Requesting ideas for the space in front of a walkway in front of the pictured house.
– Zone 7
– West facing – afternoon sun but limited in the am due to house and nearby oak tree. Area seems to drain well.
– Deer are present but don’t usually get close to house
– We are thinking of removing the remaining yew bush on the left
Viburnum, Gardenia, roses and Spirea have been suggested. We’d like something that looks nice along the walkway to the front door. A row of three yews worked well as a trimmed hedge here for many years before dying off and I think we could put in something with more interest.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
Thanks!
by Bonvoy-312
2 Comments
Spirea are the right size to not crowd the walkway too much, and they can be cut back aggressively while dormant to promote new growth
First thing you need to do is rip out that half dead yew and scrape away all that scattered river rock. It just looks like left over construction debris right now. The shrubs you got suggested like Viburnum or Spirea are terrible choices for this specific spot. That bed is incredibly narrow and right against your foundation vents. Plant those big guys there and in two years you will be constantly hacking them back just so people can walk to your front door without getting swatted. You need low and structural right here, not big and bushy.
Keep it clean and visually calm instead of creating a polka dot mess of random flowers. Do a sweeping mass of something low that will not fight the concrete or block your siding. A solid drift of creeping plum yew stays low, deer absolutely hate it, and it gives you year round evergreen structure without swallowing the path. You can mix in a few low ornamental grasses for texture but keep it simple. Before you head to the nursery and buy oversized shrubs that will ruin this space, run a picture of your house through the GardenDream web app. You can overlay different plant layouts and real mulch right onto your photo to see exactly how things fit in that tight squeeze. It is a solid safety net to make sure you do not buy plants that will eventually choke out your walkway.