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Should I remove these bushes?

I just bought this house and it needs some landscaping TLC this coming spring. It is in Lafayette, Indiana (hot summer, cold winter). I feel like the bushes are short and square in front of a tall square house. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q182/samwil82/F...

Update:

oh, i would replace them with something.... another type of bush. introduce some shapes that are not so boxy.

8 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Nothing wrong with what you have but needs more depth. Your house is symmetrical so add to the garden in the same manner. Make corners on the left and right side but use a curved side on the street side (be generous in size). Part of the problem now is you have a large house and the garden is in too small a portion to the house. In the corner near the house put in a tall thin shrub or tree and then under plant with a smaller shrub or something strappy like agapanthus or flax (upright plants look very good against formal box shapes). Pick something suitable for your area. The hedge may need to grow another 6 to 8" higher. Down the side of the path grow more hedge (buxus) but prune to only 1' tall and on the edge of the curved bed and down the outside of the smaller hedge plant the same small ground cover maybe with a grey or variegated leaf or even alyssum. I'm sorry I can't help more with plant selection as I'm in Australia but you nursery should be able to help.

    Stay right away from Leyland cypress. People think they are small and grow quickly, they are actually a giant tree and hedges grown in suburbia in England are causing all sorts of legal problems as they crowd out neighbours. Must be pruned continually to keep them in order.

    Source(s): Horticulturist and Garden Designer
  • 1 decade ago

    My gardening taste tells me that, if it were my home, I would allow them to grow a tiny bit taller. Then keep them pruned to that height. As you are trying to accomplish this idea, plant some low growing flowering shrubs. Maybe a few types to keep the flowering going through Spring Summer and Fall. If you were so inclined you can even plant some annuals every year right in front of the low growing shrubs. Kind of like a three teared continuous flower arrangement. If there were ever a year that you didn't have time or cash to plant the annuals that's fine, you still have ever green and flowering shrubs to give you four seasons of display. Just my thought. Its not very intensive, but nice.

  • 1 decade ago

    Well, that's up to you and your landscaper, but if it were my house, they would stay right where they're at. I have those in front of my house now for 22 years, somewhat taller then yours. I would hesitate spending a lot of money for something else. Remember a landscaper makes money by suggesting something new.

  • 1 decade ago

    Those aren't bad. You want something evergreen for winter, and it can't be very tall because of your windows.

    The problem with foundation plantings is that people don't let bushes look like bushes, they try to groom them into cubes, or footballs, or cones.

  • 1 decade ago

    Those bushes look like Evergreen boxwoods, they are nice but I prefer Leyland Cypress......... they grow very fast and you can shape them how ever you want..... plus they are very soft to the touch.

    Hope that helps you decide, good luck!!!

    Source(s): Years of gardening!!!
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    i dont think you should remove them:)

    i like how it looks.

    but if you want to put something else there, you could grow some roses or other nice kinds of flowers.

  • 1 decade ago

    I think they look nice. I`d keep them anyway, they actually suit the house.

    Nice house too.

  • 1 decade ago

    they have been sheared short and square. if you thin out the older branches it will look more natural

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