Annie's Gardening Corner: landscape

Showing posts with label landscape. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Combining More Than Just the Blossoms

What does a Marmalade Sky look like? This Floribunda rose ‘Marmalade Skies’ (a registered trademark of Star Roses & Plants) is a true beauty for the garden.

Choosing color combinations can stump even the savvy but there’s always an easy solution or a more difficult one. The more difficult might be obvious – just jump in and try it out or you might want to do a sample test first and decide if you like the combo. When choosing plant colors and combos for your garden, you want a combination that works with more than just the flower. How it looks with the immediate surroundings including the architecture (inside and out),your hardscape, outdoor furniture and the list can go on.

So here is a sample plant combination I posted yesterday on Twitter .Combine a Delphinium with this Floribunda Rose, ‘Marmalade Skies’ (a registered trademark of Star Roses & Plants.) Why do I know it works? Putting a cut Delphinium blossom against a backdrop with a similar ‘Marmalade Skies’ color convinces me it does. That Delphinium backdrop is the lounge chair upholstery and also the color of the barn. Bringing these colors together in a plant combination ties it into the overall garden surroundings. It's combining more than just the blossoms. Designing your outdoor rooms, specifically when it comes to color is similar to designing your interior spaces. There should be a flow, a purpose, and it should all come together as one.

Bringing these colors together in a plant combination ties it into the overall garden surroundings.

A small design tip as we wrap up the last days of spring. Take in nature, the wildlife and just enjoy the surroundings - onwards to summer.

Onwards to summer.

If you like this blog, check in for your daily share's worth of garden inspiration, landscape architecture and design tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! We invite you to contact Bilowz Associates, Inc., or to browse our portfolios. Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too. And you can also find us back on our Google+ Business Page. (Landscape architects/Landscape Design/serving Massachusetts and New England.)

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Digging the Shades

Shade in a garden is the coolest place to be in the summertime. (Landscape Design & Image/©Bilowz Associates Inc.)

Think summer garden and one might envision a welcoming area to take it all in. One of the coolest places to relax - you guessed it; planting yourself under a few shade trees. If you want to lounge under a canopy of shade, achieving the well-designed, usable outdoor living space requires a finishing touch.

Let's fast-forward past the hardscape and go to an often underused or overlooked feature - it's the choice of plant materials. What you decide to plant and where you plant it often ties the space together. Simply put, your planting plan works out to be the winning combination. Why? Because it's literally the lifeblood of a design. So if and when you delve into those shade perennials, one little tip to remember. Give them a chance to mass together. See some examples below that showcase and highlight shade plantings massed in lovely textures and colors.

Mass your shade plantings to add texture and color.

This next maintenance and design tidbit is for the massive glut of mulch lovers. It ranks second in 'Americana' fascination with first going to a plush, green lawn. While mulch can be useful for weed control and containing moisture, specifically for new plantings, it's a must to give your perennials a chance to grow in harmony. It's what good design is really all about. So take the crash course. Mass the beauty of your plantings - in this case, the shade perennials. Then give them a fighting chance to do their thing and lose the addiction to mulch. Use it sparingly, it's a sure thing. You'll get happy plant results.


Perfect harmony of plant material = less or no mulch.


What shade plantings do you intend to place in your garden to make your summer landscape look alive?

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Catching Up…

It’s been a bit of a bumpy winter for many, including me. While we are anxious to open the garden gates and welcome the longer days of spring...

Anxious to open the garden gates and wait for longer days...

there's only a few more ducky things to chat about before everything melts from this long, cold winter.

Even the ducks are wondering when the snow will melt...it is almost March 20th, 2015

Well, who knows? Rather than beautiful blossoms when the snow melts...


Doesn't this make you want to just get out and garden?

There's nothing more uplifting than a blossom in pink.

Hopefully we won't be uncovering something like this.

It's been a tough winter but either way, we will be glad for March 20th, the first day of spring.

Get your curves and form ready, for your ‪#‎landscape‬ that is!

Just one of those collages to share while we countdown the remaining days until spring!