Choosing the Best Plants for Your Yard

Did you feel excited when you first saw the space in your backyard and thought of what you could do with it? Maybe you ran right out and bought some plants and started planting them. Or did you first consider the kind of soil you have in your garden, or perhaps, think about the kind of plants that would do well in your yard? If you didn’t, maybe now your garden is a mess and you need to rethink what you should do. Maybe you haven’t made that mistake yet and are wanting to avoid making it. Here are some things to think about.

This spring before you buy any plants you should think about where you want to place the plants in the garden.
– shade loving plants for those sheltered areas
– sun lovers for the warm spots
– drought resistant plants for the parched areas which may be either sunny or shaded
– swamp plants for the poorly drained parts.

What to plant? These pointers should help you:

- Start small: You can always increase the size of your garden if you choose to. But do it gradually. This is particularly important if you're on a budget, of course.

- Test your soil: First, you need to determine the pH level of your soil and what kind of nutrients you need to add. You can alter the garden soil's pH, however, it is a lot easier to maintain a garden without having to alter it's soil's pH level. Working with what you have is easiest but it means choosing plants that will survive with the kind of soil your garden has. After you know what condition your soil is in, amend your soil and then add fertilizer before you plant anything.

- Color of the plants: Having the right color scheme is one way to determine what you want to plant and a way of maintaining a harmonious look throughout your garden. Start by imagining the color of the flowers when they are in bloom. Another thing is to look for plants that have different colors for their leaves to add interest. Foliage color is not only confined to green you know. Try experimenting with colors. You can even plant flowers whose bloom colors would not look good together in the same bed, if they have different blooming seasons.

- Plant in groups: Some people think a good green thumb rule is to buy at least one of a number of varieties of plants. This method of plant selection tends to make the garden seem spotty however, whereas plants placed in groups makes your garden fuller and more organized.

- Positioning the Plants: Once you’ve decided your selections it is time to choose how you are going to position them in your garden. Before planting anything, try arranging them while they are still in their pots according to how you plan to plant them in your garden. Grouping them in sets of threes or fives usually looks better than planting in groups of even numbers. Lastly be sure that you have an interesting combination of colors and textures of plants.

Choosing the Best Plants “by the yard”

Wipe Out Those Winter Garden Woes

Do you look at your garden at this time of the year and wish it were more alive? Spring has begun and life has started but is still not in full bloom. Well, there are ways to make your yard look more attractive and inviting at any time of year!

1. A non-gardening way to pretty up a front yard is to invest a few dollars in some inexpensive path lighting. The push-in mushroom lamps look quite effective when turned on, and will give your front yard some definition. Solar lights don’t even need hydro and give you that accent that you’re looking for.

2. Another thing you want to get rid of is the effect of winter, those dirty and sometimes murky green garden paths. Hose down your paths and wash your deck (don’t power wash the deck as this can do more harm than good) and get rid of that dirt and mold. Also check for mold at the base of your fences and house. This will brighten things up and make them look fresh and clean.

3. If you didn’t do it last fall (and I don’t as it can leave interest for the winter) then clean up the flower beds of the dead wood and leaves of last year’s garden. This always freshens up the yard and makes it look new.

4. If you live in a mild winter area, then you may need to keep cutting the lawn, but lift the mower slightly so that the grass is not cut so short in the winter.

5. You may want to put your potted plants in their ceramic containers on show. If this is the case, keep an eye on the weather forecasts and pop some bubble wrap over them if the weather is going to freeze.

6. Hopefully, you have already invested in a supply of evergreens, if not, now is the time for you to examine your yard and decide where you should plant some. Did you know there are bronze, yellow, silver and variegated evergreens to choose from? And remember to always include some blue spruce. Many of us also forget the brightness of berry evergreens like holly and rowan trees. (Sometimes referred to as mountain ash or Pyrus Americana)

7. Bedding plants such as pansies and forget-me-nots are quite hardy and can add a lot of color at this time of year.

8. There is also a modern day fad for decorative cabbages in cream and purple. These are a hardy decoration in the yard and can sometimes still look quite good from last fall.

9. If you feel you can't wait for your garden to wake up and come fully alive, then be sure to add some of the early bulbs into your planting plans. Most should have been planted last fall but there are some bulbs that can be planted in the early spring. If you can’t find them, there will be bulbs already growing at the nursery in pots that you can pop right in the ground for that fresh spring show. Bulbs like snow drops, daffodils, crocuses and tulips all come out in bloom very early and can be your reminder that summer is just around the corner!

Wiping out winter “by the yard”