All Year Round
Landscaping Ideas
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Landscaping
is a great way to enhance the look of your garden. However, it can seem
an up hill struggle if you don’t have any knowledge of
landscaping fundamentals.
While this might be true to some extent, following certain guidelines
can significantly help you accomplish any landscaping project with
confidence and ease. After all, landscaping is not rocket science.
So don’t think you can’t do a reasonable job even
if you are not a certified green thumb.
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One of the most important factors to consider in any landscaping
project is to create a design that will have a whole year round appeal.
This basically means that the beauty of your landscaping should not be
mainly focused on the vibrant profusion of colors in summer and spring,
but should also take into consideration generating attraction during
the autumn and winter.
This requires that you become familier with the plants and trees to
pick that ensures you not only have alluring spring
and summer blossoms to look forward to, but also enjoy the autumn
foliage as well as a wonderful design for winter.
Having a good combination of trees and plants will bring balance to
your garden. When a certain plant has done putting on a show with its
seasonal bloom, there should be some other plants that can effectively
pick up the slack.
So when shopping for plants and shrubs, keep in mind this two key
considerations:
1. Determine the particular plants that
has the ability to put on the best show
Use this knowledge to come up with a staggered
planting plan. This basically gives you an idea which plants should be
grouped together since you naturally wouldn't want to have a
chaotic riot of colours come spring.
High-performer plants should be carefully spread to avoid
un-coordinated planting that would end up having a chaotic
visual display of flowers that can ultimately result in a haphazard
effect.
If you have an especially spacious property or a sprawling lawn, you
need to draw up a landscape plan to achieve a more stunning overall
effect. For individuals to have to contend with a rather cramped space,
careful allocation of space in a methodical manner can deftly avoid
future problems on outgrowing and oversized plants and trees. Such
knowledge will also help you deal with the proper coordination of
colours to attain that strikingly well manicured beauty.
But how do you actually maintain a year round interest in your
landscaping, even in the darkest months of winter? Here's a
comprehensive guide on the best plants to pick out:
Spring
Forsythia
Shrubs - The end of winter
ushers in the vibrant colours of spring, where flowers bloom in
profusion. More often that not, after a long and cold winter season we
all look forward to enjoying the welcome sight of pulsating hues of
spring. The forsythia shrub is among the early bloomers in
spring, sporting sunny yellow flowers that become a perfect
fixture. One of the charming characteristics of the forsythia
is the fact that the plant flowers tend to precede its leaves, so you
can enjoy a charming burst of colour just when you need it the most.
Weeping
Flowering Trees –
Weeping trees are among the popular choices for a spring landscape,
particularly the snow fountain cherry-weeping tree that blossoms best
in well drained soil and exposure to full sunlight.
Rhododendrons
and Azaleas – Most
landscaping designers usually group these two together. Among the
popular choices is the Catawba Rhododendron variety, which is a
broadleaf evergreen bush with some leathery foliage, and spring flowers
that tend to attract hummingbirds. The great thing about this plant is
it is so easy to transfer but would require acidic soil and some shady
location for maximum growth. Its flowers are available in rose,
white, and lavender with bushes than can reach as high as 6 to
8 feet and spread as wide as 4 to 6 feet.
Lilac
Shrubs – The
lavender-blue cluster flowers of this plant are expected to be in full
bloom late in spring. This means, when all other spring plants have
done their vibrant dispaly, you can expect the lilac bushes to take
center stage to show off their own display of blooms. It also has a
wonderful fragrance that adds to its captivating sight and is actually
hailed to be one of the most wonderful aromas in the world.
Summer
Washington
Hawthorn Tree –
This plant produces white blooms in charming clusters starting late
spring and on until the early summer. What is charming about this tree
is the fact that the flowers features red cherries that often persist
all throughout winter. Its bark also attractive with wonderful autumn
foliage that range from orange to red.
Mountain
Laurel Shrubs- Considered a
close relative of azaleas and rhododendrons, but offering a totally
different appearance. The broadleaf evergreen offers deep green leaves
that are attractive throughout the changing season. But the enthralling
picture it presents in summer greatly earned its popularity with its
alluring blooms.
Crape
Myrtle Trees- The leaves of
this tree resemble huge myrtles and the crinkly look of its petals
often looks like crepe paper, thus explains its namesake. More
prevalently found in the Southern Part of United States, the tree can
grow as huge as thirty feet, with the distinctive 'red-orange' foliage
in fall and attractive bark peelings.
It also bears striking white cluster blooms with some brownish fruits
that can even persist all throughout the winter season. This makes it
easily an all year round tree that you might want to include in your
landscaping strategy.
Rose
Of Sharon Shrubs –
Its blooms come in white, lavender and even a touch of blue (since some
shrubs have double blooms). Most of the Rose of Sharon bushes have tiny
and deeply lobed leaves eminating a light green colour.
Autumn
Maples
– These are one of the best, if not the best foliages for
autumn. The red Maple Tree grows best in full to partial sun and acidic
soil with a good drainage ground. Other equally wonderful trees are the
sugar maple trees, Norway maple ad the Amur maples. All offer richly
textured red foliage.
Ash
Trees – Offers a
charming touch of yellow foliage and slowly changes into purple in mid
and late autumn. Some people have observed that they are especially
attractive during the in between transition stage that offers a
wonderful mix of yellow and purple that is certainly a wonderful sight
to behold.
However, if you choose this tree, plant it well away from you
residential structure since the leaves are not strong enough to
withstand strong gusts of winds. If planted near the house, the leaves
can easily accumulate in gutters and roofs and can be a nightmare to
clean up.
Sumac
Shrubs – While
these are popularly known as poisonous shrubs, there are non-poisonous
sumacs that are among the best choice for fall
foliage offering a brilliant autumn display. Among the popular
varieties is the Staghorn Sumac, which is a tough plant that can easily
be grown without to much care.
Oak
Trees – Wonderful
foliage at the latter part of the autumn season. So if you have high
performer foliages at the early fall, the Oak tree can carry on the
show with such ease the uniquely understated charm.
However, one of the best reasons to choose Oak is not merely for its
foliage alone, but for the fact it's considered an exceptional
specimen and as such can increase the value of your property. Oaks are
also known to easily complement the colors of maple and are known to
offer stunning beauty long after maples have shed their leaves.
Winter
China
Holly – Popular as
it has year-round foliage and bright red berries that easily
attract birds. In fact the sprigs are usually cut off and sued as
winter decorations for the holidays.
Red
Osier Dogwood – A
very tough plant that yields white flowers in May and presents a
wonderful contrast against the pristine snow in winter. The red bark of
the tree can slowly change into burgundy, which gives one of the most
stunning backdrops for a wonderful winter scene.
Yews
– A prominent member in the Christmas ensemble in Britain and
some parts of Europe. Christmas Hollies can be made out of the sprigs
of the yew tree and the attractive conifers and red berries have a
wonderful appeal.
However, the seeds and needles of this tree are known to be quite
toxic, so if you have small children around, settle for other winter
alternatives to avoid accidental poisoning.
You should now have a broader idea of the great number of plants and
shrubs that you can incorporate in your landscaping design. You can
easily pick out one of two for every changing season. This means, your
home will not only be a great sight to behold in spring, but
can easily provide a few interesting sights even in the dead of winter.
Knowing which plants and shrubs to pick out is important since
you don't want to end up with a rather unimaginative
or chaotic display.
Another important point to take into account is the fact that your
landscaping is not only solely for aesthetic purposes only. You may not
know it but good landscaping can easily increase your property value to
as much as 15%, which of course can play to your advantage if you are
planning to put your house on the market in the future.
A lot of potential buyers are easily swayed with the all too important
signs of a well kept home, and a wonderful landscaping design is
definitely one of the most significant aspects of home improvement.
With an all year round landscaping
design, you can easily increase the value of your home and at the same
time provide a wonderful welcoming site for both guests and family
members any time of year.
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