Color
Your color selection sets the mood in your garden. Hot colors (red, yellow and orange) not only create visual excitement and psychological heat, but they appear closer. Conversely, cool colors (blue, pink, purple, green) are calming and appear to recede into the background. Perhaps surprisingly, white is cooling, yet has strong visual attraction drawing your eye in before any other color.
Containers
To calculate the number of 4” plants needed to fill your containers, take the diameter and divide by two. Example: A 14” pot requires 7 plants.
Don’t forget that wonderful compositions (garden beds and containers) are created not only with color, but also interesting foliage and contrasting texture. Flower color is great, but texture and foliage color interplay can create stunning effects, especially if you have shade.
There are numerous ways to create fabulous containers. Annuals are still the backbone, but don’t overlook shrubs as focal points (especially for large containers), perennials, veggies and herbs to create one-of-a-kind looks. Don’t be afraid to mix things up and try new combinations.
Lawns
Spring is the second best time to do lawn renovation, particularly seeding (late summer/early fall is the very best time if you have the luxury of waiting). If you know you have major areas to seed, avoid an “oops” moment and make sure no one applies a fertilizer/pre-emergent weed control combo to the areas to be seeded. Standard active ingredients in these “preventers” don’t differentiate between desirable turf grass and crabgrass seedlings.
Mow high, 3” or more going into summer. This not only prevents turf from drying out as quickly when temperatures soar, but a thick lawn is a very effective way to discourage weeds. Crabgrass, for example, will be dramatically decreased from the shading of a thick lawn.
Design
When seeking design assistance, do your homework first. It’s important for you to let the designer, architect or horticulturist know how much sun, or, as importantly, shade an area gets. This is particularly true if the shade is coming from deciduous trees. Have an estimate handy of how many hours of sun the site gets. Is it full sun or is it filtered? This info is needed whether you’re designing for new tree, shrub, evergreen, annual or perennial plantings.
If you’re getting a “quick sketch” consultation from someone who is never going to see your site, bring measurements using a tape measure. Guessing or measuring from footprints does not serve you or the designer well. Also, be prepared to share anything that is unusual: drainage issues, extreme heat, winter wind corridors, deer populations, large active dogs with big feet, etc.
Plant Health
Don’t be alarmed if a leaf gets yellow or you find one aphid on one of your garden plants. But if a plant starts showing symptoms that are noticeable, or sizeable populations of insects start swarming your plant, bring pictures and/or samples that represent why you’re concerned to your local garden center. Treatment may or may not be required.
Buy Local
For many of the same reasons you would buy local produce or “Made in the USA” products, it’s good practice to buy locally grown plants whenever possible. In addition to the reduced carbon transport footprint, hardiness appropriateness and soil match are important factors in successful plantings.
