Re-landscaping an existing established bed

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bethanski Rochester, NY Jul 07, 2008

I have a bed along the fence of my property that is overgrown. The previous owners planted/neglected it, and now I have no idea what is there for the most part. There are arborvitae, ferns, and daylilies for sure; everything else could be something good or it could be a weed. My thought is to dig it all out this fall, put in new soil, replant the arborvitae, ferns, and daylilies, and then put in a bunch of perennial seeds so that I know for sure what is there come next spring.

Is this an incredibly bad idea? I know the daylilies will transplant fine, but what about the arborvitae and the ferns? Any other suggestions for tidying up this bed?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 07, 2008

If you're planning to keep the arborvitae in that same bed, I'd probably leave them alone, it shouldn't be that hard to dig the smaller things out from around them, that'll be much less stressful for them than trying to dig them out and lose a bunch of roots in the process and then replant them.

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flowAjen central, NJ(Zone 6b) Jul 07, 2008

Def leave the arborvitaes, how much sun does this bed get? I'm surprised ferns and daylilies are in the same bed.(Unless there's a fern that perfers sun).
I always use the motto "when in doubt pull it out" If you really don't know what it is yank it unless you want to look up every plant to id them, just my humble opinion.

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bethanski Rochester, NY Jul 08, 2008

The bed gets a fair amount of sun through the morning and early afternoon, but has a walnut tree that provides partial shade (and limits what I can plant...) I'm not sure what kind of ferns these are, but they have flourished!

This picture shows a bit of the bed in question at the beginning of the growing season this year - it is to the right of the black walnut in the photo.

Thumbnail by bethanski
Post #5225436
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pastime Waterman, IL(Zone 5a) Jul 09, 2008

As things bloom along the fence you can tag the "keepers". Then in the fall you can dig them up and have at it the rototiller on the rest. I'd bring the bed out to the front of the walnut tree in that corner. Hostas would be happy there and it would give some depth to the straight lines of the fence. You could add a couple more curves along the fence also for added depth. It would give the area a more natural look.

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avianut Omaha, NE(Zone 5a) Jul 11, 2008

Since you posted this in "beginner" landscaping, I thought I'd warn you that I've never had good luck planting perennial seeds directly in the ground. I always start mine indoors under lights, otherwise they get washed away to another spot, or washed away entirely. Especially with the walnut tree right there, you might have serious germination problems. But, maybe someone else that has actually tried growing under a walnut can be more helpful!

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