Hardscapes Galore

The Indiana Flower and Patio Show will begin this next week here in my hometown.  I was allowed entrance today to wander through the construction zone.  Rubbing elbows with the designers, planners and builders of this amazing exhibit of nature brought inside and warmed to life during this brief period of time.

 These amazing hydrangeas are always a show stopping favorite.  Do you have these wonderful plants in your landscape?  Tips and tricks you might use to keep them blooming in color year after year?  My Grandmother's home always had amazing blooming bushes.  She did nothing special to keep the color of the Hydrangeas or to keep her Rhododendron and Azaleas blooming and happy.   Her home was made of limestone with real metal gutters, over the years the combination of the two elements gave her soil the perfect mix for these flowering bushes.  She was lucky many of us need to amend the soil to accommodate these beauties.  If you need help, just give a shout.

I've noticed that many home owners tend, to not over do it when it comes to planting in their yards.  A few trees, a few shrubs and maybe a few perennials to even it all out. Maybe only the allotted 2 trees and 4 shrubs provided by a new home builder is all that ever makes into their "landscaping scheme".  When speaking with many of my friends and neighbors they are fearful of planting the wrong plants or uncertain of maintenance.  Are you one of these types?

The landscapers at these type of garden shows are not over crowding, they are demonstrating what you could have if you did plant heavily in this manner, giving your home landscape instant curb appeal.

 Notice the gorgeous red twigs that would have given great winter interest rising above the small compact evergreens.  With the placement of a few early spring annuals that adore the colder temps you suddenly are welcoming Spring into your yard.  The small green plant to the left is commonly called Pig Squeak (Bergenia cordifolia) and yes it would be green all year long, with very delicate flowers in the summer.

Many of you might be worried that this many plants so close together would become overcrowded very quickly.  If the correct varieties are chosen at the time of planting they may well be slow growers, longer life, with few diseases.  Some plants (perennials) will spread quickly and could over take the garden, I call these my sharing plants.  Most of us have them, and we love to share them with our friends and neighbors.  When planning additions to your landscapes ask your friends, I'm sure most will have a plant start they would lovingly share with you.

I did title this blog "Hardscapes Galore" - moving along to that topic.  When we talk about hardscaping we typically do not go to this extreme.  This is an example of the Urban Homesteaders exhibit at the F&P Show.  This picture does give me great ideas on the moving of earth and use of boulders (or other large rock like materials)  Since this exhibit will be removed they used a plastic to keep the gravel/dirt mix in place.  I'm a huge fan of the use of natural products, and recycled products.  A former residence I used all broken concrete pieces from driveways/sidewalks/patios to form the hardscape walls in my landscape.  Will share that in a future blog.

When starting out your landscape design think about layering, and retaining walls, patios and other features of your yard that can become a focal point or accent.

Some of us start with a huge focal point, be it a patio, pergola or deck.  Then bring in the plants in around it to accent and soften the harsh edges.  This is a picture of one of the exhibits under construction.  Remember to run your electric or water lines before you start planting. Always, always call the utility companies before you dig!



I'm off to check my seedlings (no they have not sprouted yet) and begin my design of my pergola with patio additions.  In the midst of all of this cold weather I feel the most motivated to plan ways to change my hardscapes for this coming year!

One Broken Nail Garden and Landscaping is at your service. 

 Accepting clients for the 2014 growing season.