Are you thinking about making changes to your garden this year? Now is the time to consider what plants to add and what to remove. I view a great garden as a well-thought-out play. The spotlight moves, and there’s always something going on to engage your interest. Watching the same scene, day in and day out, gets boring. So just as there are key elements that make up a good play, there are tips to keep in mind to make your home landscape entertaining all year long.
Establish goals and roles — Whether you want your garden to provide your own farm-to-table vegetables, attract more birds and butterflies or be a peaceful retreat where you can stop and smell the roses (or gardenias) at the end of the day, it helps to have a plan in mind. Improv can be entertaining, yet sometimes a performance is better if it follows a basic script. For example, if you would like to see butterflies, consider planting asters, anise hyssop, bee balm, Black-eyed Susan, Joe Pye weed (a.k.a. Swallowtail Delight), milkweed, coneflowers, sunflowers, and zinnias. In Georgia, milkweeds (Asclepias species) are host plants for Monarch caterpillars.
Year-round interest — Identify roles for your landscape plantings, keeping in mind any bloom times. Each season new plants enter the spotlight. Camellias, daffodils, azaleas, dogwood trees, roses, hydrangeas, abelias, asters and our fall foliage call for oohs and aahs during different seasons. A supporting cast of reliable evergreen plantings adds structure and can also provide privacy. Foliage, branches, sizes, shapes, and textures all catch the eye. Blue, yellow, gray, reddish, jade are all intriguing shades of green. Remember, monocultures are unhealthy and boring.
Right plant in the right place — What role do you want a plant to play in your landscape and what’s the best spot? Trees, shrubs and…
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