A Beautiful Lawn

Summer Flowering Shrubs (2/2)

For your landscape to remain beautiful throughout the seasons, you need to have something of interest in each season. Therefore, the first step in a do-it-yourself landscaping project is for you to conduct a research. The intention is to have some flowering trees during summer and spring, fall foliage over the autumn season and those that are favorable for winter. You have to choose shrubs that are drought tolerant so that as you plant them in spring, they will not succumb to the summer heat. As for flowers, consider the light and soil necessities before buying any prospective flowers for your lawn. It is very important to match the flower types to their space for beauty and consistency. There are quite a number of summer flowering shrubs that are easy to grow and maintain thus producing a very brilliant bloom even in the face of the glaring summer heat. These include the following;

Potentilla – This is another common and very easy shrub to grow. Blooming starts in late spring and lingers through the autumn season. The flowers are very beautiful and come in shades of orange, cheery yellow, red, orange and white. They almost appear like single roses and normally attract lots of butterflies. The shrub has divided foliage that is very attractive. Well drained soil and full sun are ideal conditions for the shrub.

Reblooming Hydrangea – This is another of the hydrangeas that is just amazing. It can also be referred to as the endless summer shrub. It bears flowers upon fresh growth. There is therefore a lot of bloom that runs across the summer season. The shrub does well in a partly shady environment with soil that is very well drained.

Rock Rose – These are very drought tolerant shrubs making them extremely easy to grow and maintain all through the summer season. They are very fine-looking and produce bright flowers that are rose-like all through the summer season. The shrub blooms in a wide array of colors right from pink and purple to lavender and white. Their full height is up to five feet tall. They really augment well with other shrubs and add value to your landscaping all together.

Rose of Sharon – This is a very reliable shrub in terms of providing many colors throughout summer. The shrub produces blooms that are tropical-looking with shades of lavender-blue, pink and white. When you go to shop for the shrub, be keen to select the sterile varieties. These are preferable because they do not fill the yard with myriad weedy seedlings.

Planting these summer flowering shrubs will ensure that there is bloom in your yard throughout the summer season despite the prevailing heat.

 

Summer Flowering Shrubs (1/2)

Summer Flowering Shrubs For your landscape to remain beautiful throughout the seasons, you need to have something of interest in each season. Therefore, the first step in a do-it-yourself landscaping project is for you to conduct a research. The intention is to have some flowering trees during summer and spring, fall foliage over the autumn season and those that are favorable for winter. You have to choose shrubs that are drought tolerant so that as you plant them in spring, they will not succumb to the summer heat. As for flowers, consider the light and soil necessities before buying any prospective flowers for your lawn. It is very important to match the flower types to their space for beauty and consistency. There are quite a number of summer flowering shrubs that are easy to grow and maintain thus producing a very brilliant bloom even in the face of the glaring summer heat. These include the following;

Butterfly Bush – This shrub can be equated to the lilac given their similarity in colors that is purple, pink, blue, lavender and white. The shrub has a very wonderful fragrance. Their bloom season is much longer than that of lilacs. They can go all the way from summer to autumn. The bloom is especially prolonged if you remove the older flower clusters as soon as they start fading. to 4'wide & 6' tall, some larger.

Carolina allspice – This shrub produces very beautiful flowers with a deep red color. The flowers emit a spicy fragrance which can be enjoyed across the yard. This is a low-care plant that is naturally very tough. It can grow very well in a full sun condition or in partial shade. It requires soil that is well drained. can get rather large, up to 5 feet wide & 10 feet tall

Hydrangea paniculata – Among the hydrangeas, this species is the easiest to grow. As summer advances into autumn, the shrub will normally produce some feathery bunches of white flowers. The flowers then fade to pink and green shades. Whatever the spot, these rugged shrubs will fit perfectly. They do well in partial shade or full sun with soil that is very well drained. Hydrangeas are just phenomenal when it comes to landscaping. 6to 8' tall & wide is average

Oleander – This is a sub-tropical shrub that is very easy to care for. The shrub bears flowers during summer and these appear in shades of red, pink, lilac, white and yellow. This shrub is quite fail-safe such that you will commonly find it grown along highway sides in areas endowed with warm weather. It is however important to take note that this plant is quite poisonous. It grows well in full sun and well drained soil conditions.

Planting these summer flowering shrubs will ensure that there is bloom in your yard throughout the summer season despite the prevailing heat.

Warm Season Ornamental Landscape Grasses (2/2)

Ornamental grasses are a nice low maintenance addition to almost any landscape. They are  easy to care for as they tend to be relatively disease and pest free. Most varieties require little watering or fertilizer. There are many different sizes and shapes to choose from.Smaller ones are often used as ground covers while larger ones can be used as ground cover while larger ones can be used as privacy hedges. Mid-sized varieties often make nice borders for landscape beds.

Warm season grasses start to grow vigorously  in the late spring  and early summer when things start to heat up. They tend to need less water  and are relatively low maintenance. Most flower in the late summer and fall. Here are  a few examples of more commonly used warm season ornamental grasses.

Molinia caerulea - Variegated moor grass - Green & white color. Part to full sun. Zone 5-9. Purple flower. 12-18"  tall and wide.

Panicum virgatum - Switch grass - Dark green color. Full sun. Zone 4-9. Pink flowers. 3' wide & 4-5' tall..

 

Pennisetum alopecuroides - Fountain grass - Green color. Full sun. Zone 5-9. White flower. 2-3' tall and wide. Needs regular watering.

Schizachyrium scoparium - Blue heaven -  Blue green color. Part sun/shade. Zone 3-8. Blue flowers. 2'wide & 4' tall.  Red color in the fall.

 

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Warm Season Ornamental Landscape Grasses (1/2)

Ornamental grasses are a nice low maintenance addition to almost any landscape. They are  easy to care for as they tend to be relatively disease and pest free. Most varieties require little watering or fertilizer. There are many different sizes and shapes to choose from.Smaller ones are often used as ground covers while larger ones can be used as ground cover while larger ones can be used as privacy hedges. Mid-sized varieties often make nice borders for landscape beds.

Warm season grasses start to grow vigorously  in the late spring  and early summer when things start to heat up. They tend to need less water  and are relatively low maintenance. Most flower in the late summer and fall. Here are  a few examples of more commonly used warm season ornamental grasses.

Andropogona gerandii - Big bluestem - Gray to blue green color. Full sun. Zone 2-7. Purple blooms. 2-3' wide & 4-6' tall.

Bouteloua gracilis - Blonde ambition blue grama - blue green color. Partial/full sun. Zone 4-9. Green flower. 1-3' tall.

Chasmanthium latifolium - Inland sea oat - bright green. Some sun/shade. Zone 3 - 8. 3' wide up to 6'+ tall.

Miscanthus sinensis - Porcupine grass - Green gold color. Full sun. Zone 4-9. 3' wide and 6' tall.

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Cool Season Ornamental Landscape Grasses (2/2)

Ornamental grasses are a nice low maintenance addition to almost any landscape. They are  easy to care for as they tend to be relatively disease and pest free. Most varieties require little watering or fertilizer. There are many different sizes and shapes to choose from.Smaller ones are often used as ground covers while larger ones can be used as ground cover while larger ones can be used as privacy hedges. Mid-sized varieties often make nice borders for landscape beds.

Cool season grasses start to grow in the very early spring when things begin to thaw. they grow in the spring and the fall, but may go dormant in the higher temperatures of summer. Most flower in the spring or early summer. Here are  a few examples of more commonly used cool season ornamental grasses.

Festuca glauca - blue fescue - blue/ green leaf color. Partial shade, does not do well in full sun. Zone 4 - 11. Grows to 10" by 10"

Helictotrichon sempervirens - blue oat grass - blue/ green leaves, brown flower . Full sun. Zone 4- 9. Grows to 2' wide, but can be as tall as 3'. Deer resistant, but may need regular watering in hotter weather

koeleria macrantha - june grass - dark green leaves, pink flower. Full sun. Zone 3- 8. Grows to 2'. Drought tolerant, but does not do well in clay soil.

Sesleria autumnalis - autumn moor grass - green leaves, purple flower. Full sun to partial shade. Zone 5-8. Grows 18"' tall and wide.

 

Ideas for Low Budget Small Area Landscape Design

How can you do a small area landscape DIY that makes a big impact on a small budget? The good news is that low budget small area, landscape design ideas are actually easier to do successfully than if you are trying to landscape a larger area.  Here are 10 landscape DIY design ideas that are budget-friendly:

1.  Start with a Focal Point
Especially in a smaller area, a garden feature focal point like a bird bath, a cluster of bird feeders, a fountain, a statue, a large vase, or a group of potted plants helps to create a Centerpoint that pleases the eye.  You can also use a table and chairs, or a trellis and vine, or a set of birdhouses. Want a theme garden? .  Choose an old rusted bicycle for a country look, or a set of large stones for an Asian garden.

2.  Use What You Have
Do you have some trees or bushes already?  You can use those to help create your focal point background for building your garden. Before you rush out to buy something new, save money by considering what you already have that you can use in your garden.  Do you have some pots, baskets, old pottery or chimes in your storage?  Be creative!  Pottery that is too broken to use to hold water might still work as a garden decoration.  You can also visit garage sales to find unusual items like old weathered windows or garden benches.

3. Use Container Clusters
Planting in containers has the advantage of using less soil, being easier to water and also being able to be moved around.  Especially in small spaces, containers let you plant a lot and change plants out which are not blooming, moving the nicest ones where they can best be seen.  You also might want to consider keeping your plants inside inexpensive plastic pots which can be moved in and out of different containers.

4. Ask Gardener Friends to Share
In pioneer times, people didn't have stores to go to in order to get plants.  Everyone shared the flower seeds or bulbs they had growing with their neighbors.  In fact, some of the best plants you can grow are ones that other gardeners have growing in abundance.  Especially if you aren't sure of your landscape DIY skills, you might want to cultivate some gardening friends and ask if they have seeds, cuttings, bulbs or plants they can share.  They may also have advice of local places which offer good deals.

6. Visit the a Local Arboretum 
Many times, you can develop ideas for your garden by looking at other gardens. Do you have a local arboretum, or gardens at a University?  Visit them to get ideas.  Some gardens even have plant sales or classes about how to grow local native plants.  If you don't have gardens to visit nearby, you can check out gardening books at the library or look for pictures of gardens of the tye you like online.

7. Buy for Every Season
Part of successful landscape DIY design is careful planning so that you have plants blooming at different times.  So when you start buying plants and seeds, look to see when the plant blooms and be sure to pick out plants that bloom in the spring, summer, and fall.  Bulbs look very unattractive when you stick them in the ground, but they are often fabulous for creating sustained, beautiful floral displays in the early spring.

8. Think Local.
 Every plant counts in a smaller garden, and if you are starting your landscape DIY from scratch, you need  plants which will grow and thrive quickly.  How can you do that?  Make sure every plant you buy is well adapted for your area climate zone.   Moreover,  you might want to look for native local plants which often grow the most vigorously and require less care.

9. Plan for the Birds
An inexpensive way to add interest to your small garden is to add features to attract birds.   You can make a birdbath or bird feeder out of any large ceramic platter set in the ground, or on top of an upturned garden pot.  Add a birdhouse or two also!  You may get some permanent guests.

10. Attract Butterflies
Nothing adds more interest to a garden than butterflies floating by.  You can attract them by planting the right combination of plants they like to eat as adults, and plants they lay eggs on and eat as caterpillars.  

Finally, enjoy the process. Creating a landscaping DIY garden is something you can enjoy doing over the period of a year or more.  Even better, it is something which can grow, change and evolve into an outdoor room which expresses your own personality, as well as provides a tranquil place for reading, relaxing and entertaining.

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