Hi Kim, Happy New Year! I want to finally remove the last original foundation planting from 1965 - an azalea - and perhaps replace it with a Flame Azalea that would be appropriate for this region. The summer view head-on shows the general area. The bottom left corner of the oakleaf hydrangea has been trimmed back and there is a new Little Joe Pye in that space. There is an access path to a hose bib to the left of that. The existing azalea lives behind this. I limbed up the cedar, which is getting too big for its location; it reaches above the first story.
The winter view shows available space understory to the cedar, more open than one might imagine because I'm looking diagonally from the left. Red is the azalea remainder, cut low to the ground, blue is the Little Joe Pye, green is the Oakleaf Hydrangea, Orange is the path. Behind the azalea is an open area, currently an experimental baby bed for Golden Alexanders to see if they would be happy with this amount of sun; they can move in spring. The house faces southwest but gets only afternoon sun. A new azalea would need to be understory to the cedar. Thanks for any ideas!
I’m also concerned with our summers being so hot and humid now. It may stress the flame azalea and they are prone to all kinds of diseases and insect pests.