Replacing shrubbery

Hi Garden and Nature types -

I have some small evergreen shrubs next to my front door I don't like.
1) would anyone like them?
2) the real question is, what should I replace them with? I'd like to plant something native to Virginia that's not too much work to maintain, doesn't need to be replanted frequently and grows up but not so much out (trying to contain the horizontal sprawl so it won't overgrow a walkway). If it generates critter-feeding berries, that's cool too. (If humans can eat them, even better.)

I was thinking some variety of blueberry shrub. Any other good ideas out there? The plot of land I can plant them in is about 6' long by 1' wide, and joins in an L-shape to another section of garden also needing work that is about 4'x1' that currently has an ugly creeping juniper (anyone want that, too?).

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

How about Azaleas? they have pretty flowers.

 

techo - Not sure if are you looking for an evergreen or something that only blooms in certain seasons, but here a small list of some of the plants we have in our landscaping:

For evergreens I am a big fan of:
Azaleas - blooms in spring, variety of colors)
Skip Laurels - blooms in Spring/White flowers)
Spiraea - white flowers, with red regrowth)
Rhododendrons - spring bloomer purple flowers.
Nandina (heavanly bamboo) - evergreen with red leaves & red berries
Arborvitea - Growns Narrow & straight up - soft ever green leaves
Ned Stevens Holly - White flowers in the spring & red berries in fall/winter

However All the the above can get big so look for the dwarf type of plants.

For smaller plants that provide a variety of folliage color:

Heather - evergreen blooms with white and purple flowers in spring
Creeping Jenny - light green blooms with white flowers
Creeping Thyme - variety of colors & evergreen ground cover
Perriwinkle - evergreen ground cover with Purple flowers in spring

 

Encore azaleas bloom all summer

 

That's 3 votes for azaleas.
Not that I personally mind, but don't those attract ants?

 

Not sure about azaleas but they definately need an acid feeding (like holly tone) 2 times a year. Also azaleas can get some nasty bugs that can turn the leaves yellow, but soapy water works wonders.

I know peonies attract ants like nobodies business (its the flowers that are sweet), which is why ours are planted in our backyard.

 

Techno, blueberries are a fine plant, although not neccessarily the most attractive to some folks (I love them). They are very similar to azaleas in liking acid soil. There are two primary types - lowbush and highbush. Both types have several species native to this area. Lowbush blueberries are found in dry forests, and are not too available in the nursery trade. Highbush blueberries are generally found in wetland areas and are the parent of a great many crop varieties. These types are more adaptable than the straight species and can produce a ton of berries much larger than the native. You may need to net them to keep the birds off if you're looking to grow some for berries, otherwise let the birds have them. I've seen various varieties available at most local nurseries. Give it a try!

 

Ok time for a dumb question. Would planting Peonies in your yard help keep ants from coming in your house?

 

Probably not, it would probably only attract more. The ants are attracted to peonies at flowering time by the sweet secretions on the buds. If you make your yard more ant friendly, it will just attract more colonies which will then spread into your house in search of food when the peonies are finished flowering. Of course it all depends on the species of ants present and their propensity for warfare! They are fascinating social critters.

 

Try also GreenWorks nursery and ask for John Magee, he is a native plant guy for sure.

 

I agree with Oya - Greenworks is the BEST nursery in the area, we purchased 90% of our landscaping plants/tree/shrubs from them (FWIW it took 4 different 18' trucks to deliver our order). Also Greenworks have several Master Gardeners (I like Beth) who are absolutely wonderful to work with.

Techo: Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo) - is a great all season plant with beautiful red berries and striking deep red (regrowth). Don't get turned off by the bamboo name, it is just a trade name and is not invasive as traditional bamboo.

 

No, they would attract them due to the sweet nature of the blooms. I have a dozen Peonies planted in our yard and I purposely planted them the furthest away.

Here is what has worked for me in the pest control:

Planting carpet junipers combined with NATURAL shred Pine mulch and mix it with coffee grounds (starbucks will give you free coffee grounds) this acts as a natural repellent of bugs/critters & feeds those acid loving plants at the same time. Also I buy a couple of cartons of ladybugs every season, the will eat aphids.

However Pure Pine mulch can be rather expensive, but worth it to keep the pest under control, it smells so much better (than traditional mulch) and is a greener solution.

 

From google images and searching info on care and hardiness of plants, I'm leaning towards three groundcovers for three sections of the garden - creeping jenny in an isolated planting area where it can't invade my lawn, creeping thyme next to the lawn where it should be easy to control, and periwinkle along the side of the walkway opposite the creeping jenny because I like the color.
I like the images I'm finding of nandina, looks like it should be easy to keep trim. Might work in the corner of the L between the thyme and periwinkle, possibly at the base of my lamp-post....

I gotta say, the Broadlands forums are just full of helpful, smart people.

Thanks!

 

Techno - Creeping thyme LOVES light foot traffic and has a wonderful fragrance when you step on it (we have both Jenny & Thyme on our foot path) and I like the different greens.

As for Nandina - it is prone to wind burn, so either plant it in a semi-protected area or apply a product to protect the leaves (GreenWorks sells a product for this).

 

OK, I think I have my plan. I'll post "after" pictures for anyone interested.

Hopefully it'll work out better than those bloody mammoth sunflowers. I won't make THAT mistake twice. (Though, they did attract quite a few praying manti....)