Landscaping Wish List, Round 2

Our landscaper took a look at wishlist and noted whether or not each choice would work, and if so, where we could plant it. We were heavy on the perennials, which is fine, but what we'll do is focus on the tulips this year, and add others with a strategy of having something in bloom all season. He also nixed some of our choices because they were high maintenance, or messy, or didn't have leaves all year.  It's also important to him that we use different plants than our neighbors. We really appreciate his input in helping us have a beautiful, low maintenance yard.

To review, our initial direction to our landscaper included:

• I love purple, and we have purple stonework, so we want purple as our primary color, and yellow as our secondary. Both will look nice with our gray house.
• We would like most of our vegetation to be native to our area.
• We prefer low-maintenance plants.
• We like a clean, ordered look, not overly layered or lush.
• We must have tulips. We are a Dutch family after all!

Still in Contention:

Purple and Yellow tulips. These will be the star of our rock garden.

Lilac. Not sure where it'll go yet, but we will have lilacs!

Lavender. I like that this is a practical plant. This will go with the perennials.

Hosta Trifecta. These will go with the perennials.

Purple striped crocus. (Source). These are okay anywhere, so we're thinking we'll put them out front.

Blueberry bush. (Source). The blueberry bush will go in the back of the yard because birds will fight us for them, and make a  mess.

Eugene Chrysanthemum. These are a go, but we'll wait to see how they fit the bloom schedule.

Double Spider Shasta Daisy. (Source). Also a go, but we'll wait to see how they fit the bloom schedule.

Leopard's Bane. And one more to plant later.

Daffodil. These will go in front.

Citronella. (Source). This is okay, but messy and requires a lot of maintenance, so I think we will go with the lemongrass below instead.

Lemongrass. (Source). This will go on the side.

Purple Fountain Grass. (Source).These are okay, but require some maintenance, so we might find another alternative.

Beech tree. This is the tree that our landscaper recommended for the front of our house. 

Serviceberry. Approved.

Guinevere Butterfly Bush. (Source). Side.

Coral Bells, Birkin. (Source). Side.

Green Shenandoah Switch. (Source). Okay, but messy.

Ageratum. (Source). Might work on the side.

Hydrangea. (Source). Ok.

Delphinium. Okay for the side.

Ajuga. Ground cover.

Blue Fescue. Ok.

Blue Oat Grass. Ok.

Salvia. Side.

Lilyturf. Ok.

Boltonia. Ok.

Balloon Flower. Ok.

Golden Mop. (Source). Ok.

New Candidates:
We didn't have enough shrubs and evergreens on our list, so he asked us to look at boxwoods and sedums. These were the two I liked best.

Boxwood, Graham Blandy. (Source).

Black Jack Sedum. (Source)

Crossed Off the List:
Twenty-one of our fifty suggestions (!) were shot down for a variety of reasons. Mostly, that they didn't grow well, or the orientation was off for our yard, or they were messy to maintain. In case others in our zone (5) are interested, here is his feedback on some of our favorites.

Barberry - Helmond Pillar. (Source). We liked the purple leaves on this plant, and the name is Niels' hometown. But our landscaper  said they have thorns, are unfriendly, lose leaves (and are bare for much of the year) and not native to the area.

Royal Purple Smoke Tree. (Source). I thought the leaves on this one were so pretty, but our landscaper warned that it gets really big and requires a lot of maintenance.

Witch Hazel. This grows way too big.

Allium Purple Sensation. (Source). Our landscaper just did battle with thistles and  red clover, and he said this looked too much like them. 

Globe Thistle. These, too.

Little Blue Stem. (Source). This was nixed because it browns out easily.

Variated Ribbon Grass. Too messy and spotty.

Garden Sage. Spreads too much, so high maintenance.

Agave. Doesn't grow here.

Aronia. (Source) Birds will get into this one, and the leaves only bloom very late in the season.

So, we'll hang on to this list as the landscaping continues to take shape. The planting will be the last step, and we'll have a better idea of how many plants we need, and what heights they should be in the next few days.

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