I have a lot of favorite things in the garden, but the 50 year old, 75 foot long yew hedge in our back garden isn't one of them. Previous owners of the house had let the hedge grow very tall. It had become about 7 feet high and 7 feet deep, and was simply too big for me to effectively and safely prune anymore.

Over dinner the other night, John and I began to ask ourselves, what was the purpose of the hedge, anyway? The roots surely helped with erosion control where the edge of the upper garden met the steeply sloped bank of the "mid level" garden. But now it had just become a giant green wall that blocked lines of sight and divided the back yard in two.

So we talked it over, and decided I'd take it down. I spent all day Friday afternoon using my chainsaw to cut down 45 yew bushes, and Saturday we rented a 20-foot panel truck to haul all the branches to the town landfill.

Removal of the hedge has not only opened up lines of sight between the upper and lower gardens, but the back yard feels more expansive now without a green wall bifurcating it down the middle. Moreover, the roses in the upper garden will get about twice the amount of sun as they did before. And best of all, I have a huge amount of square footage that has opened up, to install some (or a lot) of my favorite things.

The photos tell the story...

"Before" photo looking down the length of the mid-level garden with the yew hedge on the right


"After" photo looking down the length of the mid-level garden


"Before" photo of the upper garden taken a few years ago, on the other side of the yew hedge, shown on the left


"After" photo of the upper garden taken today...


New planting area!
(and a mess of unseen roots to contend with)


One of 45 yew stumps that will eventually be replaced with some new favorites.

I normally can't bring myself to remove anything green and thriving, but I totally agree with your decision. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the new planting project unfold!

Thank you. I did a lot of research on "hard pruning" overgrown yew hedges, and it's not easy to cut them way back and get new green growth to grow back on top or on the sides. You often end up with what looks like a big bundle of upright sticks, at least for a season or two. And then, of course, they just keep growing back to where they used to be, and it's not easy to safely prune them while trying to balance oneself on that steep slope.

Great decision, and love the before and after pics! Are you going to hire someone to dig out and grind the roots? That's not a job I'd want!

It's all so beautiful. What do you plan to plant where you have removed your green wall?

Like Vicki, I'm curious, too, as to what you are going to plant where the 'greens' were. Fantastic removal job, Mike, and I love the new openness of the back yard. More room for more roses, maybe?

Thanks everyone! So here's an update... I have many potted perennials and decided that they would be the first plants to go into the new open area. I also have a number of perennials that are starting to close in on one another or could be divided or are somewhat hidden by other plants, and decided they would also be transplanted to the open area. I've also been growing some perennials by seed in small growing pots, that are ready to be planted out. So on Sunday I planted a few of my favorite things into the newly cleared area, which include:

1 short fountain grass
3 Amsonia (Bluestar)
2 Heliopsis (False Sunflower)
1 Mallow
3 Perovskia (Russian Sage, 2 different varieties)
6 Echinacea (Coneflower)
1 Campanula (Bell Flower)
4 Asclepias (Milkweed)
2 Salvia
2 Veronica (Speedwell)
2 Delphinium
2 Sedum (Autumn Joy)
1 Stokesia (Stokes Aster)
5 Ornamental onions (Allium)
3 Liatris Spicata (Blazing Star)
3 Stachys (Big Betony)

Then I came back indoors, had a nice glass of iced sangria, and called it a day.

Susan_in_SB said: Great decision, and love the before and after pics! Are you going to hire someone to dig out and grind the roots? That's not a job I'd want!

Nah, I'll do that myself.

"Me big! Me strong! Me he-man!"

But me will need some Advil.

It will be so beautiful - already beautiful but even more so.

lol on the Advil.

Mike said: So here's an update... I have many potted perennials and decided that they would be the first plants to go into the new open area. I also have a number of perennials that are starting to close in on one another or could be divided or are somewhat hidden by other plants, and decided they would also be transplanted to the open area. I've also been growing some perennials by seed in small growing pots, that are ready to be planted out. So on Sunday I planted a few of my favorite things into the newly cleared area, which include:

1 short fountain grass
3 Amsonia (Bluestar)
2 Heliopsis (False Sunflower)
1 Mallow
3 Perovskia (Russian Sage, 2 different varieties)
6 Echinacea (Coneflower)
1 Campanula (Bell Flower)
4 Asclepias (Milkweed)
2 Salvia
2 Veronica (Speedwell)
2 Delphinium
2 Sedum (Autumn Joy)
1 Stokesia (Stokes Aster)
5 Ornamental onions (Allium)
3 Liatris Spicata (Blazing Star)
3 Stachys (Big Betony)

Then I came back indoors, had a nice glass of iced sangria, and called it a day.

The colors of those choices will be so much more beautiful than the hedges. Great choices!!!
I greatly applaud you for doing the work yourself.

It sounds beautiful already! Would it be too much to expect some progress pictures?

Once I finish the additional installations and get the area mulched, I'll put up some photos. I'm thinking that I may replace the yew hedge with a 2.5 foot high hedge of shorter Encore azaleas. They bloom in spring, summer and fall (hence the name); can withstand full sun; and are evergreen. Of course I thought about adding more roses, but they're not a lot of fun to look at from outside the kitchen window in the middle of January, whereas a short evergreen hedge would be more pleasing, and give some structural definition to the breakpoint where the sloped bank of the middle garden meets the flat upper garden. However, I won't install these until the spring.

Encore Azalea ('Autumn Sunburst')


Or perhaps I could alternate the azaleas with some short floribunda or shrub roses.

Mike said: Once I finish the additional installations and get the area mulched, I'll put up some photos. I'm thinking that I may replace the yew hedge with a 2.5 foot high hedge of shorter Encore azaleas. They bloom in spring, summer and fall (hence the name); can withstand full sun; and are evergreen. Of course I thought about adding more roses, but they're not a lot of fun to look at from outside the kitchen window in the middle of January, whereas a short evergreen hedge would be more pleasing, and give some structural definition to the breakpoint where the sloped bank of the middle garden meets the flat upper garden. However, I won't install these until the spring.

Encore Azalea ('Autumn Sunburst')


Or perhaps I could alternate the azaleas with some short floribunda or shrub roses.

I love the shade of pink!!

LittleAnnie said: I love the shade of pink!!

I do too; as pretty as many azaleas are, I often find their colors to be almost neon-like, and I prefer something a little softer. This spring I replaced the 25 Knockout Roses in the front yard (that were planted by the home's previous owners about 20 years ago) with azaleas of this color (although they weren't Encore azaleas). The Knockouts rarely had a chance to bloom given how many deer pass through our unfenced front yard on a daily (and nightly) basis. I have no idea why the previous owners thought it was a good idea to put out a buffet for them, but I grew tired of pruning 25 roses every spring that got munched all summer long.

Mike said: I do too; as pretty as many azaleas are, I often find their colors to be almost neon-like, and I prefer something a little softer. This spring I replaced the 25 Knockout Roses in the front yard (that were planted by the home's previous owners about 20 years ago) with azaleas of this color (although they weren't Encore azaleas). The Knockouts rarely had a chance to bloom given how many deer pass through our unfenced front yard on a daily (and nightly) basis. I have no idea why the previous owners thought it was a good idea to put out a buffet for them, but I grew tired of pruning 25 roses every spring that got munched all summer long.

Just showed the pic of the Azaleas and she's going to put some in the front of the house. I do the roses, she does the gardening partly on the western front and side of the house. She often does annuals, but, liked the azaleas so much she's copying your idea. Happily, we have no deer yet, but, since we are taking so much wild life living space, I've seen wild turkeys cross my small street several times and there are now coyotes in the area. About 40 miles north of us a puma was spotted because the deer population is coming into the towns and cities.

Mike, remember the poor Firefighter that had disease spots on the stems? You advised me to cut below the spots and I cut it very low, thinking it wouldn't survive. It was pathetic for awhile in a pot and I planted it about a month ago. I don't know if I thanked you back when you advised me, but, thank you for that advise because I was going to toss it. Still small, but, it's put out this new growth not even a week ago. I'm thrilled, too, because I got a full refund for this one.
Whoops...forgot to say 'she' is my roommate and good friend.

That's great that Firefighter is coming along!