While I am very happy with my overall garden plan, I am forever tweaking spots that, despite good planning, just don’t work. In 2006 I planned and planted my Kitchen Garden Patio. Part of the plan called for some Little Henry Sweetspire (Itea Virginica) to surround part of the Kitchen Patio. I was attracted by the potential of fragrant white flowers in early summer, the spreading habit of the plant as I hoped it would fill in a large space and terrific fall colour. Well, it has been a love-hate relationship ever since.

While hardy to zone 5, every spring I had to prune back from 6 to 12 inches of dead wood. There went the fragrant flowers again that year. And, since the plant leafs out fairly late, those sporadic new siblings that came from underground runners looked rather unkept in the garden. Summer would come and the light green foliage would finally fill in and provide a nice contrasting green – OK perhaps this plant is not so bad after all, I’d say. Then the brilliant translucent red fall colour would sell me all over again.

Well, not this year. After cutting back over two-thirds of the plants this spring I decided they had to go. Lucky for me Canadian Tire had a sale on 5 gallon, 2.5 foot wide Green Velvet Boxwoods for $25 each. So I lugged home 8 new boxwoods, dug up the old Sweetspire and created myself a new garden in two days. Of course I had to move the bird feeder and bird bath, add a few rocks and split some coral bells, but after all was said and done, I’m really happy with the results. Plus, I will have some much needed winter interest in this garden from the evergreen boxwoods.

I guess that’s why it’s called My Ever Changing Garden. And I’ve a few more sections that need tweaking. I think I’ll rest by back for a day or two though.

Five new boxwoods define the edge of the Kitchen Patio Garden

A view of the bird feeder and bird bath

The opposite side of the patio.