Brightleaf

With fall right around the corner now is a great time to think about a new landscape design for your yard. If you are considering hiring a landscape designer, but aren’t sure how you would like to change your yard – don’t worry! Many of our clients start with just a desire to make their property more attractive, without really knowing what that means to them. Read on for advice on clarifying your goals:

Start with identifying what you don’t like

Our clients can typically tell us what they don’t like about their property. It may be views of their neighbors’ properties, poor lawn, erosion, areas that stay too wet, or the presence of deer. Identifying things that you don’t like is the first step to determining what changes need to be made to your property.

There are a variety of ornamental grasses – those for sun or shade, native options, and the benefits of ornamental grasses include drought tolerance, deer resistance, and the fact that many start to shine after the plants of early summer have started to wane. Read on for some of my favorite combinations that make use of these versatile plants.

One ornamental grass that many people are familiar with is Muhly Grass, which has filmy pink plumes in early fall. When not in flower, this grass can be underwhelming, so consider pairing it behind a low evergreen shrub like a dwarf Yaupon Holly. The Holly will screen the grass when it is not in bloom and provide great contrast when it is. Both are North Carolina native plants.Blooming in late summer, these two plants provide great textual contrast when paired. The Fountain Grass has a fine texture and fluffy conical seed heads while the Sedum has waxy leaves and broad flat flowers. Both plants thrive in full sun and provide great transition into the fall.

Summer is the time for outdoor gatherings and having the right hardscaped space can make your yard much more usable. When considering adding walkways, patios or other outdoor spaces you can choose from a variety of materials based on your design preferences and budget. Below are pictures of some of our hardscaping projects using decorative gravel, concrete pavers, brick, and natural stone.

Decorative Gravel – that’s right gravel can be beautiful! Ornamental pea gravel is available in blue gray or orange tones, and is a great option for creating affordable hardscaped spaces. Additionally gravel is a permeable surface option, which is environmentally friendly.

Concrete Pavers – available in a variety of colors and styles pavers can be used for projects including patios, walkways, seatwalls, and firepits. Pavers are durable, reasonably priced, and can be a more affordable alternative to natural stone.

Brick – If your home already has brick elements in its architecture or if you like the look of traditional materials brick can be an excellent paving material to use. Brick is an affordable option available in a variety of colors and it can be laid in many different patterns.

As summer begins you’ll see flowers everywhere – many shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals are in full bloom. While all flowers are beautiful, consider adding plants that have the added benefit of supporting wildlife. Many native and migratory birds and butterflies

As we move into spring the number of blooming plants can blow you away. With all the flowers and color present in Durham during this time of year, it is easy to find plant combinations that give you a bold effect. The challenge is to develop combinations that can move beyond the bloom frenzy of spring. Below are two incredible spring combinations that will work all the way until fall.

As winter winds down it is time to think about changes to make in your yard come spring. The earlier you get plants established this spring the better off they will be, and the more time you’ll have to enjoy them come summer. If your plans include designing or redesigning a portion of your landscape read on for a guide to start the process.

Evergreens are some of the hardest working plants in the garden – they provide a backdrop for flowering plants in spring and summer, highlight vibrant fall color, and provide structure and interest in the winter garden.While the value of evergreens is widely understood, many gardeners see them as a necessary evil – plants that are important but that can be boring, without the dynamic seasonal changes of other types of plants. One evergreen that is definitely not boring is the Thunderhead. A shrub form pine, the Thunderhead, can be broader than tall with an irregular form and showy candles. Consider using the Thunderhead where you would ordinarily use a midsize deciduous specimen like a Japanese Maple.

It’s not officially winter yet, but it is a great time to start planning for your garden’s winter maintenance needs. In the last few weeks the leaves have fallen from the trees, making it a great time to mulch. Winter mulching gives your plants extra insulation against the coldest months of the year, while also giving your yard a fresh neat look for winter visitors. Mulching in the winter is also a good way to get a head start on next season’s yard work.

Winter is also a great time to prune trees and shrubs. Plants without their leaves show their underlying structure, this makes it easier to see where to make the best cuts. For many plants winter is also the healthiest time to prune – many summer blooming plants as well as many varieties of conifers prefer to be pruned during dormancy.

A project we installed a few weeks ago got me thinking about front entrances and how we use them. If you’re like me (and Jonathan) you probably enter your house through a back door or garage. It seems that as housing styles have changed so has the way that we look at and interact with our home’s primary entrance.

So, the project that we recently completed is in an older neighborhood of Durham, where street parking is dominant, and many residents still enter through their front door. If you’re wondering why this matters – I mean, a front yard is always very prominent, even if only for people driving by on the street – here’s my answer – FRAGRANCE! A space that is used every day and one where you can predict exactly where the users will walk is a great opportunity to incorporate fragrant plants.

Some of my favorite fragrant plants actually come into bloom in late winter and early spring. Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, or Himalayan Sweetbox is one of these plants. It is very low growing, evergreen, and a great option for part shade or full shade conditions. Daphne odora ‘Aureo-marginata’ is also a fantastic plant for fragrance. Daphne can be somewhat finicky, but once established makes a beautiful addition to the garden by providing glossy variegated evergreen foliage in a mid size shrub.

Pruning your trees and shrubs can bring about new growth, healthier plants and add to the finished look of your landscape. Our PDF explains how to correctly prune shrubs and trees, tools to use, where to make the cut and much more. Click the link below for more information.

Spring Pruning Guidelines