New house, should we add a dwarf spruce?

OK, so we are just now doing our landscaping after living in our house for two years. We wanted the house and dirt to settle some before pouring the sidewalk. We hired a landscaper to design our landscape for the front of the house. Overall we like it. However, I think we need a smaller dwarf spruce, maybe one the types that look "weeping" that have the branches the kinda hang down on the left side to help frame things up. We do have one spruce on the right side of the house. Bruns http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/1963/bruns-serbian-spruce/ The left side in the picture that has the truck is where I think we may need one.


What do you think? Do I have room? I am just not sure the boxwoods would take up that much space.

From your link (Monrovia):
"Slow to 30 to 35 ft. tall, 8 to 10 ft. wide"

Do you have 8-10' in that spot? Does not look like it. Perhaps make a cut out from the lawn on the other side of the walkway, center the tree, then surround it with alpine/rock garden sorts of little perennials. A special planter area just to showcase the weeping spruce. Perhaps a smaller variety would fit near the curve in the walkway, at the corner. Out from the boxwood.

Picture 2: move the tree away from the house. Perhaps to the middle of the bed or even a little closer to the walk.

Boxwood: Read the details about the variety suggested. It is pretty easy to trim them to 50% of the natural size, and even smaller, though that takes some dedication. On the other hand, they are a nice, billowy shrub if they are not hedged. I prefer plants with some color, though. Plain ol' green is not enough!

I would ditch the boxwoods. I would plant a hedge along the back of that bed, nearest the foundations... maybe using Cherry Laurel - Otto Luyken.

Then I would plant a variety of mounding shrubs along the circular perimeter of that bed... many good ones to choose from. I might consider alternating Pennisetum Hameln grasses and a nice variety of Day Lillies. And then in the center, I would put a beautiful little ornamental tree... maybe a Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar.

Just some thoughts.

Totally forgot the first thing I wanted to say. Beautiful house. When you get the landscaping and the lawn looking good, the curb appeal will be through the roof... pun sort of intended.

Thanks for the complemement on the house. I really don't want to change things up too much. Since we paid for a landscaper to draw up plans we kinda want to stay close to the plans. Just curious on if we should add a weeping spruce or not.

Might be a bit tight with the other plants he has picked out for that bed. You can probably shape it and train it to grow more vertically and not so horizontally and make it work out just fine though.

Having to shape and prune to keep a tree from overgrowing its spot is not an advisable course of action. Most people absolutely suck at it, frankly, It takes skill and knowledge to do properly, in addition to having to have the basic desire to want to do that extra maintenance at the right time. It's something best avoided by most people, and can be avoided by planting a tree/shrub that's correctly sized for the spot.

I agree - sure looks tight for a Serbian spruce.

You should ask the landscaper what's supposed to be filling the spot held by the daffodils after their very short season is done. They go dormant in early summer, which will mean a bare area.

Did the landscaper explain what sort of "rue" he/she has in mind? I assume it must actually be meadow rue (Thalictrum), not actually rue (Ruta graveolens)... ? It seems to be a very major part of the plan, so you may want to explore the type of Thalictrum (presumably) that's intended.

It's not part of the landscaper's plan, so perhaps doesn't bear commenting on, but a row of plants made of alternating two types can look pretty trite, though of course, it is a matter of individual taste. Simple, naturalistic groupings seem to stand the test of time.

I agree too that the design seems very monotone - just green.

Hi Allanme. What a great house and a great canvas for gardening! I see color in your garden plan. Some shrubs have seasonal blooms and ninebark, such as 'Diablo' can have red-purple leaves. Although that many boxwoods aren't my thing either, having two kinds of them gives you some opportunity for different hues and leaf textures.I am partial to evergreen hollies near my house. The plan doesn't specify what kind of ilex goes in front, perhaps the decisious kind that will be fulol of red berries into winter. My suggestion is that if you are putting the garden in now, you might wait a year for adding the spruce. You are going to love seeing the beautiful greenery so you won't miss it right away. You can decide to make colorful plant beds somewhere else so they're backed by the green foundation plants, so that among other things may influence placement. There are many spruces, pines or firs to consider, but you might check the suggestions of the Missouri Botanical Gardens for what cultivars thrive best in your area. People frequently put trees too close to the house forgetting how large they will be in 30 years,

I have Box Hedges, dont allow them to grow taller than 2-3 feet, they are way less work than most other hedging type plants, take up less time to care for them, and dont make any mess when Autumn comes around. Just lay a cloth along the ground the length of the hedge and clipp, gather up the clippings and step back and enjoy.
Only time they are prunes / clipped is spring and September, any later and frost CAN kill off any new growth that sprouts after pruning.
I planted from cuttings that I rooted from a pruning one year, planted out when they were 6 inches tall, kept nipping out the growing tips to make bushy planes, the following year, the plants were a 9 inch tall, from then on they were clipped top and sides (Back and front) once per year, Now ten years later they are kept low as they edge flower beds, I can allow them to grow3 taller BUT as a border for flower beds, I dont want the plants behind the hedge to be shaddowed by a hedge but just a nice looking green edging.

Other than 2 times a year clipping, nothing else required and I have a low growing thick hedge that looks good all year round, even when snow covers the hedge, it looks attractive as the white shape looks lovely. You can clip into shapes, balls, cubes etc, allow a taller hedge and cut windows into it, because the hedge is a tightly growing shrub, it is very strong and easy going.
I feed mine 2 times a year after clipping.
Hope you can have a more final meeting with the landscape guy as he / they should be available to help change / tweak a few things to suit your needs, it's your garden after all and you need time to look and digest the whole plan and planting scheme.
I cant see them NOT offering you advice at the beginning of the laying out stage IF they are a reputable company, maybe NOT what they want to do BUT, some jobes run more smoothly than others and when working for others, there are always a few jobs you need to go recheck and move around.
Be nice when you ask for there advice and have a list of the questuoins you need answers to as you might NOT be able to go back and forwards too often, remember you asked for a plan and planting scheme BUT said you would not require the companies services for the rest BUT your still talking plans here so you should at least enquire re the things you need further advice about.

Good Luck and take your time, gardening is a slow process and should be enjoyed not giving you worries.
Have fun and lets know you you progress.
Kind Regards.
WeeNel.