SPRING LANDSCAPING

Finally, the cold months of winter have passed and now spring is starting to appear.  This time of year is when most gardeners become excited and eager to put new plants and flowers in the ground.  The springtime is also the best time to work on your landscaping projects.

An old saying is that “the most boring distance between two points is a straight line.”  When it comes to landscaping and creating a dramatic appearance for your property, this is true.  Sure, you could design a row of flowers and they would look “okay” but why settle for something dull when you can think outside the box, creating an amazing garden that would make you the envy of all the neighbors.

For starters, consider your home – the color and architecture.  The goal is to choose landscape designs that will complement your home.  When using color, you want to be prudent.  In other words, while you can have all types of color, try to keep one color or one group of colors to an area.  Additionally, if you have a smaller yard, you can make it look larger by choosing white or light-colored flowers.

You also want to avoid planting everything in a straight line, instead using curves and angles.  For instance, if you plan to create a pathway going from one portion of the yard to your garden, change your plan from a straight path to one that meanders and winds for interest.  The same would be true when planting the actual flowers.  Instead of putting everything in a clean line, try mixing things, adding variety to the appearance.

When shopping for your plants and flowers, make sure you have multiple textures and shapes, which will add drama and character to the garden.  This would also apply to the decorations and materials used in your garden or for the landscaping.  As an example, you want to use different size pebbles and rocks, various types of ornamental grass, and even different types of mulch.  All of these variations together create a beautiful look.

Height is also an important consideration in that having plants and flowers all the same level would be boring.  Typically, when planting a garden, the taller plants would go toward the back, and then additional plants would taper in front of those plants until reaching short heights in the front.  Now, keep in mind that you can change this but you definitely want to keep the taller plants as the back anchor. Different heights and interest can be achieved by using raised planter beds and planters

When it comes to choosing the number of plants that you will need, this would depend on the size of the area that is being landscaped and the type of plants you plan to buy.  No matter how many plants you go with, the one thing you should do is plant everything in odd numbers.  The result will be much more impressive and beautiful.

Finally, while you might have your favorite types of plants, try to buy a nice variety.  In other words, buying too much of one species will only make the garden look sloppy and unprofessional.  Therefore, you can certainly plant what you like but keep the number of species to a limited amount.  Remember, the key is variety!