help my pitiful front landscape!

SMP21

We bought the house & the first thing we did was rip out every.last.piece.of.landscape all around the house.  Last year I planted daylillies, hostas, and an annual geranium which now has a hole in it's place. I also planted mums on the far left & right sides which I'm excited to see come back this fall.  

I'm totally all about the perennials! It's so fun to see them come back the next year; and you never know how big they'll get.  Not only easy, but economical, too. 

can you recommend some varieties of small/dwarf bushes/plants that I can use in th front landscape? It gets partial sun in the late afternoon. I'm looking for low maintenance, although I can trim it to look nice.  I have two separate 10 feet long x 3 feet wide spaces to fill. Should I plant now, or in the fall?  (I'm in Chicago).  I want to add some dimension since the front of the house is so flat. 

I am planning to move my current flowers around to accomodate the new bushes (I have two different daylilies, two different hostas in those spaces now).  How hard is it to move these? Should I do them now, or in the fall?

I also want to find iron self-standing rectangular flower boxes to go under the windows. The windows are so low & I do not want to drill into the house with permanent flower boxes.  Can anyone send me a website that sells these (affordably)?  Again, I think it'll add dimension to the front of the flat house.

 Not the best picture, but this will give you an idea of what it looks like NOW. One of my daylillies is twice as tall as the others; can I move this to the far left with ease to achieve better balance?

And this is what it looked like LAST YEAR.  Still too flat & bare, but it was a start!

wrysmyguy

I am fond of Barberry - both rosy glow and sunjoy - they can grow tall but not if you keep after them. They are also deer resistant. Check to see if they can do in your zone and if they can tolerate less than full sun.

 http://www.naturehills.com/images/ProductImages/barberry_sunjoygoldpillar_big.jpg 

What about Hydrangeia? I like Endless Summer.

 Ornamental grass might do well

 Yucca, Yarrow, Salvia, Russian Sage, (all perennials) are also lovely.(can you tell I need to think constantly about deer?)

hollymichael

I am also in Chicago and I love my knock out roses. They do need some sun, so I'm not sure if you will get enough. You might also want to try endless summer hydrangeas. I think some of the other hydrangeas may be too tall for the space, but the endless summer will stay small.  Lilacs might work too.  You can always cut them back after they bloom to keep them smaller.

I also have walkers low catmint which is a perennial, but it gets as large as a small shrub.

 You don't need to wait until fall--you can go ahead and plant now. Just make sure to water a lot.

 

strangebird

Try Wiegelas. They bloom profusely, grow easily in Illinois, and couldn't be more low-maintenance. A little pruning to maintain their size/shape and they're good to grow. They come in dozens of colors, are inexpensive, readily available and grow fast. They're not a terribly advanced plant and a lot of professional gardeners disdain them, but I think they are perfect when you want some size and color, especially for beginning gardeners.