Garden: Buh Bye, Annabelle and Karl

I proposed to do it and then I did.  I yanked out the Annabelles (which I loved) and the Karl Foerster feather reed grass (which I had begun really to hate).  Don't worry, there's still a lot of Karl Foerster elsewhere in my garden.

Here's the front bed where the Annabelles used to live:

Front bed sans Annabelles; replanted.  For scale, there is a span of about 7 feet separating the base of the Joe Pye (on the right) from the Pennisetum (on the left).

Immediately after I removed them, I felt a sense of relief from their hulking presence.  Even though there is obvious carnage and a hole remains, I have no misgivings as I realized an immediate benefit.  The other side of the border (redesigned this spring) no longer seems quite as spindly and poorly grown now that it is not required to visually balance the dense mounds of hydrangea bloom and foliage.

I've already fully replanted the cleared area with Chasmanthium latifolium, "Bombshell" hydrangea, and Sweet Cicely.  If reseeding is a problem with the Chasmanthium, I am REALLY going to be in trouble--I've added it everywhere!  Next year, I'll cut back the Joy Pye to try and keep it in scale.  This plant, Eupatorium dubium "Phantom", was supposed to be about 2-2 1/2 feet tall yet every year it tops out at about 6-7 feet.  Three to four feet would be more in scale with the other plantings.  I hope that an annual cutback will keep it within that size range.  It's awkwardly tied-up now to replace some of the support that the Annabelles used to provide.

Across the entry path, this is the newly "Karl-free" area:

Again, I didn't feel as much angst as I thought I would for removing several mature plants--they just didn't serve the need, design-wise, and they were much worse for wear due to the near-constant battle with rust.  

I've never been as confident with the planting on this side of the path.   There are a couple of small shrubs serving as an understory for the vine maples and there's supposed to be a tapestry of groundcovers including Ajuga genevensis (blue), Gallium odorata, and purple heucheras.  It all needs to mature.  I think I may replace the Karl Foerster with Hachonechloa.  I've had good luck with it in other locations and I used it across the path (where the Annabelles came out) to face-down the Chasmanthium.  I'd use it in the same capacity, here.  I'm also toying with the idea of adding Sweet Cicely to this garden.

About the iris, the less said the better.  They are left over from a previous iteration of the garden and I really like them when they flower, but I think I should replace them with something more attractive year-round.  Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Garden: Look at Those Annabelles!

They are too much.  Honestly.  Too heavy and cultivated and congested looking.  Every year, I tell myself that I should replace them with something more "wild" but I can never do it.

The astrantias and hakonechloa around the base are new additions.  I planted them as close to the drip-line of the shrubs as possible with the hope that they will grow forward as part of a lush mound of foliage.