Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: small maples, 4 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
Hi Pseudo,

That is my former home in Lake County, Illinois, cited by Forbes as one of the the worst places to live in the country because of a 29% foreclosure rate, no industry, and a lot of house building that meant that 1 out of every three people in my community was under 18, resulting in a house with less than 2,000 square feet having $11,200 in taxes - plus assessments. Bought in 1998, bailed in 2011.

BUT I learned everything I know about gardening there - at least as much as I learned becoming a master gardener. I was lucky. I was offered a $200 \"landscape consultation\" which I took mostly because it meant that they could not install anything in my yard without my permission (I didn\'t want to be the hundredth person with the current favorite red maple) so I asked for a garden based upon ornamental grasses, especially miscanthus. The garden designer (six hours of her time!) just happened to be a new hire for the firm of Peter Lindsay Schaut, who went on to design Millenium Park in downtown Chicago. Ornamental grasses are their thing. So are ornamental trees, an obsession we shared. So I asked for lilacs and got five around the house, asked for a cornus alternafolia, asked for a crabapple and got two beautiful ones on opposite sides of the house, and most importantly, got great bones because they laid out the structure. They also introdiced me to fothergillas (5 gardenii, when they were very uncommon) 14 bayberries as foundation plants (fantastic) and viburnums, which in Chicago are basic bland species. I went nuts after that, adding a Yoshino cherry, 5 smokebushes (2 cotinus \'Grace\' and two \'Nordine Red\' amongst them), \'President Lincoln\' lilacs - which are immune to mildew, and basically became a plant nut, with mostly reblooming old garden roses, peonies, lilies, alliums, oakleaf hydrangeas, you name it.

Since my community would not allow fences over four feet, I got my privacy from plants. There was a sidewalk along the west side of my house and you can see from this pic what I did to get privacy. By 2006, it was well established. Pic 1.

The next is the view from the alley. I didn\'t want to be observed, so..Pic 2.

My other issue was a neighbor to the north with a very large house who did not install window coverings for three years. They would sit in their house and stare out their windows at us. It made no sense because they owned the largest home in the community, and had the only four car garage. So, OK, I installed a stack of ornamental shrubs to get some privacy. Pic 3.

And hey, why install a four foot fence when you can get a bunch of discount ornamental grasses and provide a wall during the times of year when people are out on foot? In the fourth picture, the alley, where people would walk up and down and stare, is completely obscured. Pic 4

And then the piece de resistance. Blocking the walkway by the easement with a $400 trellis and a $14 rose - Quadra.

It was fabulous - I could have been naked in the yard without being observed, and surrounded with beautiful things.

My new house gives me far more privacy. I brought some plants with me, mostly divisions, and most of my bulbs, and have been having fun. But I will always miss the crazy plantings at my former home.