When we first moved into our house back in 2007 and were discovering what our garden had in it we found very little. A nandina, a couple cedars, some reblooming daylilies, and a teeny tiny spirea were all the plants that were there. Not much to start a garden with but I was excited about the challenge. The spirea had been cut back to nearly nothing. It was so small that when it sprouted colorful yellow and red tinted leaves I wasn't sure what it was. I dug up the little shrub and replanted it in another spot along our sidewalk so that I could plant tulip bulbs in the spirea's original location. That was five years ago.
Today this is how that little itty bitty spirea now looks:
My spirea is now at least 3 feet around. I'm sure that you noticed that the sidewalk to the left has lost about a foot of walking space. If you look beyond the spirea to further down the sidewalk you'll see some other plants hanging into the walkway. I love the look of plants that envelope a little bit of the hardscape. They soften the edges and make things more natural but they need to be limited or sized correctly so that the plants don't take a way the pathway and make it difficult for people to walk.
I have two options:
- Trim it.
- Move it.
Trimming isn't the best option since the branches will regrow so it looks like moving it this fall to another spot is the best choice. I'll wait until later in the fall to attempt moving the shrub but we'll add this to the ever growing things to do lists. I'm sure I'll take the opportunity to propagate a few more spirea before the move - just in case!
What plants have you planted in the wrong place?
Labels: flowering shrubs, planting trees and shrubs, plants, shrubs
