Spring at Mom and Dad's

Last fall, one of my first major projects to start construction was facelifting my parents' 20 year old landscape.   A landscape designer had installed foundation plants like Ilex crenata which had gotten overgrown, and other undesirable choices (like the aggressively self-seeding Koelreuteria paniculata or the dreaded Bradford pear) had declined and been removed, leaving gaps.

I didn't want to go with the typical builder's foundation planting and instead wanted to play up the formality of their house and find a home for hundreds of perennials that were available for transplanting from the backyard. Finally, I wanted to center small, sculptural trees in front of the windows of their study and living room.

To accommodate one of the smaller trees I could think of (Chionanthus virginicus) we still had to widen the path.  The dotted line above indicates the previous paving.  With the help of a great landscaper/handyman, we offset the path four feet, which makes a small terrace in front of the portico which eventually will be furnished with a bench and maybe some pots.

The shot above is after installation, right around the first week in November.  Eventually the boxwoods will connect and form a hedge, hemming in the loose array of perennials and reducing the amount of visible mulch. 

Everything overwintered beautifully and as things bloom this spring and summer I'll be sharing pics.  Right now, the Allium giganteum and Iris germanica are days away from blooming and the Chionanthus is just leafing out.

Meanwhile, the Viburnum plicatum 'Popcorn' is just beginning to bloom.

And Fothergilla gardenii is in full bloom.

As is Aronia arbutitifolia.
 

...It's also worth noting all these plants have avoided being deer food!