Exterior Landscaping (Part 1)
I swear that someday we will have grass. Until then, we all just have to deal with some pretty flowers and a lot of dirt. I have never planted entire flower beds completely from scratch and to be honest it was a bit overwhelming. You don’t want too many flowers or too many leafy plants. You want plants that are hearty and easy to care for, but you also want plants that are pretty and flower at different times throughout the spring and summer. I mean the possibilities are endless when it comes to designing flower beds. I am definitely no expert, but once I got moving I figured out my groove and it all came together. My biggest piece of advice would be to walk around the nursey and pick out plants that you like looking at and that will be a good fit based on the amount of sun/shade you get. Enjoy the process because it goes quick and is very rewarding when you are finished.
Before I was able to plant any plants, I had to bring in 10 yards of screened topsoil. We also had boulders that lined the edge of the property that we brought over to help create the shape of the flower beds and level out the beds so they weren’t at too much of a slope up near the house. I was a lot of prep work, but once we had all the rocks and soil in place we were ready to begin planting. I set the plants out to make sure they were evenly placed prior to digging any of the holes. Once the plants were all planted we started to spread out the mulch. I had 5 yards of mulch delivered and that was plenty for the three beds.
Plants Purchased:
Perennials:
5 - Hydrangeas “Big Endless Summer”
2 - Peonies “Celebrity”
1 - Dwarf Korean Lilac Tree
1 - Golden Mop Cypress
3 - “Francee” Hosta
3 - “Diamonds are Forever” Hosta
2 - Euonymous “Emerald Gaiety”
1 - Clematis “Blue Light”
3 - Stonecrop/Sedum “Dazzleberry”
5 - “Paint the Town Magenta” Dianthus
3 - “Pink Profusion” Salvia Nemorosa
2 - Feather Reed Grass/Calamagrostis “Overdam”
Annuals:
I honestly am not sure what most of the annuals I bought were called. I know I got Impatiens, but the rest I just grabbed as I wandered around. Since these die every year, I probably will switch it up annually and get something new each year.
