Mid-Atlantic Home Landscaping, 4th Edition E-Book

• Herausgeber: Creative Homeowner
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 408

Beschreibung

Discover endless home landscaping ideas and outdoor DIY projects that are specifically designed for the Mid-Atlantic region in this must-have landscaping book! Mid-Atlantic Home Landscaping, 4th Edition features inspiring ideas for making the Mid-Atlantic home landscape more attractive and functional. Starting with the 200 best native plants that thrive in the region, area landscape professionals created 46 outdoor design concepts that readers can work with. Also included are complete step-by-step instructions for building paths, patios, walls, fences, arbors, trellises, and other structures. New to this edition is up-to-date information on eco-friendly plant selections, guidance on avoiding invasive plants and how to identify regional species, details on impervious versus porous paved surfaces, why stormwater runoff matters, permaculture, and more! Over 400 color photographs and drawings complement the easy-to-follow instructions for caring for and installing plants, paths, patios, ponds, and arbors. If you live in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, or West Virginia, this complete guide on how to landscape in your region is for you!

Leseprobe

Other titles available in the Home Landscaping series:

CALIFORNIA

MIDWEST

including South-Central Canada

NORTHEAST

including Southeast Canada

NORTHWEST

SOUTHEAST

SOUTHERN COASTAL

TEXAS

WESTERN

About the Authors

Roger Holmes is the founding editor of Fine Gardening magazine. He co-edited the monumental Taylor’s Master Guide to Gardening and other highly regarded gardening books, and produced the landscaping series of which this book is part. He also cowrote Creative Homeowner’s Creating Good Gardens.

Rita Buchanan is a lifelong gardener with degrees in botany and an encyclopedic knowledge of plants. She worked with Roger Holmes to edit Fine Gardening magazine and co-edit several books, including Taylor’s Master Guide to Gardening. She is the author of numerous award-winning books and is a contributor to many gardening magazines.

About the Technical Editor

Mark Wolfe is a garden and landscape content specialist based in Georgia, with an extensive background in the green industry. He works as an industry expert and commerce writer at BobVila.com, while contributing content and editing services for many other outlets. Mark graduated from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin with a degree in outdoor education. Early in his career, Mark fell in love with plants. Working on stream restoration and wetlands construction projects, he marveled at the willow’s ability to quickly grow from a stem fragment and heal a sorely eroded streambank, and the ways that aquatic plants transform a suburban retention pond into a wildlife oasis. Over the next two decades, trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials would dominate his working life as a landscaper and nursery manager. In the mid-twenty-teens, Mark co-founded a garden blog, ThePrudentGarden.com, and soon began contributing freelance work for dozens of lawn and garden websites and consumer brands. As a writer, his favorite topics are those that help people new to plants and gardening find success and seasoned plant people find new inspiration. As a gardener, he is passionate about establishing backyard habitats for wild birds and pollinators and growing his collection of native azaleas.

COPYRIGHT © 1998, 2006, 2010, 2023

This book may not be reproduced, either in part or in its entirety, in any form, by any means, without written permission from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts for purposes of radio, television, or published review. All rights, including the right of translation, are reserved. Note: Be sure to familiarize yourself with manufacturer’s instructions for tools, equipment, and materials before beginning a project. Although all possible measures have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material presented, neither the author nor the publisher is liable in case of misinterpretation of directions, misapplication, or typographical error.

Creative Homeowner® is a registered trademark of New Design Originals Corporation.

FOURTH EDITION

MANAGING EDITOR

Gretchen Bacon

EDITOR

Sherry Vitolo

TECHNICAL EDITOR

Mark Wolfe

DESIGNER

Freire Disseny*Comunicació

Mid-Atlantic Home Landscaping, 4th EditionISBN 978-1-58011-586-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023903977

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].

Creative Homeowner®, www.creativehomeowner.com, is an imprint of New Design Originals Corporation and distributed exclusively in North America by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 800-457-9112, 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552, and in the United Kingdom by Grantham Book Service, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ.

Safety First

Though all concepts and methods in this book have been reviewed for safety, it is not possible to overstate the importance of using the safest working methods possible. What follows are reminders—do’s and don’ts for yard work and landscaping. They are not substitutes for your own common sense.

Always use caution, care, and good judgment when following the procedures described in this book.

Always determine locations of underground utility lines before you dig, and then avoid them by a safe distance. Buried lines may be for gas, electricity, communications, or water. Start research by contacting your local building officials. Also contact local utility companies; they will often send a representative free of charge to help you map their lines. In addition, there are private utility locator firms that may be listed in your Yellow Pages. Note: previous owners may have installed underground drainage, sprinkler, and lighting lines without mapping them.

Always read and heed the manufacturer’s instructions for using a tool, especially the warnings.

Always ensure that the electrical setup is safe; be sure that no circuit is overloaded and that all power tools and electrical outlets are properly grounded and protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Do not use power tools in wet locations.

Always wear eye protection when using chemicals, sawing wood, pruning trees and shrubs, using power tools, and striking metal onto metal or concrete.

Always read labels on chemicals, solvents, and other products; provide ventilation; heed warnings.

Always wear heavy rubber gloves rated for chemicals, not mere household rubber gloves, when handling toxins.

Always wear appropriate gloves in situations in which your hands could be injured by rough surfaces, sharp edges, thorns, or poisonous plants.

Always wear a disposable face mask or a special filtering res pirator when creating sawdust or working with toxic gardening substances.

Always keep your hands and other body parts away from the business ends of blades, cutters, and bits.

Always obtain approval from local building officials before undertaking construction of permanent structures.

Never work with power tools when you are tired or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Never carry sharp or pointed tools, such as knives or saws, in your pockets. If you carry such tools, use special-purpose tool scabbards.

The Landscape Designers

Stephanie Cohen, of Collegeville, Penn., is a horticulturist and landscape designer specializing in herbaceous plants and plant ecology. A graduate of Temple University, she has worked at Barnes Arboretum in Pennsylvania. She is the education director for the Waterloo Gardens in Pennsylvania, as well as the Perennial Plant Association’s director for the Mid-Atlantic region. Ms. Cohen’s award-winning designs have appeared in Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials, Fine Gardening magazine, and The American Herbarist. She is currently a contributing editor for Country Living Gardener. Her designs appear on here, 42–45, 62–65, and 82–85.

Bruce Crawford is president of Garden Architecture, a 12-year-old design-and-build firm in Upper Saddle River, N.J., that specializes in residential garden designs and installations. Mr. Crawford trained at Rutgers University and Cook College in landscape architecture and horticulture and has since taught courses in those subjects at Rutgers. A member of Hortus Club of New York, he has spoken to many organizations about herbaceous and woody plants. His designs appear on here, 78–81, 94–97, 102–105, and 106–109.

Brian Katen is a University of Virginia–trained landscape architect with extensive experience in education, large- and small-scale physical planning, landscape architectural design, and historic landscape preservation. He has worked on a wide range of projects, including design of private gardens, heritage landscapes, public parks, urban plazas and streetscapes, and commercial developments. An assistant professor of landscape architecture at Virginia Tech, he has served as advisor to the director at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., and was director of the Landscape Design Program at the George Washington University Center for Career Education. His designs appear on here, 46–49, 54–57, 58–61, and 70–73..

Stratton Semmes operates her own landscape architecture firm in Annapolis, Md., doing residential, public, and commercial projects. She has taught landscaping at George Washington University and Morgan State University. Trained in urban design, she has designed projects for public parks, historic homes, housing developments, and public institutions and colleges. Recent projects include a street-tree master plan for the city of Annapolis and an over-structure plaza at the United States Naval Academy. Ms. Semmes is a recipient of numerous awards and public commendations, including Southern Living magazine’s Southern Home Award and the IAA Merit Award. She serves on many advisory boards for the cities of Annapolis and Washington, D.C. Her designs appear on here, 86–89, 74–77, and 98–101.

Mark Willocks is the proprietor of Willocks Landscape Design, Washington, D.C. A graduate of the Landscape Design Program at George Washington University, Mr. Willocks worked as a designer for landscape design-and-build companies and a large retail nursery before setting up his own firm in 1991. His work to date has been almost exclusively residential. From 1991 to 1997, he served as president of the Landscape Designer’s Group of Metro Washington. His designs appear on here, 38–41, 50–53, 90–93, and 110–113.

Contents

About This Book

Landscaping In an Unpredictable Climate

Seasons in Your Landscape

As Your Landscape Grows

Portfolio of Designs

An Elegant Entry

Seasonal color brightens sheared symmetry.

Foundation with Flair

Plant a foundation garden.

A Welcoming Entry

Make a pleasant passage to the front door.

On the Street

Give your curbside strip a new look.

A Neighborly Corner

Beautify a boundary with easy-care plants.

A Pleasing Postal Planting

Provide a leafy setting for the daily ma.

Gateway Garden

Simple structure and plantings make a pleasing passage.

A Garden Path

Reclaim a narrow side yard for a shade garden.

“Around Back”

Dress up the family’s day-to-day entrance.

Angle of Repose

Make a back-door garden in a sheltered niche.

Landscaping a Low Wall

Two-tier garden replaces a short slope.

Beautify a Blank Wall

Paint a picture with plants.

Make a No-Mow Slope

A terraced grove transforms a steep site.

A Beginning Border

Flowers and a fence make a traditional design.

Down to Earth

Harmonize your deck with its surroundings.

Garden in the Round

Create a planting with several attractive faces.

Create a “Living Room”

Enclose a patio with foliage and flowers.

Elegant Symmetry

Make a formal garden for the backyard.

A Shady Hideaway

Create a fragrant oasis.

Back to Nature

Create a wooded retreat in your backyard.

Splash Out

Make a handsome water garden in a few weekends.

Under the Old Shade Tree

Create a cozy garden in a cool spot.

A Woodland Link

Create a shrub border for nearby woods.

Plant Profiles

Descriptions of all the plants shown in the Portfolio of Designs, plus information on how to plant and care for them

Guide to Installation

Organizing Your Project

Introducing the tasks involved in a landscape installation; how to organize them for best results

Clearing the Site

Removing turf, weeds, and other unwanted material

Making Paths and Walkways

Choosing materials, preparing the base, installing edgings, laying the surface

Laying a Patio

Same materials and techniques as for paths and walkways; ensuring proper drainage

Installing a Pond

Siting, excavating, installing a flexible liner or fiberglass shell; growing pond plants

Building a Retaining Wall

Laying out, excavating, and assembling a precast modular wall system and steps

Fences, Arbors, and Trellises

Selecting wood, layout, setting posts, basic construction; plans for building the fences, arbors, and trellises shown in the Portfolio of Designs

Preparing the Soil for Planting

Digging and improving the soil; edging for beds

Buying Plants

Where to go, what to look for, how to get the best quality and price

The Planting Process

When to plant, steps in the planting process, spacing; annuals as fillers

Planting Basics

Plants in containers, balled-and-burlapped plants, bare-root plants, ground covers, and bulbs

Basic Landscape Care

Mulches and fertilizers; controlling weeds; watering

Caring for Woody Plants

Basic pruning; training an espalier; making a hedge

Caring for Perennials

Routine care, pruning, dividing

Problem Solving

Understanding common problems with animal and insect pests and diseases; winter protection

Glossary

Photo Credits

About This Book

Of all the home improvement projects homeowners tackle, few offer greater rewards than landscaping. Paths, patios, fences, arbors, and—most of all—plantings, can enhance home life in countless ways, large and small, functional and pleasurable, every day of the year. At the main entrance, an attractive brick walkway flanked by eye-catching shrubs and perennials provides a cheerful send-off in the morning and welcomes you home from work in the evening. A carefully placed grouping of small trees, shrubs, and fence panels creates privacy on the patio or screens a nearby eyesore from view. An island bed showcases your favorite plants, while dividing the backyard into several areas for a variety of activities.

Unlike some home improvements, the rewards of landscaping can lie as much in the activity as in the result. Planting and caring for lovely shrubs, perennials, and other plants can afford years of enjoyment. And for those who like to build things, outdoor construction projects can be a special treat.

While the installation and maintenance of plants and outdoor structures are within the means and abilities of most people, few of us are as comfortable determining exactly which plants or structures to use and how best to combine them. It’s one thing to decide to dress up the front entrance or patio, another to come up with a design for doing so.

That’s where this book comes in. Here, in the Portfolio of Designs, you’ll find inspiration for nearly two dozen common home landscaping situations, created by landscape professionals who live and work in the Mid-Atlantic region. Drawing on years of experience, they balance functional requirements and aesthetic possibilities, choosing the right plant or structure for the task based on its proven performance in similar situations.

Complementing the Portfolio of Designs is the second section, Plant Profiles, which provides information on all the plants used in the book. The book’s third section, the Guide to Installation, will help you to install and maintain the plants and structures described in the designs. The following discussions take a closer look at each section; we’ve also printed representative pages of the sections on pp. 9 and 10 and pointed out their features.

Portfolio of Designs

This is the heart of the book, providing examples of landscaping situations and solutions that are at once inspiring and accessible. Some are simple, others more complex, but each one can be installed in a few weekends by homeowners with no special training or experience.

For each situation, we present two designs, the second a variation of the first. As the sample pages on the facing page show, the first design is displayed on a two-page spread. A perspective illustration (called a “rendering”) shows what the design will look like several years after installation, when the perennials and many of the shrubs have reached mature size. The rendering also shows the planting as it will appear at a particular time of year. (For more on how plantings change over the course of a year, see “Seasons in Your Landscape,” here.) A site plan shows the positions of the plants and structures on a scaled grid. Text introduces the situation and the design and describes the plants and projects used.

The second design option, presented on the second two-page spread, addresses the same situation as the first but differs in one or more important aspects. It might show a planting suited for a shady rather than a sunny site; or it might incorporate different structures or kinds of plants (adding shrubs to a perennial border, for example). As for the first design, we present a rendering, site plan, and written information, but in briefer form. The second spread also includes photographs of landscapes in situations similar to those featured in the two designs. The photos showcase noteworthy variations or details that you may wish to use in the designs we show or in designs of your own.

Installed exactly as shown here, these designs will provide enjoyment for many years. But individual needs and properties will differ, so we encourage you to alter the designs to suit your site and desires. You can easily make changes. For example, you can add or remove plants and adjust the sizes of paths, patios, and fences to suit larger or smaller sites. You can rearrange groupings and substitute favorite plants to suit your taste. Or you can integrate the design with your existing landscaping. If you are uncertain about how to solve specific problems or about the effects of changes you are considering, consult with staff at a local nursery or with a landscape designer in your area.

PORTFOLIO OF DESIGNS

PLANT PROFILES

GUIDE TO INSTALLATION

Plant Profiles

The second section of the book includes a description of each plant featured in the Portfolio. These outline each plant’s basic preferences for environmental conditions, such as soil, moisture, and sun or shade, and give advice about planting as well as ongoing care.

Working with the book’s landscape designers, we selected plants carefully, following a few simple guidelines: Every plant should be a proven performer in the region; once established, it should thrive without pampering. All plants should be available from a local nursery or garden center, or from online sellers; if they’re not in stock, they can be ordered, or you can ask the nursery staff to recommend suitable substitutes.

In the Portfolio section, you’ll note that plants are referred to by their common name but are cross-referenced to the Plant Profiles section by their botanical name. While common names are familiar to many people, they can be confusing. Distinctly different plants can share the same common name, or one plant can have several different common names. Botanical names, therefore, ensure greatest accuracy and are more appropriate for a reference section such as this. Although you can confidently purchase most of the plants in this book from local nurseries using the common name, knowing the botanical name allows you to make sure that the plant you’re ordering is actually the one that is shown in our design.

Guide to Installation

In this section you’ll find detailed instructions and illustrations covering all the techniques you’ll need to install any design from start to finish. Here we explain how to think your way through a landscaping project and anticipate the various steps. Then you’ll learn how to do each part of the job: preparing the site; laying out the design; choosing materials; building paths, trellises, or other structures; amending the soil for planting; buying the recommended plants and putting them in place; and caring for the plants to keep them healthy and attractive year after year.

We’ve taken care to make installation of built elements simple and straightforward. Hardscape elements such as paths, trellises, fences, and arbors all use basic materials available from local suppliers, and they can be assembled by people who have no special skills or tools beyond those commonly used for home maintenance. The designs can easily be adapted to meet specific needs or to fit in with the style of your house or other landscaping features.

Installing different designs requires different techniques. You can find what you need by following the cross-references in the Portfolio to pages in the Guide to Installation, or by skimming the Guide. If you continue to improve your landscape by adding more than one design, you’ll find that many basic techniques are reused from one project to the next. You might want to start with one of the smaller, simpler designs. Gradually you’ll develop the skills and confidence to do any project you choose.

Most of the designs in this book can be installed in a weekend or two; some will take a little longer. Digging planting beds, building retaining walls, and erecting fences and arbors can be strenuous work. If you lack the time or energy for the more arduous installation tasks, consider hiring a teenager to help out. Local landscaping services can provide any of the services you need help with.

MID-ATLANTIC HARDINESS ZONES

This map is based on one developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It divides the region into “hardiness zones” based on minimum winter temperatures. While most of the plants in this book will survive the lowest temperatures in the region, a few may not. These few are noted in the Plant Profiles descriptions, where we have usually suggested alternatives. When you buy plants, most will have “hardiness” designations, which correspond to a USDA hardiness zone on the map. A Zone 6 plant, for example, can be expected to survive winter temperatures as low as –10°F, and it can be used with confidence in Zones 6 and 7 but not in the colder Zone 5. It is useful to know your zone and the zone designation of plants you wish to add to those in this book.

This is not an official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Landscaping In an Unpredictable Climate

It’s no secret that our dynamic climate is not the same today as it was 25, 50, or 100 years ago. The 30-year rolling temperature averages used to map USDA hardiness zones reveal cold winters moving steadily northward. Frost dates end earlier in spring and begin later in fall, extending the growing season. We’ve also experienced an increase in damaging storms and severe drought. On top of the infusion of beauty and the increase in property value that come with landscaping, these projects can also protect your property and neighborhood from the unpredictability of a changing climate.

The projects in this book can help you build a more resilient landscape. Well-chosen, well-placed shade trees cool the home, and reduce the energy used for air conditioning. Decreasing lawn area, and increasing the area planted with layers of low-maintenance trees, shrubs, and perennials cuts back energy used on mowing, edging, and blowing, improves the soil’s ability to absorb rainfall, and conserves water. Choosing native plants that are adapted to the flooding and winds from tropical storms alleviates some of the risk of storm damage in coastal areas. Installing flagstone or pavers instead of a poured concrete slab patio or walkway means that more rainwater can soak into the ground rather than running off into the streets.

While the designs in this book were drawn up as easy-to-follow, broadly effective guides, you will gain even greater benefits by adapting the plant selections to your unique growing conditions. Consider the effects of intense rainfall, strong winds, severe drought, and inconsistent temperatures in your yard. If your property is exposed to wind, then choose deep-rooted, wind resistant trees and shrubs. For flood prone areas, plants must be able to withstand occasional root saturation, or even partial submersion. Hedge against wild temperature swings by selecting a diverse mix of plants with cold and heat tolerance. In any case, following the landscape maintenance best practices outlined later in the book will help you establish strong, healthy plants.

Planting a low-maintenance shade tree within a reasonable distance of your house can reduce the energy used for air conditioning.

Few of us spend much time thinking about stormwater unless a flood threatens our home or contaminated runoff pollutes our drinking water. Unfortunately, urban and suburban development from the 1940s to the present day, throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, has increased the frequency and severity of these issues. Every new roof, driveway, street, and sidewalk covers soil that once absorbed rainfall with an impervious surface that increases the volume of runoff into storm drains, detention ponds, and ultimately natural waterways.

When a storm deposits 1 inch of rainfall on a 16 x 40-foot two-car driveway, more than 53 cubic feet (396.44 gallons) of water rush to the nearest storm drain as fast as possible. If the rain falls fast, flash flooding damages human property and infrastructure and scours streambanks. It may deposit excessive silt into streams as it recedes. Even in gentle rain events, runoff picks up pollutants like trash, chemicals, sediment, and animal waste, and carries them to waterways. State and municipal leaders have begun taking these environmental threats seriously, regulating development projects to reduce these negative effects and repairing severely degraded waterways, but private landscaping projects also have an important role to play.

Any hardscaping project comes with an array of material choices that affect stormwater issues. Conventional asphalt and concrete are impervious surfaces. Concrete patios, walkways, and driveways are cost-effective and extremely durable, but they directly contribute to environmental degradation. This goes for mortared stone and brick as well. Permeable pavements on the other hand offer the benefit of a solid surface with little or no runoff. These materials allow rainwater to flow down into open spaces in the surface instead of running off to a storm drain. The pavement surface lays atop a deep layer of compacted aggregate, such as sand and gravel, that allow water to filter down into the ground. Examples of permeable pavements include dry laid flagstone or pavers, crushed stone and gravel, and ground reinforcement grids. They can be used instead of impervious pavement in any residential landscaping project.

Strategically plant to limit the size of your lawn and cut back on the energy needed for mowing, edging, and blowing.

Permeable pavers create a solid surface, but allow rainwater to filter down to the ground through the compacted aggregate below.

Seasons in Your Landscape

One of the rewards of landscaping is watching how plants change through the seasons. During the dark winter months, you look forward to the bright, fresh flowers of spring. Then the lush green foliage of summer is transformed into the blazing colors of fall. Perennials that rest underground in winter can grow head-high by midsummer, and hence a flower bed that looks flat and bare in December becomes a jungle in July.

To illustrate typical seasonal changes, we’ve chosen one of the designs from this book (see here) and shown here how it would look in spring, summer, fall, and winter. As you can see, this planting looks quite different from one season to the next, but it always remains interesting. Try to remember this example of transformation as you look at the other designs in this book. There we show how the planting will appear in one season and indicate which plants will stand out at other times.

The task of tending a landscape also changes with the seasons. Below we’ve noted the most important seasonal jobs in the annual work cycle.

Spring

Crocus flowers and other signs of spring appear in late February in the Mid-Atlantic region. By early April it’s time to start mowing the lawn, and by May all the trees have fresh new leaves. Many shrubs and perennials, such as the white azalea, white foamflower, and pink dianthus shown here, bloom in spring. Others that will bloom in summer are just low mounds of foliage now. Do a thorough garden cleanup in March or early April. Remove last year’s perennial flower stalks and tattered foliage, cut ornamental grasses to the ground, prune shrubs and trees, renew the mulch, and neaten the edges between the lawn and the beds.

SPRING

Summer

In summer, flowering plants such as the Japanese anemone, white geraniums, pink spireas, dark purple butterfly bushes, and Japanese stewartia tree shown here add spots of color to the otherwise green landscape. To coax as many flowers as possible from these plants and to keep the garden tidy, cut or shear off older blossoms as they fade. Summer weather is typically hot and humid throughout this region, but droughts are not uncommon. Water new plantings at least once a week during dry spells, and water older plants too if the soil gets so dry that they wilt. Pull any weeds that sprout up through the mulch. This is easiest when the soil is moist from rain or watering.

SUMMER

Fall

A few bright-colored leaves appear here and there in September, but fall foliage season doesn’t peak until late October in the Mid-Atlantic region. While trees turn red, orange, and yellow overhead and roadside grasses dry to shades of russet and tan, perennials such as asters, chrysanthemums, or the Japanese anemones shown here provide fresh-looking flowers in the fall garden.

Sometime in October, the first hard frost will kill tender plants to the ground, signaling the time for fall cleanup. Toss frosted plants on the compost pile. Rake leaves into a pile or bin and save them to use as mulch in spring. Fall rains usually soak the ground, so you can stop watering.

FALL

Winter

In winter, when deciduous trees and shrubs are leafless and many perennials die down to the ground, you appreciate evergreen plants such as the shrubby dark green azaleas and gray-green southernwood, and the ground-covering dianthus and foamflowers shown here. Clumps of rustling grass or shrubs and trees with colorful twigs, unusual bark, or bright berries are welcome in winter, too.

Normally, garden plants don’t need any care in winter. If heavy snow or an ice storm snaps or crushes some plants, you can trim away the broken parts as soon as it’s convenient, but if plants get frozen during a severe cold spell, wait until spring to assess the damage before deciding how far to cut them back.

WINTER

As Your Landscape Grows

Landscapes change over the years. As plants grow, the overall look evolves from sparse to lush. Trees cast cool shade where the sun used to shine. Shrubs and hedges grow tall and dense enough to provide privacy. Perennials and ground covers spread to form colorful patches of foliage and flowers. Meanwhile, paths, arbors, fences, and other structures gain the patina of age.

Constant change over the years—sometimes rapid and dramatic, sometimes slow and subtle—is one of the joys of landscaping. It is also one of the challenges. Anticipating how fast plants will grow and how big they will eventually get is difficult, even for professional designers, and was a major concern in formulating the designs for this book.

To illustrate the kinds of changes to expect in a planting, these pages show one of the designs (see here) at three different “ages.” Even though a new planting may look sparse at first, it will soon fill in. And because of careful spacing, the planting will look as good in ten to fifteen years as it does after three to five. It will, of course, look different, but that’s part of the fun.

At Planting—Here’s how the corner might appear in spring immediately after planting. The fence and mulch look conspicuously fresh, new, and unweathered. The fringe tree is only 4 to 5 ft. tall, with trunks no thicker than broomsticks. (With this or other trees, you can buy bigger specimens to start with, but they’re a lot more expensive and sometimes don’t perform as well in the long run.) The spireas and spreading English yews, transplanted from 2-gal. nursery containers, spread 12 to 18 in. wide. The perennials, transplanted from quart- or gallon-size containers, are just low tufts of foliage now, but they grow fast enough to produce a few flowers the first summer.

Three to Five Years—The fringe tree has grown about 6 in. taller every year but is still quite slender. Some trees would grow faster, as much as 1 to 2 ft. a year. The spireas, like many fast-growing shrubs, have reached almost full size. From now on, they’ll get thicker but not much taller. The slower-growing English yews make a series of low mounds; you still see them as individuals, not a continuous patch. Most perennials, such as the coneflowers, Shasta daisies, daylilies, and dianthus shown here, grow so crowded after a few years that you will have to divide and replant them.

Ten to Fifteen Years—The fringe tree is becoming a fine specimen, 10 to 12 ft. wide and tall. Unless you prune away enough of its lower limbs to let some sunlight in, the spireas will gradually stop blooming, get weaker, and need to be replaced with shade-tolerant shrubs such as more English yews or with shade-loving perennials and ferns. The original English yews will have formed a continuous ground cover by now and may have spread enough to limit the space available for perennials. Since the perennials get divided every few years anyway, it’s no trouble to rearrange or regroup them, as shown here.

AT PLANTING

THREE TO FIVE YEARS

TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS

Portfolio of Designs

This section presents ideas for nearly two dozen situations common in home landscapes. You’ll find designs to enhance entrances, decks, and patios. There are gardens of colorful perennials and shrubs, as well as structures and plantings to create shady hideaways, dress up nondescript walls, and even make a centerpiece of a lowly mailbox. Large color illustrations show what the designs will look like, and site plans delineate the layout and planting scheme. The accompanying text explains the designs and describes the plants and projects appearing in them. Installed as shown or adapted to meet your site and personal preferences, these designs can make your property more attractive, more useful, and—most important—more enjoyable for you, your family, and your friends.

An Elegant Entry

SEASONAL COLOR BRIGHTENS SHEARED SYMMETRY

Formal gardens have a special appeal. Their simple geometry can be soothing in a hectic world, and the look is timeless, never going out of style. The front yard of a classical house, like the one shown here, with two identical rectangles of lawn either side of a central entry walk invites a formal makeover. (A house with a symmetrical facade in any style has similar potential.)

The layout of this elegant design keys off of and reinforces the symmetry of the house facade. Evergreens around the perimeter define the space, creating a sense of enclosure without shutting out the view of the street, or the view from it. The lawn has disappeared, replaced by rectangular flower beds. Framed with lilyturf, a low-growing evergreen perennial, the beds showcase seasonal plantings of colorful annuals. In the center of the design, a wide brick walkway forms a small courtyard, a pleasing setting for chatting with guests as they arrive or depart.

The design is easily altered to accommodate the character of your site and gardening preferences. The rectangular beds can be expanded or reduced to fit properties of differing sizes without losing the composition’s balanced proportions. Dressed flagstones, neatly raked gravel, or precast pavers may be more in keeping with the materials used on your home’s facade. If replanting annuals several times a year is more work than you care to tackle, you can substitute perennials such as ‘Monch’ aster, ‘Dropmore’ catmint, or ‘May Night’ salvia, which bloom through most of the summer. Finally, if you’re a traditionalist, consider replacing the lilyturf edging with a low boxwood hedge.

!Plants with this symbol are considered invasive or are locally invasive, as noted. See the appropriate plant profile for suggested alternatives.

Plants & Projects

The evergreens in this design display a mixture of hues, from the dark blue-green ‘Blue Princess’ hollies to the bright green yews. Against this neatly clipped and subdued background the bright-colored annuals and red fall berries are a striking sight. While the evergreens are dependable problem-free performers, you’ll need to attend to them regularly with clippers to keep them in shape.

A‘Hatfield’ hybrid yew (use 6 plants)A slow-growing evergreen trained and sheared to form a dense hedge 4 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide. See Taxus x media, here.

B‘Foster #2’ holly (use 2)Pruned to form slender cones 12 ft. tall, these evergreen trees emphasize the corners of the house. Slim, spiny evergreen leaves look good year-round; masses of red berries enliven the winter scene. See Ilex x attenuata, here.

C‘Blue Princess’ holly (use 4)Waist-high sheared cones of lustrous dark blue-green leaves mark the front corners of the design and the entrance to the “courtyard.” In fall and winter, these evergreen shrubs glow with abundant crops of bright red berries. (If there are no ‘Blue Prince’ hollies in your neighborhood, plant these pollinators at the corners to ensure berry production.) See Ilex x meserveae, here.

D‘Manhattan’ euonymus (use 8)These evergreen shrubs are sheared to form a block of greenery beneath the windows. Leaves hold their color through the region’s mild winters; they’re sprinkled in fall with eye-catching pinkish orange fruits. See Euonymus kiautschovicus, here.

EDwarf Japanese yew (use 10)These compact evergreen shrubs contribute a modestly “natural” note in this geometric design. Their dense spreading form needs only a little pruning to keep the plants about a foot lower than the nearby hollies. See Taxus cuspidata ‘Nana’, here.

F‘Big Blue’ lilyturf (use 92)!This plant is locally invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.Planted about 1 ft. apart, these evergreen perennials outline the annual beds with a continuous ribbon of grassy foliage. Spikes of small blue flowers rise above the leaves in late summer. See Liriope muscari, here.

GAnnuals for seasonal displaysPossibilities are endless for creating a different carpet of color in these little “rooms” each season. To get started, try tulips in spring, a mixture of pink geraniums and blue salvias for summer (shown here), chrysanthemums for fall, and ornamental cabbage for winter.

H‘Bronze Beauty’ bugleweed (as needed)!This plant is locally invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.Planted as a ground cover under hedges and shrubs, these vigorous perennials will form a handsome carpet of purple-bronze foliage. May be shaded out as shrubs mature. See Ajuga reptans, here.

 I ContainersFill pots or urns with annuals to suit your taste. Here we show impatiens and trailing variegated vinca clustered around a dracaena spike. Change these seasonally, too, if you wish.

 J Courtyard walkwaySelect hard surface material to complement your house. Brick (shown here) or rectangular flagstones in random sizes reinforce the formal lines of the design. See here.

Not-so-plain geometry

Sheared greenery in a subtle variety of colors and textures gives this design a clean, uncluttered look. The sculpted forms gently play off one another. Matched pairs of conical yews and boxwoods mark the beginning and end of the walk, their shape echoed and enlarged by the hollies at the corners of the house. Contrasting with these rounded shapes are the rectilinear hedges that outline the lawn itself.

Offsetting all this solid geometry are the freer shapes of the sweet bay magnolias at the corners and the double row of azaleas. Their lovely white flowers make striking accents in spring and early summer.

The design is elegantly simple, but plants don’t grow in such tidy shapes and will need frequent pruning to look their best. If maintaining the evergreens is enough work for you, consider replacing the lawn with a ground cover, such as ajuga, that won’t need mowing.

Plants & Projects

ASweet bay magnolia (use 2 plants)These graceful, slow-growing trees provide 2- to 3-in.-wide creamy white flowers in early summer. Glossy leaves may last through the winter. See Magnolia virginiana, here.

B‘Densiformis’ hybrid yew (use 6)Fast-growing and compact, this hardy evergreen makes a spreading mound low enough to stay beneath the windows without excessive pruning. Its foliage turns bronze when the weather turns cold. See Taxus x media, here.

C‘Hatfield’ hybrid yew (use 2)Neat cones of sheared evergreen foliage mirror the shape of the boxwoods at the other end of the walk. Slow-growing shrubs keep their bright green color all winter. See Taxus x media, here.

DEnglish boxwood (use 2)The classic shrub for formal gardens. Small evergreen leaves give it a fine texture, and it can be sheared into any shape. Make these chubby cones about 5 to 6 ft. high. See Buxus sempervirens, here.

EDwarf English boxwood (use 68)The best boxwood for low edging, compact and slow-growing. Plant these evergreen shrubs roughly 20 in. apart(15 in. to fill in faster), and prune to about 18 in. high with a rounded top. See Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’, here.

FWhite evergreen azalea (use 26)In spring, these compact shrubs are covered with large white flowers that make a lovely show against the backdrop of dark yews. See Rhododendron, here.

GMowing stripA brick or stone edging separates the lawn and surrounding hedge and makes mowing easier. See p. 198–199.

See here for the following:

H‘Foster #2’ holly (use 2)

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Formal needn’t mean square. A graceful air of formality can also be achieved with curves.

Masses of yellow and white daffodils brighten this front yard in spring. They can be underplanted with perennials, or the beds can be planted anew with annuals for another show in summer.

An urn provides a focal point and a splash of color in a classically formal design.

Neat edges outline a graceful curve that gives the mixed borders in this front yard a touch of formality.

Foundation with Flair

PLANT A FOUNDATION GARDEN

Homes on raised foundations usually have foundation plantings. These simple skirtings of greenery hide unattractive concrete-block underpinnings and help overcome the impression that the house is hovering a few feet above the ground. Useful as these plantings are, they are too often just monochromatic expanses of clipped junipers, dull as dishwater. But, as this design shows, a durable, low-maintenance foundation planting can be more varied, more colorful, and more fun.

Because a foundation planting should look good year-round, the design is anchored by a row of cherry laurels, broad-leaved evergreens covered each spring by heavily scented flowers. A small garden of shrubs, perennials, and a graceful arching grass will catch the eye of visitors approaching the front door. Colorful perennials bloom from spring to fall along the edge of the bed. At the far end is a tidy viburnum, whose spicy-scented flowers will encourage springtime strolls around that corner of the house.

!Plants with this symbol are considered invasive or are locally invasive, as noted. See the appropriate plant profile for suggested alternatives.

Plants & Projects

From spring to fall, something is always blooming here, but foliage texture and color play an even greater role than flowers in this design. From the slender, shimmering leaves of Japanese silver grass rising behind mounded barberries, to furry lamb’s ears, feathery coreopsis, and fleshy sedum, textures abound, colored in a variety of reds, greens, and silvers. Winter offers glossy green cherry laurels, the tawny leaves and striking seed heads of silver grass, and the rich russets of the sedum. Other than an annual cutback in spring and a little pruning to shape the viburnum, the planting requires little maintenance.

AKorean spice viburnum (use 1 plant)At the corner of the house, this deciduous shrub produces spicy-scented flowers in spring (preceded by pretty pink buds) and dense green foliage in summer and fall. Shape by annual pruning. See Viburnum carlesii, here.

B‘Otto Luyken’ cherry laurel (use 4)The glossy dark leaves and spreading habit of these evergreen shrubs will clothe the foundation year-round. As a bonus, spring produces a profusion of fragrant white flowers in spikes. See Prunus laurocerasus, here.

C‘Crimson Pygmy’ Japanese barberry (use 3)!This plant is considered invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.A compact deciduous shrub with small, teardrop-shaped maroon leaves that turn crimson in fall, when they are joined by bright red berries. See Berberis thunbergii, here.

D‘Morning Light’ Japanese silver grass (use 1)!This plant is locally invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.A rustling sentinel by the door, this grass is silvery all summer, then turns tawny after frost. Its fluffy seed heads last through the winter. See Miscanthus sinensis, here.

E‘Autumn Joy’ sedum (use 3)Flat-topped flower clusters emerge in late summer above clumps of fleshy gray-green leaves, turning from white through shades of ever deeper pink to rust-colored seed heads that can stand through the winter. See Sedum, here.

F‘East Friesland’ salvia (use 4)Shown off against the green backdrop, reddish purple flower spikes cover these perennials off and on from May through fall. See Salvia x superba, here.

G‘Longwood Blue’ bluebeard (use 1)A small deciduous shrub with silvery gray foliage and fringed blue flowers from late summer to frost. See Caryopteris x clandonensis, here.

H‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis (use 4)A perennial with fine foliage and tiny pale yellow flowers from July into September. See Coreopsis verticillata, here.

 I Lamb’s ears (use 3)A perennial with fuzzy silver-white leaves. Use the large-leaved, wide-spreading cultivar ‘Helene von Stein’ (sometimes called ‘Big Ears’). See Stachys byzantina, here.

 J ‘Big Blue’ lilyturf (use 4)!This plant is locally invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.This grasslike evergreen perennial under the viburnum has dark blue flowers in summer. See Liriope muscari, here.

Brighten a shady porch

This foundation planting graces a front porch on a shady site, making it an even more welcome haven on a hot summer’s day. Like the previous design, this one relies on evergreen plants, both shrubs and perennials, to look good in all four seasons. All the plants will thrive in a shady location.

The planting is in bloom from very early spring, in a range of reds, pinks, blues, whites, and lilacs. Baskets of petunias cascading from the porch columns provide people on porch swings and wicker chairs with a colorful sight throughout the summer.

Plants & Projects

A‘Nova Zembla’ rhododendron (use 1 plant)Dark red flowers are strikingly displayed against large evergreen leaves in late spring. Growing 5 ft. tall and spreading as wide, this shrub anchors the corner of the design. See Rhododendron, here.

BPink evergreen azalea (use 3)These compact shrubs bloom profusely in mid- to late spring, and they won’t outgrow their space near the steps. An excellent pink-flowered cultivar is ‘Nancy of Robin Hill’. See Rhododendron, here.

C‘Blue Princess’ holly (use 5)Handsome blue-green leaves make these evergreen shrubs standout winter plants. They produce bright red berries if there’s a ‘Blue Prince’ holly nearby for pollination. Prune to control their height. See Ilex x meserveae, here.

DHeavenly bamboo (use 1)!This plant is considered invasive in the Mid-Atlantic. This eye-catching evergreen shrub with straight, unbranched stems and layers of lacy leaves isn’t a bamboo at all. This is a truly colorful plant, with leaves changing with the seasons from copper to green to red, and white summer flowers followed by long-lasting red berries. See Nandina domestica, here.

EWhite astilbe (use 5)Decorative dark green foliage perfectly sets off the fluffy white flower spires on this rugged, elegant perennial. The 3-ft.-tall white spires of the hybrid cultivar ‘Bridal Veil’ bloom in midsummer and simply glow in a shady spot. See Astilbe x arendsii, here.

F‘Elegans’ hosta (use 1)Huge blue puckered leaves give this perennial the stature of a shrub and look great from spring until frost. Small lilylike flowers peeking above the foliage are a bonus. See Hosta sieboldiana, here.

GLenten rose (use 5)Some of the very first flowers of spring appear on these perennials. Large, nodding, cuplike blooms in pink, rosy, white, or greenish colors are displayed for weeks against dark leathery leaves. See Helleborus orientalis, here.

HBlack mondo grass (use 3)The unusual purple-black grassy foliage of this evergreen perennial is a striking accent next to the large hosta leaves. See Ophiopogon planiscapus, here.

 I Variegated Japanese sedge (use 3)Vivid yellow and green, the swirling leaves of this evergreen perennial form neat grassy tufts that are perfect for edging the walk. See Carex morrowii ‘Aureovariegata’, here.

 J Variegated lilyturf (use 4)!This plant is locally invasive in the Mid-Atlantic.The grassy evergreen leaves of this clump-forming perennial are edged with golden yellow stripes that age to a creamy white. Lilac-colored flowers bloom in late summer. See Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’, here.

KHanging basketsCascading petunias clothe the columns supporting the porch roof, providing a colorful frame for the view from the porch.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Anything but boring, the plantings shown here demonstrate the wide range of possibilities for foundations.

Varied in color, texture, and shape, the shrubs in this foundation planting pack a big punch in a narrow space.

This house couldn’t have a more natural setting than the rhododendrons and other woodland plants nestled by its walls.

Attractive windows like these don’t need to be hidden behind a bank of shrubs. Flowering annuals work well here. They’ll disappear in winter, but all summer long they’ll provide a glorious display that can be viewed from inside as well as outside.

A Welcoming Entry

MAKE A PLEASANT PASSAGE TO THE FRONT DOOR

First impressions are as important in the home landscape as they are on a blind date or a job interview. Why wait until a visitor reaches the front door to extend a warm greeting? Instead let your landscape offer a friendly welcome and a helpful “Please come this way.” Well-chosen plants and a revamped walkway not only make a visitor’s short journey a pleasant one, they can also enhance your home’s most public face and help settle it comfortably in its immediate surroundings.

The ample bluestone walkway in this design invites visitors to stroll side by side through a small garden from the driveway to the entrance. The path is positioned to put the front door in full view of arriving guests. Its generous width allows for informal gatherings as guests arrive and leave, and well-chosen plants encourage lingering there to enjoy them.

Three small trees grace the entrance with spring and summer flowers, light shade, and superb fall color. Most of the perennials and shrubs are evergreen and look good year-round, providing a fine background to the flowers and an attractive foil to the fall color. In the winter, colorful tree bark and bright berries make gazing out the windows a pleasure.

!Plants with this symbol are considered invasive or are locally invasive, as noted. See the appropriate plant profile for suggested alternatives.

Plants & Projects

The predominantly evergreen foliage comes in a surprising range of blues and greens, accented by white and blue flowers in spring and summer. Once established, the planting requires regular pruning and shearing but little else.

AServiceberry (use 1 plant)