PHOTO CREDIT: Stepables. Plants like Isotoma 'Blue Star Creeper' from Stepables can be used around mailboxes, trash can storage, pathways, and other areas where other plants tend to fail.

(ARA) – Even seasoned gardeners have at least one difficult area in the landscape where no plants survive. Whether it is around a trash can storage area or in a shallow space surrounding a tree, understanding the appropriate plant material for bare, problematic areas can bring new life to the lawn and garden.

“Education is key to understanding tough conditions and which plants are best suited,” says Fran Hopkins, founder of the Stepables brand of creeping perennials. “Plant choices for tricky areas are hard if you don’t know what works best, and where.” Plants will thrive and improve aesthetics when planted in the proper environments.

Plant brand experts such as Hopkins and Jim Berry, co-owner of J. Berry Nursery, a company that cultivates plant material trialed with exacting performance standards, work each year to produce solution plants and educate homeowners on how specific varieties can eliminate landscape woes. “Our nursery’s staff members understand the investments that go into making landscapes beautiful, including the especially difficult areas,” says Berry. “Therefore, we strive to offer superior plants that flourish and are hardy.”

According to Hopkins and Berry, understanding a landscape’s problematic conditions and knowing about robust plant varieties for each is crucial for a successful garden. These tips can grow a green thumb on most any homeowner.

How-to Tip: Downright Diverse

PHOTO CREDIT: J. Berry Nursery. This Hydrangea "Deja Bloom" grown by J. Berry Nursery was cultivated with characteristics to address common landscape challenges.

The first thing a homeowner should keep in mind when tackling a small outdoor space is that traditional design elements mimic one another. However, dramatic appeal can be heightened in a way that does not overwhelm small areas or cause maintenance.

Using plants with varied heights, colors and textures will draw the eye throughout a petite garden just like larger landscapes. Yet the effect will be diversity that makes the space appear expanded. Consider the use of a low-growing groundcover such as Stepable’s Isotoma ‘Blue Star Creeper’ to maximize interest close to, and spreading across, the ground. Combine this with taller shrubs like J. Berry Nursery’s ‘Deja Bloom’ Hydrangea around the space’s edges to create a sense of place and depth in the center.

The use of creeping perennials also provides a low plane, allowing other, larger plants to be used in layers. “A bed or border with a mixture of plant shapes and sizes gives an appearance of multiplicity,” says Berry. “Try pairing broader or wider plants with ones that are known for being compact such as ‘Petite Rouge’ Photinia, the most compact photinia ideal for small spaces or mass plantings.” Ultimately, the goal is striking balance of color and form.

How-to Tip: Compare and Combine

Areas in the landscape overrun with trees and shrubs can cause homeowners frustrating maintenance issues. When areas are planted without regard to this, plants can quickly overwhelm a homeowner. Combining plants with comparable growing attributes can lead to less work later.

“Some plants and types of turf grow more quickly than others. Lawn mower use and weeding can be exhausting,” says Hopkins. “Creeping perennials like Sagina ‘Aurea’ Scotch Moss and Sedum ‘John Creech’ make a great pair and act as alternatives to traditional turf because they naturally inhibit weeds.” They can also be planted instead of turf.

Grouping plants that require similar conditions will make confined areas easier to maintain because plants will remain healthier. “For example, the ‘Déjà Bloom’ Hydrangea and ‘Crown Jewel’ Gardenia have similar sun requirements,” says J. Berry. Used together, they comprise a garden area where a lot of care is unnecessary.

Under trees, plants must compete for nutrients and moisture, sometimes causing them to perish. “When used as under-plantings, creeping perennials can provide a unique solution,” says Hopkins. One she recommends is Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’. It is a wise choice for under trees because roots are shallow, and the plant will thrive under such stress.

How-to Tip: Taking it in Stride

Certain areas of the landscape become bare of plantings due to the high-traffic these spots endure. Planted borders near sidewalks, mailboxes and trash cans receive daily beatings. Grassy areas around play sets and pet areas are often eyesores given pattering feet. With children and pets of her own, Hopkins swears by the Stepables plants because of their foot-traffic tolerance.

“Plants such as Lotus ‘Plenus’ provide these areas with a dense mat of yellow blooms that flower in spring and can tolerate foot traffic up to three times a day,” says Hopkins.

For more gardening tips and information about Stepables and J. Berry Nursery, visit www.stepables.com and www.jberrynursery.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Landscape plants are very important. Before you start setting up your garden, you need to determine what types of plants are suitable for it. You need to observe harmony and balance in your garden, so you cannot just use any plants you fancy. To help you choose the right type of landscape plants for you, here are some tips.

Perennial Flowering Plants

When it comes to gardens, perennial flowing plants are always winners. These pants can live for several years, so you need not replant them so often. What is really more interesting about these types of plants is that they require less maintenance compared most other types of landscape plants. In fact, this type of plant can survive on just minimal amount of water. Since these types of plants are quite strong, they do not require constant application of fertilizer and pesticides. Planting perennial flowering plants in your garden will ensure that you have seasonal burst of lovely colors each year.

Most of these types of plants often take about one to two years before they bear flowers. Unlike when you plant those annual plants which bears flowers within the year of planting it, you may have to wait for a long time before you can hope to see some flowers from your perennials. Actually, this long wait for the landscape plants to bear flowers is just a small price that you have to pay for the seasonal blooms that you will enjoy in the future.  

Annual Plants

If you are in a hurry to bring some colors into your garden, you should buy what gardeners call the “annual landscape plants”. These so called “annual landscape plants” are usually planted during the spring and bear flowers within a short period of time after planting. Plants like cosmos and coreopsis are some of the annual plants that are very easy to grow. These types of plants also reseed themselves. This means that if you want to plant more of these types of flowers, you can just gather their seeds and then plant the seeds somewhere else.

However, the downside about planting annual landscape plants is that these types of plants have very short life span and they do not survive the frost. During the summer, the intense heat can also kill these types of plants. If you use these types of plants in your landscaping, be prepared to replant them ever so often.

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Your garden is the cumulative effect of the plants that it consists. Hence, if you want a stunning garden you would need to know what type of landscaping plants you need to choose for it. Your choice here would be governed by what you ultimately want out of your garden, i.e. simple scenic beauty, beauty and privacy, beauty and utility, and so on. Each one of these aspects would dictate different types of landscaping plants.

The Critical Factors That Determine Your Choice Of Landscaping Plants

People normally have a garden because they love gardening or because they love the sight and smell of fresh flowers. If this is what you want a garden for, you could choose any perennial flowering plants that would make your garden come alive with a riot of colors. This would help you feel good every time you walk into your garden because it would be so simply stunning with the different sizes and shapes of flowers weaving a most lively and unusual canapé.

There are others who look at landscaping plants as a means for building a live fence around them – for privacy and territory demarcation at times.  For this purpose, you would need to choose one or more types of robust hedge bushes which could stop small animals from filtering into your yard, while at the same it would give you a good deal of privacy.

You could also use the landscaping plants for creating a definite and unusual impact in your garden. For example, you could create a stunning bonsai garden with all types of fruit bearing miniature fruit trees plus miniature water bodies and bridges making the whole thing look like something totally out of this world. In this case the landscaping plants would be that type which would respond well to the bonsai method of growing plants.

Lastly, watch out for the unwanted and unplanned events with certain landscaping plants, such as vines. Planting a vine starts with the wish to have a live wall in a certain region of the garden – it could be a favorite wall in the garden, or the wall outside your bedroom. However, it might not turn out the way you want it to be unless you are actively watching and guiding its growth. The vine is the fastest growing plant and you absolutely would not realize how fast this plant could grow.

To sum up, when you are about to landscape your garden ensure that you take the right steps and use the right tools and inputs.

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Types Of Plants

When it comes to choosing landscaping plants the first thing you have to consider is what will grow best in the area you are landscaping. All landscaping plants are different when it comes to the things that make them grow. Consider some plants can be very expensive this is why it is important to do your research first. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a plant that looks nice but will die within a year because it can’t grow in the area you place it.

Consider your landscaped area and how much sun and shade you are going to have. Then choose landscaping plants that will work within those conditions. After limiting the list of plants to those that will work in your area then you should select plants that compliment your overall landscaping idea and ones that match your project plan. This way you will not only have a unified landscape design, but you will also have landscaping plants that will last for a long time to come with proper care.

Trees And Shrubs

Think about oak trees when it comes to deciding which landscaping plants to use to line your yard. These trees can adapt to most conditions and are also pest free. They also have beautiful colors and provide excellent shade. Another excellent option is maple trees which have fascinating colors throughout the year and adapt well to most locations. Although if you don’t want to use trees for borders you can consider using shrubs.

When you want landscaping plants with a creative design then you should choose shrubs. Shrubs look well maintained and can bring a landscape design together. You still have many option to choose from when it comes to shrubs so you will need to pick on that works well for your garden area. For most areas an excellent shrub choice is the hydrangeas. IN the summer these have great flowers and green foliage while also producing excellent fall color when the seasons change.

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