I have a small, recessed foundation wall in one area. It's ugly and I can't seem to get around to painting it. To hide the wall, I planted a row of Euonymus fortunei rootings in front of it, this summer. This stuff can get huge, but can easily be sheared to the 2 feet I need. It will get as thick as any hedge. In 2 years, the wall will be completely hidden with what will look like a dense variegated dwarf boxwood.
While waiting for the Euonymus to grow, I will keep the wall hidden with bedding plants as I have done, before. Earlier, I sank several concrete mixing tubs into the ground. Throughout the summer, I keep vinca in these beds. I have also grown 5 foot zinnias in them.
Pictured next are the beds in transition. I just dug all the vinca, reworked, and amended the soil. Now, I am in the process of planting pansies for winter and spring. I got a good mark down deal on pansies 2 months ago, all various shades of purple. Now, I will go shopping for white pansies to mix with the purple.
In a few weeks, this ugly sight should look rather nice. The pansies will have grown tall enough to at least partially hide the wall. And that ugly, brown, dormant Bermuda grass will be hidden by a lush, green carpet of winter rye.
Euonymus Fortunei is ideal for hiding masonry foundation walls. Soon, I will write an in depth article about this very versatile plant. Two examples for now: It can climb high into trees just as ivy or it can be kept mowed to a height of 3 inches as a ground cover or substitute for lawn grass. Increasing your stock is very easy. Cuttings will form roots all along the shaft, just as a tomato cutting will.
Steps:
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I really liked your idea using pans for plants. My son is in the process of making some for me to use next spring.
Did you post about Euonymus Fortunei and I missed it?
I wanted you to see a more mature version of the Euonymus hiding a foundation wall. In two years, these plants have gone from 4-5 inch cuttings to what you see here. There will be another year before they have filled out the way I want them to be.
In the mean time, I will trim the tops some. That will help them to bush out faster. And too, though hard to see in the picture, I have inserted more small rooted cuttings in front of the older plants. Next year at this time, I will be doing some serious trimming and shaping to this row of Euonymus, that from a distance will look for all the world like boxwood.
The cuttings were free, so why not. Years ago I bought one quart pot. Since that time I have rooted thousands (not hundreds) of cuttings from that one original plant and its off spring. I like plant propagation. Does it show?
I wouldn't take a pretty penny for finding Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety'. It is so versatile and fast growing, there is a place for it in most any landscape.
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