Landscaping - Gardening - Lawn Care

Phase 4: Perennials

Now you can buy your perennials. But be prepared for sticker shock. Ready for a warm-up jolt? A single daylily will probably cost from $9 to $20. One 3-inch Rudbeckia can cost $6. One sprig of ornamental grass can cost $9-$15. And it will take more than you think to fill an area. For instance, you will need about 12 bellflowers (Campanula carpatica) to fill a 2x2-foot space. At about $6 per plant, that's $72 for 4 square feet, although you can usually get discounts if you buy in bulk. Just a 5-foot-deep border along a typical house foundation could hold 150 square feet of planting space. To ease the budget, leave some gaps and let the plants grow into them. Or, search for some cuttings and divisions from gardening friends.

Phase 5: The Extras

We added some of the decorative structures last. A pergola over the front entry balances the house with the now moderate-size trees. A privacy fence runs along the side of the house, and a bench tucks into the scheme. If you still have a few dollars left in your landscaping wallet, you can fill the planters with a blend of perennials and annuals.

Chances are, you will discover at this point that a landscape is never finished. You may change your mind about which plants you want or decide to enlarge a bed. You may want to add an arbor, pond, or sculpture. Or, buoyed by this success, you may be ready to take the backyard. Just give yourself an annual landscaping allowance, and go at it one step at a time.

Special Extras

Where you can, especially working with a small space, look for those special extras that can do two jobs for the price of one. Here are some examples:

- Look for an arbor that includes a bench or two. Not only do you gain a place to sit and smell the roses, you will have a surface to set garden tools.
- An old mailbox makes a folksy piece of garden art. It can also house hand tools and seed packets.
- Treat a fence like any other wall around your house. Look for decorative plaques or fountains to hang.
- Planters that border a patio or deck can become extra seating if their edges are wide enough.

Instant Impact

It can be tough to dream of a lush landscape, yet have to look at a spindly 3-foot tree you just planted instead. The good news is there are some things you can do for quick impact.

- Trees. You won't want all of your trees to be fast growers; many have shorter life spans. But start with a few, such as white birch, Leyland cypress, silver fir, maples, blue ash, magnolia, linden, and willow.
- Shrubs. Most shrubs are great choices, including lilac, mock orange, Weigela, oak-leaf hydrangea, barberry, viburnum, spirea, rhododendron, and honeysuckle.
- Perennials. Use perennials for horizontal and vertical growth. Horizontal means a ground cover, such as Ajuga or Pachysandra, that covers an area quickly. Vertical growers, such as grasses or salvia, bulk up fast, though not as fast as shrubs.
- Annuals. Chrysanthemums, geraniums, petunias, impatiens, and marigolds are consistently strong performers. Use them to add color as perennials die back.
- Structures. Add fast landscape weight with structure. Anchor an area with decks and gazebos; use arbors or trellises with a fast-growing vine for an "instant garden" look.

Better Homes and Gardens

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