May 06, 2019

Making your Garden Look Good Throughout the Year

The key to making your garden look good throughout the year is choosing the right plants. You need to create year-round interest and colour. A garden that turns into a sea of brown sticks, during the winter, is just depressing.

Including plants that do not lose their leaves in the winter in your garden design is a practical way to avoid falling into that trap. Most people automatically think of trees, when they hear the word evergreen. In fact, most hedging plants stay green year round. They are strong, easy to grow and you can use them for more than just planting along the border of your garden to create privacy.

Using them as windbreakers

Living in a windy place limits how much time you can spend outside and what you can plant in your garden. The growth of some plants is stunted or the leaves and flowers turn brown when exposed to direct wind.

Creating windbreaks and planting behind them is a solution that works well for most people. Most hedging plants have the potential to be grown to any height. There is no need to fill your garden with tall hedges. All you have to do is to create a screen that is a little taller than the plants you are trying to protect. When choosing where to locate a windbreak like this you need to bear in mind the direction of the sun, so you can take into the amount of shade that will be created. Some plants will not grow well in a shady position.

Create a beautiful focal point

There are some really colourful shrubs and hedging plants out there, which can be used to create a wonderful focal point for your garden. You can take several approaches to doing this.

It could be as simple as planting a large flowering bush. Or, something like privet and cutting it into a pleasing shape. If you have never tried topiary before the best approach is to buy a pre-cut plant. That way, all you need to do is to occasionally trim it to keep it in shape to add interest to your deck or patio, It is also possible to buy topiary plants that are designed to be grown in pots. These are ideal for adding interest to your deck or patio.

To attract wildlife

Insects love flowering shrubs and hedging plants. You only have to plant one or two to provide a home for bees and butterflies. Ninebark, Blue Mist, Cinquefoil, Rose of Sharon and Buttonbush are just a few examples of shrubs that are ideal for this job.

Taking care of your hedging plants

The key to making your garden look good throughout the year; Provided you choose wisely, you shouldn’t find yourself having to spend any extra time taking care of it and once most shrubs and hedging plants are established, they require very little maintenance. Most plant retailers provide comprehensive care instructions and you can find out about how to spot diseases and treat them before they get out of control.