# Elevated Deck Border - Picking Arbs and Filler Bushes



## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

We are taking bids on an area of our lawn that abuts our deck. The deck is elevated between 3 and 5 feet off the ground, depending on slope. And the area is just on two side of the deck on a neat right angle, with each "arm" about 20 feet long. The plan is threefold, each fold of which I'm looking for ideas...

1) Arbs to anchor each end, as well as the right angle corner - I like green giants; ideally no more than a few feet wide, and we'd keep them pruned at 10-12 feet max once they get there
2) Colorful bushes to act as the major filler - depending on sizing we can get 2-3 per arm. We've kicked around lilac (I'm opposed, wife is in favor), roses, lavender, and burning bushes. 
3) Small filler bulbs in the frong - No major input on these yet, maybe tulips or something to add a pop

Has anyone filled out a border similar to this, and what did you do? We are Zone 6, and the area is definitely Full Sun.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

How much greenery do you want vs how much is bloom important? Most roses do very little for screening. Year round or seasonal?


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## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

Lawndress said:


> How much greenery do you want vs how much is bloom important? Most roses do very little for screening. Year round or seasonal?


I'm more concerned about the arbs. I think they would look great as the anchors of the bed, so I want something that will max out at 12', isn't bug or deer friendly, and has a thick, full look. I like the look of Emerald Green, but I read on some other pages here that they attract deer (which we definitely have in the area, though I do have a five foot fence, if that helps).

The wife is more concerned about the filler bushes. She really wants lilac or lavender, but I'm concerned about the "full"ness of those bushes, as well as the bloom (lilac only once and then you've just got a bushy looking bush).

The screening is just to hide the undercarriage of our deck, so it's not super important. I would prefer filler bushes that bloomed for longer (or multiple times) and were thicker and colorful. I could sacrifice the color for "full"ness and bloom, as we could add color via bulbs in the front.

As for seasonality, this would definitely be a 2.5 season plan. We live in Pittsburgh, which is notorious for its seasons - late winter (Jan - March), Quick Spring (March-March), Third Winter (April), Real Spring (May-July), Scorching Summer (July-August), First Winter (September-October), Fall (one random week in October), and Second Winter (October-December).

In all seriousness, we're looking for seasonal, in a full sun area.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

I don't want to be mean, but I suspect your wife doesn't know much about plants. Lilac bloom times are really short, unless you get a reblooming variety. That might work. But lavender?????? Lavender is short! Really short! It blooms a long time but tends not to like being too wet and is short lived when wet.

If you don't get deer in your backyard now, the emerald arbs won't attract them. I'd go with emerald. If you do get deer, I'd skip the arbs altogether because the green giant is just that.

The quick and dirty choice for your area if you want shrubs that are long blooming and bulletproof are spireas. Gold mound is just amazing. Chartreuse foliage, magenta blooms, and the buds are decorative a long time before blooming. Mix it up with other spirea varieties for a striking contrast--just don't get the hugest ones. There are no anxieties when it comes to spirea, and you can chop them and shape them however and they will look great. As long as you're going for a more natural for (in general) and not a tight clipped hedge, they're amazing and bulletproof. Deer hate them, too.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Oh, and cheat for spring. Underplant daffodils (very early, mid, and late season).

Shrubs aren't really the answer for four-season bloom. But if you put in some perennials, it will help. You want german irises to bridge the season between the daffodils and the later bloomers, then Walker's Low catmint, then rudbeckia goldstrum/coreopsis/echinacea, and finally some sedum "autumn joy", tall garden phlox, and one more that I can't remember at the moment that blooms until November.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Hyssop!!!! That's the one I forgot.

Reblooming day lilies are a summer mainstay, too. I'm adding as I remember what I have planted. Lol.

Get reblooming German iris, too.

I'm on phone and am concerned about it resetting and forgetting what I'm writing, so sorry if it's spammy. Lol. I'm pretty close to your area, and I have a huge yard, so I refuse to baby anything. It either survives or dies. And I have a street bed that is my little.sunny display bed, and I like it to look nice most of the year. I'm just about to shape the shrubs, and it's in one of the more dead periods (alliums and late tulips would fill the gap perfectly, but they only last a year, so I rarely plant them), but this is what it looked like last week:


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## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

Thank you, @Lawndress for all of the options!. I think we're going to start basic, and evolve from there. One idea we like is, as you look at the space from left to right, something like:

EG - V - L - V - EG - V - L - L - V - EG

EG = Emerald Green
V = Viburnum
L = Lilac

I like the snowball pop look of the viburnum, we would just want to get a variety that doesn't stretch as high (and also keep it maintained so it's not even an issue). The wife likes lilac, but I understand your "it doesn't bloom for long, or more than once" concern. I'm going to see if we can find a reblooming lilac.

Then, in front, we would add some smaller perennials like lavender, tulips, etc.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

jeffjunstrom said:


> 2) Colorful bushes to act as the major filler - depending on sizing we can get 2-3 per arm. We've kicked around lilac (I'm opposed, wife is in favor), roses, lavender, and *burning bushes*.


I advise strongly AGAINST burning bushes. They are prolific seeders and you will have seedlings coming up everywhere - in your lawn and in your flower beds. Burning bushes are a highly invasive species and are even banned for sale in some states.


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## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

@Deadlawn I've heard all I need to hear. In addition to the affirmative goals above, I very much do NOT want something that is going to spread. I want to plant the shrub, bush, plant, whatever and I want it to stay there for perpetuity.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

jeffjunstrom said:


> @Deadlawn I've heard all I need to hear. In addition to the affirmative goals above, I very much do NOT want something that is going to spread. I want to plant the shrub, bush, plant, whatever and I want it to stay there for perpetuity.


If that's the case, you definitely don't want a forsythia either. They can become a gnarly tangled thicket if you don't prune vigilantly.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

jeffjunstrom said:


> Thank you, @Lawndress for all of the options!. I think we're going to start basic, and evolve from there. One idea we like is, as you look at the space from left to right, something like:
> 
> EG - V - L - V - EG - V - L - L - V - EG
> 
> ...


Since the lilacs are going to be informally and loosely shaped, I wouldn't alternate them in a formal way.

For what you want, I would recommend the Little Lamb hydrangea instead of the Korean viburnum. The blooms come in summer but last until frost. After the leaves all fall off, you can cut however you want. It's the right size and gives a longer bloom. Get that exact variety, as others don't bloom on new wood or have other issues you won't like as much.

Make sure the lilacs get lots of sun to have decent flowers. They are disappointing in shade.


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## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

Lawndress said:


> For what you want, I would recommend the Little Lamb hydrangea instead of the Korean viburnum. The blooms come in summer but last until frost. After the leaves all fall off, you can cut however you want. It's the right size and gives a longer bloom. Get that exact variety, as others don't bloom on new wood or have other issues you won't like as much.
> 
> Make sure the lilacs get lots of sun to have decent flowers. They are disappointing in shade.


It's my understanding that hydrangeas don't do well in full sun, which this area definitely will have. Does the little lamb variety do well in full sun?


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

jeffjunstrom said:


> Lawndress said:
> 
> 
> > For what you want, I would recommend the Little Lamb hydrangea instead of the Korean viburnum. The blooms come in summer but last until frost. After the leaves all fall off, you can cut however you want. It's the right size and gives a longer bloom. Get that exact variety, as others don't bloom on new wood or have other issues you won't like as much.
> ...


Sorry for the delay! This variety does fine. You just have to water them if they get sad and droopy for at least a year because it takes a while for their roots to grow in.


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## jeffjunstrom (Aug 12, 2019)

UPDATE

After significant back and forth, I think it turned out pretty well. The back is arb, viburnum, and lilac, with perennials in the front, including lily, lavender, gayfeather, and a fourth that I can't remember right now. Then a knockout on the corner to set it all off. I plan to come back in a few months and hit it with tulips and daffodils. Then patiently wait for it all to fill out and hide underneath the deck.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


> jeffjunstrom said:
> 
> 
> > @Deadlawn I've heard all I need to hear. In addition to the affirmative goals above, I very much do NOT want something that is going to spread. I want to plant the shrub, bush, plant, whatever and I want it to stay there for perpetuity.
> ...


I have spent 12 years digging out a line of forsythia. 12. Years. The thicket was originally 100' by 10'. I spent several years chopping it back and removing babies, then more after I decided that the momma bushes needed to go. Every year, I would attack anything that bloomed yellow. Lol.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

jeffjunstrom said:


> UPDATE
> 
> After significant back and forth, I think it turned out pretty well. The back is arb, viburnum, and lilac, with perennials in the front, including lily, lavender, gayfeather, and a fourth that I can't remember right now. Then a knockout on the corner to set it all off. I plan to come back in a few months and hit it with tulips and daffodils. Then patiently wait for it all to fill out and hide underneath the deck.


You'll need to move stuff in a few years and cut down on the number of shrubs, but it'll be really pretty for a few years until then!

My deck is 60' long and 8 feet off the ground, so I was invisioning something bigger. Lol.

Keep in mind that the fence in the picture with my Korean viburnum is six feet tall. I prune aggressively to keep it just above 6'.


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