I installed this foundation planting in the backyard of my parents:

It’s been a fun project to do, from the initial design stage and finally installation. It was installed to help hide a wearing cement foundation and the recent addition of an air conditioner fan. It doesn’t do that yet…but it soon will.

My mom loves lilacs, and had planted one by her bedroom window. I expanded on that idea and used a variety of flowering shrubs (including more lilacs, this time dwarf varieites), to create a longer season of color and a variety of evergreens for year round interest. I did an initial design a few years ago, but it just sat. With the addition of the fan, it bugged my mom again and she brought it up. I took charge and within the week the shrub bed is mostly installed. (That is why you hire projects out: they actually get done,)

While shopping for shrubs, I found a bunch at a nursery I liked and went ahead and bought them. Later on I was ordering mulch from a company that mostly does wholesale, and took a look at their nursery stock. They had a bunch of the plants I had already bought, but for a lot better price. I went ahead and re-bough and exchanged them and ended up saving about $100. If you are in Utah County, go check out Wholesale Landscape Supply. Pretty good selection, great prices.

After we bought the plants, we got a truckload of mulch and a bunch of cardboard and layered them in the area. We planted right through all that. I am hoping this gets rid of most of the grass, all my shrubs will be well adapted and not die. You should plant shrubs in a hole that is twice the diameter and no deeper the planting ball. The depth we were good on, but not always the diameter. I still think that the most important thing about planting woody plants is just avoiding planting them too deep. I’ve seen plenty of plant die from just being buried.

Still left is some more mulch and some edging. Then hopefully this will be a gorgeous long lasting shrub bed.