Planting a garden for all seasons - ITS HARD!

[SarahFair]

I just dont think Im getting it..

For example..
Along my driveway and sidewalk leading to my porch Id like to see SOMETHING during all the seasons. But I feel like I can only pick 1 season!

I dont know how to plant for spring. I only know (very limited amounts) about planting for summer.
Wont the spring plants just bloom in the spring then waste space with their foliage during the summer, or will they die back and make room for the summer blooms?

 

[patandchickens]

It totally depends on the plants.

Basically there are a couple different strategies for making your garden look nice year-round. They are not mutually exclusive on a "per property" basis, but any given bed will tend to be one or the other:

-- you can make a whole planting (bed) to peak in a particular season, and just don't look too hard at it the rest of the time. This works better with larger properties than with postage-stamps, but even in a small plot you can usually (if you want) have some bed somewhere that is stuffed full o flowers for one season and hidden behind a conveniently-located barbecue (or whatever) the rest of the time can be done with annuals, bulbs, perennials, or a mix thereof.

-- you can use primarily long-blooming annuals in a bed, so that the whole bed is in flower most of the growing season. Then don't look at it in wintertime

-- you can use mainly a variety of well-chosen perennials, or perhaps perennials and some well-behaved tolerant shrubs, to devise a bed that always has some reasonable amount of stuff in bloom. Annuals can sometimes be popped in the ground, or containers set in gaps, to help pump up the display during thin parts of summer if you are especially ambitious. This approach is hard enough to do well for a very large bed, and not usually terribly successful for a small bed unless you are happy-enough with a relatively low ratio of flowers to foliage. Because, realistically there just WILL be a bunch of things at any given point of time that are not blooming. You can select them as best possible to have attractive foliage and seedpods and all that, and good wintertime form (shrubs are especially useful there), but a blooming-all-year bed is just never going to be the same blaze of color than a meant-to-peak-at-one-particular-time bed will achieve.

If you want spring + summer stuff, one approach that is often useful (except in very hot places) is to plan a summer bed with long-blooming perennials that are planted with just sufficient spaces between them to tuck in clumps of spring-blooming bulbs; and then once the bulb foliage is basically kaput in mid-summer you can stick pots of annuals on top of those spaces for further color (tho you will have to water those containers quite frequently).

As far as exactly what plants give best or longest bloom, it depends hugely on your location and soil.

IMHO a good way to get started with perennials is to read a couple books so you know what the fairly easy ones are that're well-suited to your zone, soil and sun exposure, and then just buy a random sampling of those spp, whatever catches your eye, stick 'em in the ground any ol whichway and get to know them for a year or two. If after that you want to move some (or even get rid of some, or if they get rid of themselves <g>) it is easy enough, but you may well find that you can build the design of the bed around those initially-randomly-placed plants and still end up with a good looking arrangement

(e.t.a. - and learn which plants that do well in your zone have 3- or 4-season interest. For instance, up here, probably the best fallback to stuff into any ol' sunny not-too-wet spot and have it look really good 12 montsh of the year is Autumn Joy sedum or similar cultivars - lovely green mounded foliage emerging fairly early in spring, flowers in early/mid-summer going from whitish to pink to red, the red flowers remaining in autumn with the foliage yellowing handsomely, then the brown remains of flowers standing attractively through nearly all the winter's snow and ice before I yank 'em out in the spring when the new growth starts. It is not an exciting plant but when you have to look at a spot 365 days a year it starts to have a lot to recommend it <g>)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ninnymary]

I used to have this same problem because I wanted to always have flowers in bloom. I also always preferred to have perennials so that I didn't have the cost or labor of putting something new. But once they finished blooming, I had nothing.

I kept hearing about using foliage plants but kept resisting it until I decided to start using them. This was the answer to my problem. I started mixing plants that had attractive foliage color or texture and started mixing them with annuals and perennials.

Another thing that I did to add color to my garden in the winter is that I started painting my outdoor furniture in bright pretty colors! My large pots are also in bright colors.

Hope this helps,
mary

 

[inchworm]

Sarah,

Are you in an area that can do bulbs? Mass plantings of bulbs are easy and make for a breathtaking spring and die back enough to allow room for summer perennials.

Inchy

 

[obsessed]

I went to the Huntsville Arbetum? last year and got a book called Easy Gardens for the South. I totally recommend it. It gives you list of easy to care for plants and lots of pics and info. Maybe that is where you can start.

 

[journey11]

I think it's good to start with bushes and trees and build out from there with perennials, then poke in a few annuals when and where you want them as mentioned or in pots.

Trees with interesting structure or bark, like white birch for example. And be sure plug in some evergreens too! Then there's also lawn sculptures and interesting "stuff" like stumps, rocks and driftwood that can give you something to look at in the winter. My MIL has lots of old wrought iron fence pieces, gates and arbors. You can get really creative with it. Think beyond flowers for things that will give you some interest all year long.

 

[SarahFair]

Im pretty sure I can do bulbs. Im guessing Im between zones 7 and 8. I dont know if its too late :/


I was thinking trees! They can really grab attention!
For a spring tree I was thinking either a eastern redbud or a flowering cherry next to the house

For summer I was thinking crepe myrtles down the front of the front yard

For fall I have a 350 foot drive and I was thinking of lining it with possibly sugar maples

For winter I love the Deodar Cedar but I think Ive run out of room for trees

As for bushes
I dont know much about spring blooms except I know I dont like azaleas :/
A good summer bush to line up against my house is red double knock out roses.
For fall I LOVE the burning bush
Winter... I dont know.


Thats all I have

 

[vfem]

Now, planting here seems easy for most. This time of year you see ornamental Kale, cabbage and pansies EVERYWHERE. Everyone fills their annual beds with all that right now, and it will hold up to everything.

I think you are looking more for something that will keep color this time of year to replace your spring, summer and fall plants.

I did do a search, and at HGTV they have winter blooming plants and bushes. Think along the lines of some smalls bushes that will show lovely berries this time of year that you can use as a green back drop for every other season.

Go do a search on HGTV.com for winter flowering plants, and this article with pictures should pop up for you.

 

[bid]

You might want to consider a few camellia's. Pretty flowers, attractive foliage and maybe even some winter blooms.

 

[journey11]

Hey SarahFair, if you tell us where you are--what zone, it's easier to make suggestions for your area. You can go to Profile>>Personal>>and enter a Location and the info will appear along with your name on all your posts. For most conversations on here, zone info is very helpful.

Holly bushes are great for winter color here where I live. You can prune them a little for decking the halls at Christmas and the birds love the berries too.

I've got a couple curly willows which are nice to look at in the winter too. I know some folks who got their pansies to live through a couple weeks of snow cover by mulching them with straw before it hit...but I wouldn't want to mess with it!