Gardening advice?

[minnie56]

I am redoing all the shrubs etc around the perimeter of my yard. I have a few ideas...but wonder if anyone here has some personal faves?

I am thinking a couple of smaller trees (Japanese Maple??) and I want LOW maintenance..shrubs maybe with colour or that flower? I do not have a green thumb-so I do need 'idiot proof'!

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Snowball bushes are nice we have one and the snowballs are white. You do have to trim them every so often. Lilac trees are nice too. Ours flower purple in the spring. We trim them down every couple of years. Both of these are very low maintanance.

 

[Hug the Mouse]

Purple Sandcherry--nice dark leaves, contrast from the usual greens of most trees/bushes
Burning Bush---green foliage in summer, brilliant red in the fall

Japanese Maple that you mentioned are nice too

 

[photomama]

I really like The Globe Blue Spruce, Yellow and Red Dogwoods, Burning Bush, Japanese Yew, and yes of course the Japanese Maple is one of my fav trees.

Have fun!

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

minnie56 im not sure where in the Toronto area you are but if your on the west side check out this place for plants and shrubs. CHeap prices. http://www.northlandnursery.com/

 

[cey]

Can't go wrong with Spireas. Some of the more popular ones are Princess and Anthony Waterer. Also the Shibana one is quite pretty as it has pink and white flowers. These are bullet proof. They actually do better the more you cut them back. Also think about planting Day Lilies. They do very well and as you can buy different varieties, they will bloom all summer long. One tip is the dreaded japanese beetles love Lily bulbs, but for some reason leave Day Lilies alone!

Happy Gardening!

 

[minnie56]

Thanks everyone--I love Day Lilies--have some at the front of my house and even I can't kill them!!!

Spireas too...yess--pretty...

Lots of good ones here--I appreciate it!

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

It depends how much sun they get as to what would work well - Forsythia is a nice early spring shrub - covered in yellow flowers in the spring that then turns to green leafy shrub - easy to grow and impossible to kill. Lilacs are the same - I like the dwarf Korean Lilac's as they don't grow as tall as the regular lilac. Dogwood or a purple leaf sandcherry would be good choices also.