Today I dug up and removed two Japanese Yew that were planted along the Dragon's Spine area back in 2010.
Originally, there were four. Two are now located along the back of the house and have been doing well.
The two left along the Dragon's Spine had years when they grew well, and years when they did not, depending on if I kept them covered with netting during the winter to keep deer away. Unfortunately, this last winter I didn't cover them and the deer munched them down considerably.
As part of my plan to rework the Dragon's Spine, I decided to move the two Yew to the stroll area along the fence line. I placed them on either side of the newly planted Mikawa yatsubusa Japanese Maple.
I also had to split and move a couple of Hosta that were already in that location. After splitting them, I used them to fill in some of the gaps in the mulch bed.
I also moved a small Blue Star Juniper that I had planted in this area last year. I moved it from the left side of the Maple to the right.
In time, I am hopeful that the yew will do well here. They will eventually fill in from the deer damage and in time I should be able to reshape the overall plants.
Now that the yews are gone, the Dragon's Spine looks sparse.
However, with the main gate posts attached to the brackets, you can start to see where the gate will be located, and all of the landscaping in front that now needs to be redone.