New Front Foundation Garden

This post is being linked to Metamorphosis Monday & Mellow Yellow Monday. My new front garden has all perennials, including yellow flowering ones.
Metamorphosis Monday, is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Go there for a listing of more transformations.


Visit the other posts at the Mellow Yellow Monday blog.

When I got home Sunday June 7 from a long weekend away to attend my niece’s high school graduation, the landscape service had taken down the overgrown shrubs at the front of the house. From two huge arborvitaes and two huge rhododendrons there was just a bare space at the front of the house.
Here is the front yard spring 2008 with the rhododendron in bloom. I wrote in May 2008 that I was having to say goodbye to the fertile shrub.

Here is how it looked at the end of last week with all the overgrown shrubs taken down.
On Friday June 12 the manager of my landscape service took me to a nursery in a nearby town, Northboro. I took photos of the plants in the back of his truck.
These are the plants we bought for the foundation border at the front of house
1 rhododendron - Rhododendron Chionoides
2 holly - Ilex x meserveae “Blue Angel”
2 boxwood - Buxtus sempervirens “Green Velvet”
2 wintercreeper (euonymus) - Euonymus fort. “Ivory Jade”
2 day lilies - Lilium asiatic “Tiny Bee”

At the house I took photos of the plant containers under the deck waiting for installation on Monday.
The two day lily plants were on the deck so I could enjoy them over the weekend.
Monday provided a whole new look to the front garden with varied green leaved plants and yellow flowers. Here the plant containers are set out keeping mind their growth habit, leaving space for increase in height and width.

They have all been planted. I had other photos but they included the landscaping personnel, and I didn’t ask permission to put them on the internet.

Rock stepping stones provide access to the faucet for watering and for the fuel oil delivery service.

Urns on the front steps provide more yellow flowers. Two urns hold yellow Pansies on the landing.
On the top steps a small urn holds MiniFamous Compact Safran Calibrachoa, which I bought at a plant stand on Thursday.


On the ledge beside the steps a planter holds Jane Bright yellow Marigolds and trailing Licorice plant, also from the plant stand.
It is quite a relief to have the front of the house all clear of the large shrubs. It makes the front of the house look so much better now. It has been raining most of the weekend and will continue all week. It will be great when we have a sunny day for outdoor exploring.
Thank you fir stopping by and looking at my new front garden. Do leave a comment

Please visit our two hostesses at the links above to see more transformations and mellow yellows.

Outdoor Wednesday – Waiting for Spring Flowers

As I look out the window at snowy scenes, I am looking forward to the perennial blooms on my rhododendron bushes at the front of the house;

See more Outdoor Wednesday posts at Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Saying Goodbye to Arborvitae and Rhododendron

At the front of the house to the right of the front door are two large rhododendron bushes which are bordered by two equally large arborvitae shrubs.
They were quite modest in size when I bought the 4-year old house back in 1991. As time had passed, they've really thrived and gottten too big for foundation plantings. Each summer I have wanted to move them to another place in the nearly quarter-acre yard. But everyone says to just pull them up. A couple years ago I had a landscaper come and look at the job, but he wanted to just tear them out, but not transplant them. In late winter this year I talked to another landscaper and he promised to replace them with smaller plants. I just absolutely did not want to give up these maturing plants. Here is the view from the living room window. They are now right up against the siding.

Now that they are really overgrown and I must decide to let them all go. This is really a must now because of the arborvitae that is crowding the front step railing.
This week the purple rhododendron is blooming nicely. The white one is so crowded by the purple one, it just gets by with a sliver of the space. However, it does have a few blooms, which are coming out. I counted five emergent blooms today.

Soon (I keep telling myself) I will have to get these overgrown shrubs pulled up. The arborvitae cannot be just cut back because what will be left is ugly de-nuded branches. I tried that a few years back.
In the meantime, my mother and I are enjoying cut rhododendron blooms in the house. Here is a pitcher on the breakfast table in the kitchen.

This bloom graces the dining room table.


I just got a few things put out on the deck this week. This includes containers with white pansies and pink dahlias, hostas, and hens and chicks (sempervivium).

I've even put some rhododendron blooms in a watering can and placed them out on the deck.

The blooms are so lush and lovely. Can you see why I haven’t wanted to get rid of my precious rhododendrons?


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