Help picking the right shrubs!

I am hoping that somebody can help me choose the right shrubs for the front of the house up against the window. I have been reading some of the horror stories and feeling a little apprehension. :)

I thought something small,(4ft) not too overly rooty, colorful and hardy during the winter would fit the bill.

Can you tell me some of the shrubs I shouldn't plant?

Hi - How large is the plot??? Is it a sunny/shady spot?? What type of soil?? Acid or alkaline?? I would suggest you choose some evergreens to provide colour and form for the winter months, although there is more choice with deciduous flowering shrubs. It all depends on how much ground you want to fill!! Let us know these details and maybe we can go on from there. As to what you should not plant - now there's a can of worms!! :-)

Hey Louisa!
I am going to have to amend the soil cause it's a cross between mud and clay. I want to cover about 15ft of space, but I don't want to take it out to far cause as you can see I have an obstruction in the way. I guess a fake rock would look cute over that :)
I want something with color to compliment the brown and beige brick.
Thanks for the advice.

I think you and I have the same soil!!! :-) My first inclination after seeing your lovely house is that you should dress up the walls somewhat and I have planted a pyracantha in the middle of my two windows facing south. It would give you white flowers in the spring followed by the red or orange berries in the latter months of the year. Any branches that grow 'out of bounds' can be trimmed back and you might even want to espalier the shrub. Is this a south facing wall?? Then there are Euonymous cultivars that grow tall but slim and some are ground covers but will climb next to a wall. I'll try and come up with some more ideas but I think you are definitely going to need some small evergreens, maybe the twice flowering azaleas, to keep the garden interesting for the winter and then possibly something structural like the sedums or Veronica. It's a bit early for me to get my thinking cap on but let me know about the sun/shade aspect. :-)

Thanks Louisa,
This side of the house is facing east, so whatever plantings will receive half a day of sunshine. I will write down the name of the plantings that you have given me and see if I can find them in Indiana.

By the way, what does espalier mean?! :)

Espalier is a method whereby a plant is trained to grow flat against a wall, pruning out all those branches that grow out from the wall. You may have seen this method used in garden centres whereby a plant has been trained to some kind of support such as trellis. But I'm not so keen on being totally rigid regarding this, preferring to have a more natural look. There are a number of shrubs, trees that would serve this purpose. So it's morning sunshine then - great!! Give me a little time to work on this but for now have to rush off and begin my other life!! lol!! Maybe some other folks will also have some suggestions for you. Catch you later!!

OK - back again!! Pyracantha for the wall between the two windows. Hydrangea macrophylla (many cultivars) of course - they would love that situation - say two - planted at the back of the border under the windows giving you colour for at least three months of the year and something for ground cover at the front of the bed. Lavender and Dianthus stay evergreen for me as does carpet Phlox but maybe Buxus (Box) would look quite neat as an edging. I hope this gives you some idea but could go on, and on with different combinations.

Louisa that sounds perfect I will ask about these at one of the nurseries here. I will get started with my faithful little Mantis Tiller next week. I will definitely send you another picture as I progress. Thanks so much for your help!

Oh you are welcome!! The hydrangeas differ in size, I would check up on that and try to make the depth of your bed at least 5 feet if you can. I'm just a little concerned about late frosts and damage to emerging buds but there are some cultivars that flower on new wood too. If you find this a little confusing let me know and maybe we can come up with an alternative shrub....say...roses!! :-)

P.S. Just checked for the hardiness of the hydrangeas in your area and there are conflicting reports so maybe it's not a good idea after all. In which case I am directing you to this link. The Spirea Anthony Waterer is a lovely plant and featured on the page......

http://www.en-scape.com/floweringshrubs.asp

but there again - this nursery in Indiana does grow Hydrangeas and it also has Viburnum which would be another option for you. Scroll down the page to find this...

http://www.bluerivernursery.com/shrubs.htm

Wow Louisa,
What wonderful links you introduced. If only my slow ISP could keep up with my excitement. I'm like a kid wanting the page to hurry and download already! :)

After I research both sites I will let you know what plants I like best and then you can let me know what you think.

Yep, you've started something now! Catch you later. I'm all aglow! :)

Foundation Garden Plan

http://www.backyardgardener.com/gd/Foundation%20Garden.htm

Thanks so much Gardengym!
Now I have design ideas too! This ought to be real interesting :)