Removing Big Shrubs to Make a Flower Bed

 

When I moved to my new home in March 2021, there were large Forsythia and Lilac bushes planted under the front windows. They had been incorrectly pruned so they didn't even bloom.

As I added mulch under the bushes, I found there were 3 lonely Columbines planted there.

I (incorrectly) thought that if I just chopped the bushes really low, they would die out and I could turn the area into a flower bed.



Using small pruners and a hand saw, I eventually got all four bushes cut down to stumps. I mixed compost into the soil and covered the dirt with mulch. I planned to just start planting around the stumps.

I couldn't wait to get going!

I thought this would be a shady bed, so I started with Foxglove, Coral Bells (Heuchera) and some Violas for immediate color.


I planted a small circle of Snap Dragon seeds. Snap Dragons do really well here in Zone 5--they bloom from early Spring to early Winter. They are annuals, but they self-seed very easily.

Unfortunately, the shrubs did not die so I had to dig them out later while trying not to harm the things I had already planted. It was a struggle getting those large stumps and root balls dug out. I could barely lift them!



(You can see the stumps along the fence at the top right of the photo.)

I planted Foxglove and violas where the first stump had been. I also moved one of the Columbine plants. That turned out to be a mistake. I didn't know that Columbines really resent being moved so it almost died.



I always cut the flowers off plants before transplanting so they can focus on building strong roots right away.

I mixed in more compost and spread more mulch where the other 3 stumps had been.


By this time, I had noticed that the right half of this bed gets a lot more sun, so rather than shade-loving plants, I planted annual Gaillardia and Black-Eyed Susans that I had grown from seed.


I know I'll be adding more plants very soon...