 years ago

I'm looking to freshen up some of my front landscaping. This area is the west side of my house and gets afternoon sun late into the day in summer. I'm in zone 5 (Chicago). At the foot of my walkway, I have two very old boxwoods with ivy underneath in the bed. I'm planning on removing the ivy and keeping the boxwoods for now. My initial thoughts were to put Bobo hydrangeas in front of both the arbs by the door and next to the boxwoods on the walkway side. I'd then put some variety of spirea on the other side of the boxwoods and fill in any remaining space with annual plantings and bulbs for springs. Would love to hear some opinions on my plan and/or some alternative ideas. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

Nancy R z5 Chicagoland
3 years ago
How much space do you have between the boxwood and the walkway and the boxwood and the driveway? I'm wondering if you could have two or three Bobo's facing each of the boxwoods instead of one Bobo and one spirea. Your house is large and symmetrical and I felt like this would make more of a statement than one Bobo and one spirea. I have five Bobo's and I like them.
J M
Original Author
3 years ago
That would look really nice but I do not have room for the Bobos to wrap around the inside of the boxwoods. I have about 3-4ft between the Boxwoods and the walkway and probably 1-1.5ft in front of boxwoods. And about 3ft wide on the outside of the boxwoods. I am looking for symmetry. Im not 100% sold on the spirea on the other side but I like the idea of adding some color to the green and white.
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PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
3 years ago
Here are a few suggestions using Little Lamb hydrangea & dwarf deutzia:
HU-918119203
3 years ago
You have a beautiful house. I'm not a fan of the big arbovitae (?) hugging the facade. Maybe ditch those, move the boxwood up to flank the steps, and then you have unlimited options for your front beds.