This client was tired of looking at the garbage can when she pulled up to her house. So, I had her take out the grass and prepare this new bed. Then, I arrived with the following plants:
Shrubs:
* blue spruce 'Montgomery', which will eventually get to 7 ft x 7 ft (to match one on the other side of the driveway)
* ninebark 'Center Glow'
* potentilla 'Abbotswood'
The key to placing shrubs is to space them so that they will not overcrowd each other when they are full size. It's hard to imagine, but when these shrubs fill in they will all touch. But in the meantime, the garden would look pretty sparse. So here are the perennials that are designed to complement the shrubs and be low maintenance:
* 3 daylilies
* 3 bergenia cordifolia
* 1 calamagrostis 'Overdam'
* 1 perennial geranium 'Bloody cranesbill'
* 3 festuca glauca 'Elijah blue'
There! The perennials will fill in much faster (2-3 years) and in the meantime some bark mulch between the plants wil keep moisture in and weeds down. Besides adding some compost every year, the only other thing that needs to be done to this garden is a light pruning in spring. And even though it will be a few years before the shrubs are big enough to actually screen the view of the garbage can, at least they are still more interesting to look at than lawn!!
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