Parkville Planting Project October 2020
The first week of October 2020, we completed a nice landscape tear out and planting job in Parkville. This was our first time working with this client and hopefully not the last!
Autumn is a terrific time for planting. The weather is typically very mild and plants assimilate to their new homes readily. Of course, it is important to water deeply every 2-3 days to ensure the new plants can establish a healthy root system.
This was a fun project because we had the luxury of starting with a clean slate.
However, we had to create a clean slate first. Below you can see the existing landscape. There is not much going on and the existing arborvitaes are quite large by the bay window.
On the right side of the home, there is not much going on to generate interest.
This particular client told me that she likes pinks, and whites. So keeping that in mind, I started to search for plants.
In a situation like this, my first thought is functionality. I need to choose plants that will fit the space nicely. No large trees by the bay window and nothing that will grow too large in front of the porch.
I also like to think “what will look good in the winter.” If the garden looks decent in the winter, it will be easy to make it look great during the rest of the year!
Below is the final result.
Keep in mind this is a brand new planting and all of these plants will grow and mature.
On the left side of the home we planted 3 ‘Blue Princess’ Hollies. They are an evergreen plant that will look great all year long. Particularly throughout Winter when they have striking red berries. These plants are slow growers and they will not block the view from the bay window. However, they will grow to fill in the area and soften the concrete foundation and siding of the home.
On the right, we have planted ‘Gulf Stream’ Nandina. These are a great plant because they have year round interest. As you can see, the new growth is bright orange-red. They have a cluster of petit white flowers in the Spring which turn into bright red berries in Autumn and Winter. The Nandina will grow to a height of 2-3′ to soften the concrete base of the porch without becoming too overgrown.
Lastly for the foundation plantings, notice the ‘Sioux’ Crape Myrtle on the front left corner of the home. It is easier to see it in the feature photo at the top of the post. Small trees look great on the corners of buildings to bring everything into scale and perspective. Better yet, this particular Crape Myrtle produces pink flowers that our client will love!
These plants will look great in all 4 seasons and I am excited to watch them grow in for our customer. But we also went a step further and used perennials as a low maintenance way to incorporate more color and interest throughout the year.
In front of the Hollies, we planted deep pink Peonies that will blossom in Spring 2021. They are low maintenance and come back year after year! By the Nandinas, we planted a boarder of white Geraniums that are low maintenance, hardy, and perennial.
It was a pleasure completing the first job for our new client. If you want to have a similar project completed, let us know!