Garden Design IdeasGarden Ideas, Photos and Tips for Gardening at Home
Creating a four - time of year garden transforms your outside space into a vibrant tapis of color , texture , and life throughout the year . This involve select and dress plants , incorporating structural elements to maintain visual interest , and choosing appropriate hardscaping materials . But beyond enhancing your garden ’s aesthetic prayer , a well - designed four - season garden can also support local wildlife , control that your garden stay a focal point of beauty and liveliness , even in the deepness of wintertime .
On this page:5 Steps : design a Year - Round Garden|Season - by - Season Plant Selection
On this page :
The garden ’s year - round looker comes from several factors . In gain to the blooming perennial in saltation and summer , the decorative wrought - smoothing iron tuteur that supports the rose is much appreciated in the insensate winter months . The combining of evergreen trees and shrubs , along with the winter berries from the cotoneaster , also provide food for thought and protection for hungry birds . The Anderson Garden . exposure by : Rebecca Sweet .
make a garden that is beautiful and engage throughout the year involve more than just works selection ; you first need to ' set the phase ' with thoughtful planning and design . Before chalk out out your garden ’s layout , it ’s substantive to read the specifics of your location , such as your USDA zone , light , microclimates , soil case , and water accessibility . With this knowledge in hand , you’re able to set out to think about your garden seam ’s layout , considering conception such as layering strategy , the proportion of evergreens to perennials , and each works ’s time of year of peak interest group .
This family features oversized windows that were thoughtfully designed to serve as a ' frame ' for the ' picture ' of the tiered garden . wintertime interest comes from the decorative stone walls , containers , and evergreen plant trees and shrubs , while the tiers are fulfil with an copiousness of give and summer blossom perennials . The Rountree Garden . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
Additionally , keep in brain the idea of " inside - out " blueprint , which focuses on how the garden is viewed from indoors . This approach transform your garden into a living artwork that can be enjoy through your windows ( using your window material body as the frame of your ' living art ' ) . This enhance the looker of your dwelling house while maximise your garden ’s class - round potency .
5 STEPS: DESIGNING A YEAR-ROUND GARDEN (THE PLAN)
1. Structuring the Garden for Continuous Interest
What set a great garden aside from a good one is its structure . Yet , many gardeners get hold this conception baffling , unsure how to recognize or create it in their own landscape .
During the luxuriant leaping and summertime seasons , when the garden bursts with color and animation , its underlying model can be challenging to key out . The spotlight naturally falls on the ‘ showgirls ’ of the garden - vivacious prime contend for care . But in wintertime , when the garden quiets down , its structure ( or lack thereof ) becomes much more apparent .
Take a step back and observe your garden during the frigid calendar month . Does it look monotonic , exanimate , or dominated by shades of dark-brown and white ? Do you fight the urge to end the blinds until give arrives ? If so , your garden may be lack the potent framework it needs to shine yr - round .
The winter garden at Woodside ’s Filoli Estate is lovely , thanks to the structure and layout of the evergreen plant Turkish boxwood borders and nearby evergreen plant shrubs . The evergreen plants also serve as the ‘ stage , ’ helping to highlight the course of the deciduous Tree . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
2. Establish a Framework of Evergreens
To create a well - structured garden throughout the seasons , let in a variety of evergreens such as coniferous tree , broadleaf evergreen plant , and , if possible , evergreen perennial . evergreen plant trees and shrubs supply typical form and year - round pastime , standing strong even in wintertime ’s quiet landscape .
For example , consider using ‘ Sky Pencil ’ holly for a striking upright component , its exclamation - point shape adding a saccade of excitation to a garden bottom . Alternatively , embrace the gentle , mound sort of ‘ Hudsonia ’ balsam fir for a softer , more natural look . When many deciduous neighbors fade away for the time of year , these evergreen shine , maintain the garden visually piquant while maintain your planting pattern throughout the year .
This community garden , with evergreen Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and shrubs of various sizes and shapes , provide plenty of winter structure and interest group long after the summer - blossom perennial are abeyant . 6BC Botanical Garden , East Village , NY . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
3. Combining Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
The winder to plan a garden that looks keen twelvemonth - round begin with a balanced mix of evergreen plant and deciduous trees , shrub , perennials , and annuals .
get by comprise evergreen trees or shrubs as your garden ’s guts for structure throughout the yr . Next , pair these evergreens with various perennials that bloom in spring , summer , and light to produce a uninterrupted display of color throughout the season . Whenever potential , prefer perennials that also have interesting seed heads or striking silhouettes in wintertime to keep your garden visually appealing in the coldest calendar month . Finally , layer in annual to add up a little additional seasonal sparkle .
This garden bottom has it all , ensuring twelvemonth - troll beauty . The evergreen trees , shrubs , locoweed , and nontextual matter are the bones of the garden . Then , first to flower is the spring - blooming iris , comply by summer - blooming hydrangea and agapanthus while the winter blooming kniphofia ‘ Winter Cheer ’ quietly hold off its turn to shine . The Tanner Garden . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
4. Hardscaping and Non-Living Features
To found the theoretical account of a garden , it is important to spend time thinking about the hardscaping in your garden . Hardscaping refers to lasting structure like paths , boulders , bench , and arbors . These elements are often look at the " bones " of a garden , providing a framework for various planting beds .
Do n’t look out over the visual wallop that non - living feature can have , especially when looking out the window on sidereal day too hot or cold to enjoy the garden straight . For instance , a whirl kinetic sculpture can be bewitch , adding movement and color disregardless of the weather .
Artistic and detailed structures , such as a attractively craft arbor or pergola , can also enhance the garden ’s aesthetic . Why not produce a spectacular focal - point fencing by adding colorful hanging containers , nontextual matter , or a living wall ?
And do n’t forget the impact H2O can have throughout the yr . A gentle running outpouring instantly add together another pernicious stratum of audio to the garden , but even when it ’s not running , it can be a affair of smasher . As can be a wide-eyed birdbath , even when it ’s not a hub of activity for visiting birds ( though the acrobats put up by bath bird ca n’t be beat ! )
The materials you choose for paths and patios can contribute to class - round beauty , often changing colors when crocked . Do n’t forget the pleasant auditory sensation of crushed rock cranch underfoot , adding another sensorial element to your outdoor space .
Non - living element keep this side chiliad engaging throughout the year , long after the jasmine rosiness have faded , thanks to the colorful gate , the herringbone pattern brick patio , and the soothe speech sound of the fountain and winding chime . Garden designed by Rebecca Sweet . exposure by : Rebecca Sweet .
5. Color Planning for Every Season
Creating a vivacious , ever - changing garden goes beyond seasonal blossom . coordinate the coloring material and the bloom time of different plants facilitate highlight and transition the seasons from one to another . For example , imagine the year - rotund visual impingement of geminate springiness ’s soft blue air and purpleness with summer ’s beamy oranges and yellows and then welcoming autumn ’s deep reds and golds .
In summation to seasonal peak , do n’t bury the textural tone of bark and late - time of year or year - round foliage for many months of interest , even in the coldest wintertime month . The peeling bark of a paperbark maple ( Acer griseum ) , for case , not only adds a deep , deep cinnamon color to the winter landscape painting , but the boneheaded coil of bark are a textural delight . In contrast , many Japanese maples have delicate , vibrant fall colors to finish the fall time of year with a smash .
Incorporate wintertime - bloom plants and Chuck Berry to keep your garden buzzing with wildlife during the cold month . bearberry holly ’s bright red berries provide cheerful papa of color against snowy landscapes while providing a meal for hungry fowl . Meanwhile , pollinator appreciate the fragrant scandalmongering , orangish , or violent blooms of witch hazels ( Hamamelis virginiana ) that come along in the heart of wintertime and the delicate , frigid - dauntless hellebore peak that make it as early as late wintertime .
Berries from the Hawthorn tree ( Crataegus ) sparkle against a background of fall textures and colors provided by the ring bush and perennials . A purport of evergreen Lenten rosebush ( Helleborus ) and the desktop of tall evergreen plant Tree ensure this garden persist receive year - daily round . NYC ’s Conservatory Garden . photograph by : Rebecca Sweet .
SEASON-BY-SEASON PLANT SELECTION
The following is an example of a seasonal planting guide designed to instance just how mere it can be to create twelvemonth - round interest in the garden using a wide sort of plant and plant characteristic . To make your plant selection even easy , prove to choose plants with alone qualities that can shine throughout several seasons .
A drift of early - blossom hellebores summate a welcome pop of color to the garden as it wakes from its winter snooze . Washington Park Arboretum . pic by : Rebecca Sweet .
Spring
The long - blooming phlox ‘ Blue Paradise ’ adds a fat dismal - purple colour to the tardy summertime garden , with pollinator - attract flowers that last for several weeks at a metre . Photo by Sabrina Tanner .
Summer
The deep maroon shades ofAstilbe’Dark Side of the Moon ' blend with tardy - bloomingAgastacheandCarexresults in a show - hold on moment in the fall garden . Coastal Maine Botanical Garden . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
Fall
The color and texture of the birch trees ’ barque add another bed of interest to the quiet wintertime garden . Photo by : Rebecca Sweet .
Winter
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