The west side of the house has often been neglected as part of the landscaping. Many years ago there were simply large Spirea along the wall until the generator and air conditioning units were installed.
About two years ago I added a clipping from a large Forest Grass that resides in the Zen garden. It has since grown much larger and looks good.
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| Before |
I also acquired an inexpensive Dwarf Maple Acer and planted it along the wall. It was meant as a temporary planting until I could decide what to do with the tree. Essentially, I needed to get it into the ground before winter arrived, and this was the only open location for it to winter-over. Afterwards, I simply forgot about it and moved on to other projects.
With the redesign of the utility-machine area this summer, It became apparent that I had to put some effort into improving the plantings in this area.
I had several Hosta in the "nursery" that had been damaged by rabbits. Wanting to save some money, I decided to plants these.
The Asitlbe 'Delft Lace' at the left of the Maple was the only new plant I added. I liked the star like pattern, and mixed color of the blooms, as well as the dark leaves. It should add some interest to this corner.
I recognize that the existing Forest Grass, Dwarf Maple, and large Boxwood will continue to grow and possibly obscure these new plantings. However, the new additions might not need to be removed/relocated for a couple of years. In the meantime, they will do better in the ground in these locations than in buckets behind the shed.
I also decided to plant the Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku/coral bark') I had to remove from the gazebo area early this spring. It too was in a bucket and needed a more permanent home.
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| After |
A Japanese Painted Fern and some Marigolds near the base of the tree help to act as a ground cover beneath the tree.
There is still some work to do in this location, but it is showing signs of improvement.
