Green Gem Boxwoods Planted - October 2021

We have boxwoods planted in both the front and the back of our house.  The ones in front were planted by the landscaper who installed our initial plantings and beds.  The ones in back were planted the following growing season and are near our kitchen window.  The first look I can find of them here on the blog was in April of 2019 when I pruned them up a little bit to be more ball-like.  By last Fall, these same Boxwoods (Green Velvet) had grown up and out and were starting to come together.  

One of the things that I've missed out on (consistently) is working in evergreen trees into the landscape that I've been planting out back.  I added the Weeping Nootka Cypress this year to help, but I know that I can do more.  In terms of evergreen shrubs, we have a mixed report.  Both in terms of species but also in terms of making progress with evergreens.  In terms of inventory of evergreen shrubs....We have the aforementioned boxwoods.  We also have the pair of rhododendrons next to our stoop.  And, we have the Hicks upright Yew hedge all the way in the back of the yard that were planted in 2019.  

Then came this Fall.  And I've taken advantage of the late Home Depot shrub sale by buying even more Hicks upright Yews.  First, I put in a pair of them with the intention of making a Block I topiary on the north side of the beds.  Then, just this past week, I planted a series of those same Hicks upright Yews in a row that I'm aiming to use as a soft-of visual repeat of the back hedge along the south side bed.  I also planted a pair of the same Yews *behind* the Oakleaf Hydrangeas that I'll post about soon.  

The next step in the Fall evergreen shrub planting blitz isn't more Yews.  But, instead...a trio of boxwoods.  In particular, three very SMALL Green Gem Boxwoods.  

What are Green Gem boxwoods?  This post from the NCSU Extension office talks about their features and mentions that Green Gems are: "noted for its dwarf, dense, globular shape and winter hardiness".  They also talk about the small size of these (which is of particular interest to me):

Its compact size of 2 to 3 feet high and wide makes the green gem boxwood a great choice for tight spaces, along narrow pathways, a low hedge, or beside a patio. The dark glossy leaves provide good winter interest and the plant is rabbit and deer resistant.

They're 'compact' and grow to just a couple of feet high and wide - which is great for planting in the bed on the south side of the lawn.  Here, below, are the three #1 nursery containers showing the location in front of the Summer Beauty Alliums.  To the right is the damaged Ginko tree.  To the left of the Alliums is the Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea.  

I dug them in - spaced them about 30" apart and then mulched them over.  This part of the garden is exclusively perennial - some woody, some not - so I'm thinking that these will add some structure and diversity of contrasts/textures to the bed.  

I went back and forth about planting these in a few spots - as they're NOT outlined in the plan.  But, this felt like a good spot for these dwarf evergreens.  I have ONE other boxwood that I picked up that I'm going to plant on the other side of the yard - I'll post on that soon.