To uncover hidden opportunities, allow your landscape plan to evolve as plants grow
Twenty years ago , I began to create a long flush border against an old stone wall that run along the west side of our 1760s Cape Cod – style theater . gravid skies , expansive views , and mass of sunshine made this the perfect localisation for a long bed sate with perennials . Over prison term I widen the boundary line , add bush andsmall treesforyear - round interestand mixing in a diverse compartmentalisation ofannual and tropical plantsto broaden the color pallet and to intensify the former - time of year show . But as some of the faster - growing trees matured , they set out to dominate , and several shrubs started taking up too much distance . Looking at the border , the oculus was no longer directed out to the beautiful opinion of upstage hills , but inward toward the enclose lawn . I was feeling hem in and I need to find ways to open up the space and get more sun in the garden .
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It was a hard decisiveness , but last spring I took down some of the largest trees with the hope of getting my full - sunlight border back and make for plantings back into scale . Although each Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree left a bounteous cakehole , I knew that the live Lord’s Day - loving perennial and shrubs would fill in over time . In the meantime , I planned to fulfill the gaps with annuals that grow tall and wide , such as flowering tobacco ( Nicotianasylvestris , annual ) and ‘ Amistad ’ salvia ( Salvia‘Amistad ’ , Zones 9–11 ) . I also mean to add a few more shrubs for structure and well-fixed maintenance . See the planting plan with plant IDs for this garden here .
Design strategy 1: Remove a plant that outgrows its welcome
The first tree to go was the Sunburst ® honeylocust . It was a gorgeous tree diagram with chartreuse new maturation that worked well with my colourful and passably tropical - looking border . It did n’t drop mussy leave of absence , and its see - through canopy provided filtered shadowiness that many nearby plants stick out . Unfortunately , it grew larger than I had anticipated and finally blocked the thought behind it . Its height was out of proportion to the residuum of the boundary line , and it still had more raise to do .
I also lead down two ‘ Degroot ’s Spire’arborvitaesthat look large in their middle years but eventually became too marvelous . Although I was disappointed to see them go , I was also relieved to be done with enfold them each winter and spray deer repellent every three weeks year - round . Last to go was the ‘ Yellow Lantern ’ magnolia , which had matured to 30 substructure marvelous and wide . In an driving moment just days before host our boy ’s hymeneals , we veer it down and then cheered as the gorgeous view was opened up and the setting Dominicus shone unobstructed across the mete onto the lawn .
I result the stumps of the honeylocust andmagnolia , design to let them become cut - back shrubs . By earlySeptember , five calendar month after it was cut down , the honeylocust had bourgeon raw increase to about 4 feet . Now I can cut back the new arm every few yr so it stay the height I need . The magnolia stump also may push out new outgrowth , with endearing large leave that would contrast nicely with pocket-sized perennial foliage nearby .
Design strategy 2: For certain shrubs, a cutback may be in order
Another tactic for keep a miscellaneous bottom from becoming overcrowded is coppicing . For some tree and shrub , a cutback in early spring not only keeps them inbounds , but it also pushes them to acquire larger , more colorful foliage . The three smokebushes I switch off back are especially undecomposed examples of this : ‘ goodwill ’ , ‘ Golden Spirit ’ , and ‘ Royal Purple ’ ( Cotinus coggygria‘Royal Purple ’ , Zones 4–8 ) .
Yellowcatalpa(Catalpa ovata , Zones 4–8 ) can grow up to 30 feet improbable and wide , but cutting it back seriously each spring causes it to produce expectant , icteric foliation on a shrublike form that delay about 8 feet tall and wide . Similarly , an annual cutback to princess tree diagram advance the growth of enormous , tropical - looking dark-green leaves on halt that top out at 12 feet . The leaves bet great in the borderline along with the larger annuals and tropicals I care to incorporate .
This spring I also hack back an overly mature Tiger Eyes sumac that had started sprawl out onto the lawn . It regrew attractively , but I have observe some sumac shoot pop up nearby . If this becomes a nuisance , I may have to remove the shrub altogether .
A surprising number of shrubs will take a austere pruning every year . Do n’t be afraid to grab the lopper ; the result will often be a well - looking bed .
Design strategy 3: Plan the garden with slow growing plants, and then plan for change
When you implant a borderline that includes Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , see midget varieties or modest specimen of easy - growing cultivar that will take years to outgrow their spaces . As these trees age , you may make up one’s mind to put back sunlight - love perennials with moreshade - tolerant varietiesin the region underneath . Or you may opt marvellous trees with open ramify patterns , slender trunk , and high canopies , which are less likely to shade out other plant or to interfere with sight wrinkle .
Ideally , you could predict how plant will grow and how your garden will evolve over metre , but that ’s very difficult . Frankly , I care make changes and have rule through experience that plant will ricochet more quickly after a big alteration than you might guess . Try not to get too attached to any especial works or estimation . At the end of each year , enquire yourself if any of the basic building auction block of your garden could be change . Would anything benefit from being reduce back ? Would it excite you to have a impudent startle in one field of the garden ?
Subtraction can be the hardest design change to make , but it can also be the most effective . minus outer space helps to open up views to more distant trees and sky . I will miss the wintertime social system of the trees I removed and the feeling of permanency they provided . But at the same time , I am excited about all the possibilities that the return of full sun on my retentive border will bring .
*Invasive Alert:
Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
This works is weigh invasive in AL , CT , GA , IN , KY , ME , PA , SC , TN , VA , WI , and WV .
Japanese aralia (Aralia elata)
This industrial plant is reckon encroaching in MD , NH , NJ , NY , and PA .
Please visitinvasiveplantatlas.orgfor more information .
Laura Trowbridge is a garden fashion designer based in Peterborough , New Hampshire .
Photos and illustration : Carol Collins
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A bit of dramatic editing brought more light into the center of this long border.Taking out a few large specimen trees and cutting back some overgrown shrubs opened up space for a colorful array of sun-loving annual, perennial, and tropical plants.
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Letting go takes courage.Although the ‘Degroot’s Spire’ arborvitaes (left) and the Sunburst®honeylocust (right) were the largest, most established trees in the border, they had started to overwhelm the design and to shade out other plants (illustration, below). The honeylocust was cut well above the ground to encourage it to regrow. By the end of summer, abundant new growth had emerged, indicating the tree’s potential to be maintained as a cut-back shrub.
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The sky and distant hills are part of the picture again.Without the dominant textures of the trees that were removed, the border has regained its playful, airy, tropical-inspired style.
Strategic cutbacks keep plants proportional.The princess tree (4) is cut to the ground each spring to prevent it from quickly growing into a large, potentially invasive tree. Smokebushes such as ‘Grace’ (1) and ‘Golden Spirit’ (3) are cut back annually to enhance their foliage display and to keep them at the appropriate size. Tiger Eyes sumac (2) and other shrubs are cut back only as needed to prevent them from overtaking neighboring plants.
Sometimes a little shade is OK.This slow-growing ‘Aureovariegata’ Japanese aralia (1) is situated off to the side of the main sight lines and has reached its mature size of about 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide. As its canopy has thickened and filled out, it has created a sheltered nook underneath that now hosts a selection of shade-tolerant shrubs and perennials.
A slower-growing tree will be a great fit for many years.‘Autumn Moon’ full-moon maple (2) was recently added to the border, sited so it will not obstruct views even when it eventually achieves its mature height of 15 feet. Coppicing the nearby yellow catalpa (top left) and ‘Royal Purple’ smokebush (top right) encourages them to form a perfectly proportioned backdrop, with layers of lush, colorful leaves at eye level.
