It’s been a rainy and cold spring here, but it’s looking like Mother Nature has turned the corner and warmer days are here to stay! It’s not too late to get going so that you can enjoy a healthy, colorful garden all summer long.
ANNUALS
We’ve passed the window of opportunity to plant anything from seed, but garden centers are stocked with beautiful options to add textural and colorful interest to your garden. Take stock of your garden layout noting where you have space, the light conditions, and where your perennials are planted. Look for annuals such as New Guinea Impatiens, Lantana, and Verbena to add rich color to your beds. And remember that you don’t have to add only flowers --- layering leafy green textures will bring balance to your beds! Annual beds are also a great way to experiment with height; add vertical interest by planting climbing vines, climbing Hydrangea, Wysteria and Ivy.
PERENNIAL MAINTENANCE
If you have perennials in your garden, now is the perfect time to divide them before they start to flower. As perennials mature, they can overtake the area of the garden that you originally intended them for, becoming overcrowded and forced to compete for light and water. Dividing and redistributing your perennials is a wonderful way to maintain the health of your plants while propagating themes of color and texture throughout your garden. It’s a win-win! (https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/dividing-perennials)
CREATE YOUR ZEN SPOT
Now that your garden is ready to enjoy, don’t forget to pay attention to your outdoor seating areas --- create the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor! It can be as simple as a comfortable chair and a small table to place a cup of tea or evening glass of wine. Add a portable fire pit to extend afternoons into evenings! Bring the garden closer by adding a seasonal container or two --- Consider adding scented plants that also serve to keep pesky bugs away like lavender so you can relax undisturbed.
PROJECTS IN PROGRESS
Springtime for a landscape designer is always a favorite time of the year --- and busy! Our team has been working on several projects for clients, from major landscape design and renovation to helping families add warmth to their porches with welcoming spring planters. I love every second of it; every project big and small provides unique challenges, learning opportunities, and an outlet for expression!
Our team just wrapped up a project in Larchmont for a client that always wished for an English rose garden. We are so pleased with how it turned out. We special ordered David Austin roses in a spectrum of pinks and white. This type of rose was named after its breeder, David Austin, who was a British rose specialist and writer who brought together the wonderful characteristics of old garden roses known for their gorgeous fragrance with the repeat-flowering ability and wide color range of modern roses. To complement the roses we added Alium, Walkers Low Catmint, Rose Companion and Compact Holly Soft Touch.
The most interesting aspect of the garden was the addition of a Thomas Jefferson serpentine wall to define the rose beds. It’s an architectural element in which repeating circles intercept at 120° to maintain a particular curve. It was the perfect choice: not only does it define the beds beautifully and will maintain their boundaries over time, but the added architectural element to the landscape brought just the right touch of formality that we were looking for to give an overall polished look. I can’t wait to visit the garden again as it fills out over the summer!