oh2fly, The shrub w/the lavender panicles is a "Miss Kim" lilac.
Have to give it a little pruning after it blooms. Because of where it is, I don't want it to get any larger than it is now, and from what I've been told, it could take over that entire corner if I let it!
franeli, I luvvv the foliage on those trout lilies. I'm a sucker for interesting foliage.
greenishthumb, Thanks for the compliments and I'm so glad any advice you've been given here on OG may have inspired you to get into perennials as you have. I'm also kind of envious of those anemones. The blue is remarkable. For whatever reason, I've never had success w/anemones. You've inspired me to give them another try.
The 'hedge' are boxwoods. I grew them from 6" seedlings I ordered from Bluestone Perennials about 15 or so years ago. Very slow growers, but I've trimmed them back considerably over the years. They need another serious shearing and topping off by about 6". The main reason they're there is because they provide a backdrop or a "curtain" against which any plants I have in front of them can play off. Otherwise any light-colored or variegated plants would just "disappear" into the cement and brickwork and front windows of the front porch. Sometimes it's not just
what you plant, but what you plant behind it, that can make all the difference.
Also, they provide privacy for me and DH when we sit out on the front porch. We can still see the front garden. You can't see it from those pictures, but I have "keyholes" cut in the hedge at various points where I can peer through. Like a camera lens capturing tiny vignettes of the garden. I remember hearing that suggestion on an old gardening show I used to watch hosted by a couple named Anstace & Larry (forget their last names) out of upstate New York. Plus it provides a structure for my Sweet Autumn Clematis to climb upon. In the fall that hedge is a mass of white-vanilla-scented tiny blossoms.
Additionally, it's a permanent shelter area for birds that visit the nearby birdbaths as well as a nesting area for our returning catbirds and year-round resident cardinals. They're so used to us being there, they aren't the least bit bothered when we're out there.
And last but not least - my two front kitchen windows face the porch. That way I can keep the inside shutters open and I can still see the garden w/o the neighbors seeing me as I sit naked w/spike heels and garter belt at the kitchen table sipping my morning coffee. Blaaahahaaaaaa!
I think the last reason is reason enough to keep the hedge.
Hmmmm? Would that be for my sake or.....the neighbors' sake?
