You like holly. You have always admired the deep green sheen of the foliage and the brilliant red berries, so you want hollies lining the walkway to the front door. But there is not a lot of room there. So what do you do?
Many people would just go ahead and put the hollies in that cramped space and wind up making their visitors run an encroaching gauntlet of threatening needles.
You will do well to consider more than just whether you like a plant before you put it into your landscape. Choosing the right plant for the right place in the landscape sounds easy enough, until you start looking at all the possible plants that are available.
Consider the shape and size of the mature plant and your specific needs before you decide what to plant in your yard.
If allowed to grow into its natural form, without being pruned or sheared, each plant has certain growth characteristics, which are useful in landscape design.
One of the most common problems in home landscapes - failing to account for the form or growth habit - leads to plants that outgrow their surroundings. Typical problem areas include small planters and walkways that are close to the house. The result is people have to severely prune or butcher a plant to keep it inbounds.
When you choose a plant for your landscape, remember: Choose a plant with the same shape as the space you are trying to fill.
In the case of that crowded walkway, do yourself a favor and rethink your choice, no matter how much you like hollies. For the most part, do not try any shrub if the space you are working with is less than 4 feet wide. A few shrubs might work, but these would have to be plants with a shape and a rate of growth that would ensure they would not grow out onto the walk.
An exception might be espaliered plants or plants that are trained to grow along a railing or trellis. However, in most cases the best choices for such an area are ground covers or annuals.
When you do have plenty of space, put whatever plants you choose well back from the walk. Few plants, even the dwarf hollies, should be planted so their centers are any closer than 2 feet from the edge of the walk. Plant most of the spreading junipers and all of the larger plants even farther from the walkway.
One thing to keep in mind in your placement of shrubs is the degree of pruning you will have to do when the plants are full grown. Even where space is not critical, choose plants that will not grow much beyond the desired size. This will reduce maintenance problems.
Where space is limited, in either width or height, be extra careful in your choice of plant.