Shrubbery Blubbery

I feel like I should have a British accent when I say that. Shrubbery. Well, I had way too much shrubbery in my front yard. I had azaleas, gardenias and lorapetalum all crammed into this one area. All around this maple tree. Did you even notice there was a maple there? See the one with the yellow strap on it? That was pruned back heavily last year and it got that big that fast.

So we, well mostly hubby, began pulling them out with his truck. The first one we trimmed down before yanking it out. Then when we saw how easily it came out there was no trimming for the next gozillion of them.
 

Okay, there were 6 total that we took out. Let me just say I hate having to waste perfectly good shrubbery (I do wish I had a British accent) but what really irks me more is previous home owners that just plant stuff with no clue on how big they will get in a few years.  Lorapetalum can get pretty darn tall and wide and so they do not belong in the front of a bed. I also don't like having to prune shrubs. Unless it's like a boxwood and you are going for a formal hedge sort of thing. I believe in planting something that has room for it to have a natural shape. I would rather just use a hand pruner and get rid of a few branches here and there than take shears and have to wack it down. The azaleas that are in this spot are the ones that get really big. And I cut them back, not really wanting to but it was that or yank them all out. A few more might have to go. I'm thinking on this one a bit. Maybe #3 son can't work a little photo shop magic for his old mom and make some more of the bushes disappear so I can get a better feel for it.

Because now.... now.... the plumber wants to hook up the plumbing for our half bath through the garage and out the front. I have been leaving the back alone up until now because I thought they were just going to mess things up back there. Now it's the front. So, no new planting out front until I know what the heck is going on. Nothing is more scary than hiring a contractor to rip up the concrete. I have that Holmes on Homes guy in the back of my mind. Wish I could just hire him. He's my hero. I'll explain what we are planning in another post. I'm starting to ramble.

I had to show you the colors in this hydrangea. My little bushes are flowering their little hearts out even though they are still small.

The color variation of this day lily was amazing also. It was a surprise that popped up. I think I got a whopping two whole flowers out of that little plant!

Have a good weekend everyone!