As I said returned in June, it is become easy to us that one among the most important time-sinks in our modern backyard is that large forsythia hedge at the north aspect of the returned yard. The timber are too large and too close to together, and that they seem to require normal pruning to hold them from ensnaring our clothesline. If we do no longer need to spend every weekend to be had with the pruning shears, we're going to want to replace them with some thing smaller and more viable. However, Brian absolutely desires to have a few kind of hedge there to shield us from our neighbor's backyard (which is notably untidy and regularly noisy). So we are looking for some thing that gets about three ft tall, does not spread too a long way, grows properly in clay soil (so that we do not have to amend the dickens out of it in advance than planting), and additionally appears fairly notable. Ideally, we'd additionally want to plant a few factor on the floor of the slope to maintain the weeds down, in order that Brian could not want to conquer them decrease lower back periodically with the string trimmer.
Now, one shrub that indicates up continuously on lists of the excellent flora for clay soil is Potentilla fruticosa?Additionally referred to as shrubby or bush cinquefoil. It grows to approximately three ft tall and correspondingly wide, it is perfect to our weather, it is able to expand in entire sun or partial shade, it grows fine in clay soil, and it produces superb plant life that appeal to butterflies. Most types have yellow flowers, but I've also seen purple and white variations. I'd really considered planting a number of those as basis shrubs inside the the the front backyard, to replace a number of the big evergreen bushes we've got now, however I hesitated because of the fact I puzzled whether or not or now not we might be higher off with something that stayed green through the wintry climate or in any other case may want to perk up the drab wintry climate panorama. Now I'm questioning in all likelihood this spot inside the decrease returned outside is a better area for them.
Then, for the slope itself, I modified into considering a few form of cotoneaster. It remains low to the ground, but spreads out to about six toes enormous, and it calls for very little renovation?In truth, the web web page I connected to says it seems top notch if you don't prune it at all, besides to eliminate vain or damaged branches. They also can deal with clay soil and are regularly advocated in particular for controlling erosion on slopes. One particular variety that appears quality is bearberry cotoneaster, that is semi-evergreen, has extraordinary fall color, and produces cheery crimson berries so that it will linger into the wintry climate. These also are stated to make true meals for birds.
So, it seems like those flora have to make a nice pairing for this hassle spot, proper? So what's the trouble?
Well, the problem is that I've been working, bit by bit, on transforming our yard into an edible landscape—and so I hesitate to add anything new to the landscape thatisn't edible. Yes, the bush cinquefoil and bearberry cotoneaster would provide other benefits—flowers throughout the spring and summer, bright berries in fall and winter, food for the birds—but even so, replacing one non-edible plant with another just feels like a missed opportunity. It seems like there must be something I could put on this slope that would serve as a privacy screen and an erosion control and provide food at the same time. But is there?
I posed this question in a thread about edible landscaping on the Dollar Stretcher forums, and I got a variety of suggestions, including gooseberries, black currants, honeyberry (a variety of honeysuckle with edible berries), sweet potatoes, "dwarf fruit trees," and elderberries. However, looking into these options, it seemed that most of them were too tall for the site. Since we'd be planting on top of a slope that's already three or four feet high, anything much taller than three feet would be impossible to harvest without the aid of a ladder. The honeyberries were an intriguing idea, one that I'd never actually heard of before, but there don't seem to be any varieties shorter than 4-5 feet tall. Elderberries, likewise, are at least 5 feet high and spread even wider, so we'd have the same trouble keeping them trimmed back as we have now with the forsythias. Gooseberry and black currant bushes appear to be only a little bit too large (3 to 6 feet), but they require selective pruning—keeping track of how old each individual cane is, and cutting out the oldest ones each spring—which sounds like a huge hassle. Also, The Weekend Garden Guide by Susan Roth, my personal landscaping bible, warns that these species can harbor a disease called white pine blister rust, which can threaten native pine trees (like the huge ones outside the apartment complex just down the block from us).
Searching for other ides, I consulted a handy site I discovered called Temperate Climate Permaculture. There were several plants I hadn't heard of before listed under "shrub layer" and "groundcover layer," including salal ("an evergreen understory shrub" with "sweet, great-tasting berries that are reminiscent of blueberries"), creeping blueberry, and relatives of the blueberry such as huckleberry and bilberry, but upon investigation, none of these appeared to be a practical choice for this particular site. The only option on his list was a low-growing variety of juniper, and these plants are only "edible" by the broadest possible definition (the berries are used as a flavoring agent). There are also groundcover roses that produce edible hips, but frankly, I look on these as more of a novelty than a viable food crop.
So there's my dilemma: should I just go with the two plants that fit the site, even though they won't expand our edible landscape? Or should I continue looking for edible options? Fortunately, we probably won't be able to buy new plants for this site until spring, so I have several months to think it over. But I don't want to spend the whole winter scouring the Internet for an ideal edible plant that may not actually exist.
