Landscaping
5. Garden House Set within a shaded woodland garden carpeted in ferns, this screened-in garden house belongs to Massachusetts-based landscape designer Hilarie Holdsworth. Designed as a spot for reading and relaxing, the garden house brings all of the comforts of being inside — soft cushions and blankets, screened sides to keep out bugs and a lamp overhead — to the serene setting of the garden.
A pair of Adirondack chairs with plump cushions provide a lovely spot to pause with a cup of morning coffee and admire the view of the cottage-style garden by Garden Nest Residential Landscape. The beds include a mix of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), ferns, coral bells (Heuchera sp.) and lavender (Lavandula sp.) in a blue-purple color palette. A single recirculating fountain set among the foliage acts as a focal point and brings a peaceful sound to the garden. Design idea: Add calming sounds. Whether it’s the trickle of water from a fountain or the soft gong of a wind chime, introduced sounds can help set a serene scene.
Gauzy curtains frame the view of this courtyard garden by Peachy Green Garden Architects outside a home in Melbourne, Australia. Although the outdoor space is a modest size, it makes a big impact in the experience of the living space. The bamboo’s lush green leaves and repetitive vertical trunks combine with simple furnishings to evoke a feeling of calm. Design idea: Limit your plant palette. Planting 10 of a single type of plant in a space rather than 10 different plants creates a more powerful, less cluttered result.
Sorrel and Pansies As another option for partial-sun gardens, consider red-veined sorrel (Rumex acetosa), which looks highly decorative in mixed containers. Gardeners generally grow sorrel as an annual, snipping young, tender leaves. The plant can also be treated as a perennial, as it comes back year after year in the ground or in containers. Here, sorrel grows alongside edible pansy, which could easily be swapped for nonedible waterhyssop (Bacopa spp.) or edible variegated thyme for summer. Water requirement: Moderate to regular Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
5. Edible Flowers Edible blooms can be a great way to add color to edible container gardens. Edible flowers like nasturtium, pictured in this design by Margie Grace growing alongside a purple aeonium, do double duty in containers: They offer blooms that look pretty and can be clipped to use in preparing dishes. Other edible flowers to try: pansy, borage, calendula, lavender, violet and rose. The flowers of culinary herbs, such as chives and thyme, can also be added to salads or used as a garnish. Water requirement: Moderate Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
1. Hot-Colored Trio Glazed containers and attractive trellises provide growing space for a trio of pepper and cherry tomato plants. The potted gardens seen here, by landscape designer Pamela Crawford, are just as decorative as ornamental-only versions yet offer the sweet rewards of a summer harvest. The bright zinnias that fill in around the edges attract pollinators — great for producing high tomato and pepper yields — and beneficial insects like ladybugs. Water requirement: Moderate to regular Light requirement: Full sun
6. Coneflowers Long-blooming perennial coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) provide a steady stream of food to pollinators from late summer until the first frost, when most warm-season flowers are becoming more scarce. In this bright combination, landscape designer Courtney Olander of Olander Garden Design combined hot-colored coneflowers with bronze-leafed coral bells (Heuchera sp.), ‘Ascot Rainbow’ spurge (Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’) and trailing purple sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas). Water requirement: Moderate to regular Light requirement: Full sun
Design tip: Flower color and shape matter. Different colors attract different pollinators. For example, honeybees are more attracted to bright blue and violet flowers while butterflies and hummingbirds prefer reds, red-orange and pink. Plant a range of colors to support various types of pollinators or, with limited growing space, grow a species of flower to support a specific native pollinator. Likewise, blossom shape plays a role in inviting or excluding which species can access the nectar and pollen. The shape and length of a hummingbird’s peak and the length of a bee’s tongue enable both species to access the nectar of tubular flowers, such as salvia and penstemon,
3. Lantana Bright-flowering bush lantana (Lantana camara) attract butterflies in particular, although hummingbirds and other pollinators will also frequent the blooms. In this sunny container designed by Susan Irving of The Crafted Garden, lantana and golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) grow in a pot beneath a Meyer lemon tree. Water requirement: Moderate to regular Light requirement: Full sun
Plant a few pots with sweet smelling lavender (Lavandula spp.) and your patio will soon be abuzz with visiting bees. In this design by Jonathan Snow, containers of lavender, confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and olives make for a lush Mediterranean-style rooftop garden in London’s Kensington neighborhood. The rooftop would be a perfect place for pollinators seeking sustenance to stop for a forage. Growing note: Lavender doesn’t like sitting in wet containers. Plant in quick-draining potting soil in a spot that receives full sun.
This container by Simply Garden Design combines two types of Salvia — a pollinator favorite — along with chartreuse and dark purple sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas), grass-like sedge, New Zealand flax (Phormium sp.), blue lobelia, white geraniums and trailing bacopa. The taller salvia (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’) has longer, tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds.
Wissel’s Saguaro False Cypress (syn. Wissel’s Saguaro Lawson’s cypress, Wissel’s Saguaro Port Orford cedar) (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Wissel’s Saguaro’) This is a conifer with attitude. With oddly bent branches like the cactus, this stands out from other plants by virtue of its shape as well as its deep blue-green color. This is my go-to conifer for narrow spaces, since it rarely grows wider than 2 feet. Origin: The species is native to Oregon and California, but this cultivar was developed in the Netherlands. Where it will grow: Hardy to -10 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 6 to 8)
Twisted Growth’ deodar cedar Photo/Illustration: Ancil Nance Everyone wants a national arboretum in their courtyard, but adding variety and texture without overcrowding is always an issue in a small space, particularly at ground level. As a solution, consider trees that add space—visual space—to your limited area with narrow, upright habits. Trees that grow above eye level take up only a little precious yard space by, instead, claiming a certain amount of the overhead sky and helping alleviate the cramped feel common to small spaces. Some trees ideally suited for this situation are ‘Twisted Growth’ deodar cedar and ‘Hillside Upright’ spruce. The deodar cedar has distinctive slender silver-green needles. Its branches casually droop, carving arches in the skyline. This elegant tree is drought tolerant once established in well-drained soils.
Any light ---White and gold. A combination of variegated ivy, white cyclamen and jewel-like golden ornamental peppers makes for a fresh winter look. Ornamental peppers could be traded for potted kumquats; in cold-winter regions try dwarf holly or sprays of cut branches and berries. Plant list: Florists’ cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum, zones 9 to 11) Ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum) Pansies (Viola sp.) Variegated ivy
Any light--Elegant evergreens. Boxwoods shaped into neat cones paired with Japanese skimmia make for an easy-care window box planting that looks good year-round. Japanese skimmia has glossy green leaves, cone-shaped clusters of pinkish-white flowers in early spring and decorative red berries in winter. Dwarf hybrids of Japanese skimmia (best for window boxes) are self-fertile and all form berries. Standard-sized Japanese skimmia come as separate male or female plants that must be planted together for female plants to set berries. Plant list: Boxwood (Buxus sp.) Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica, zones 7 to 9) Light requirement: Partial shade Caution: The leaves and berries of Japanese skimmia are toxic if ingested.
Partial shade - these get morning light - Mums and edible greens. In this second window box by KMS Gardens and Design, Simpson included a surprise element in the planting mix: edible rainbow chard. The leaves add bold, colorful foliage above a row of yellow and bronze bedding mums, mauve coral bells and trailing variegated ivy. Cut branches with red bittersweet berries add an element of wildness to the vignette. Plant list: ‘Bright Lights’ Rainbow chard Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.) Coral bells (Heuchera sp.) Golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’, zones 5 to 9) Variegated ivy
Partial shade -Autumn color. Moving into fall, decorative foliage plants, grasses, late-blooming perennials and dried accents take the place of warm-season annuals in window box displays. In this Chicago garden, designer Kathy Molnar Simpson of KMS Gardens and Design used a large ornamental cabbage to anchor each box, with ‘Prairie Fire’ carex, orange-flowering kalanchoe, ornamental ‘Chilly Chilly’ peppers and blue plumbago flowers filling in the sides. Decorative gourds and cones, both mounted on sticks, add even more color and seasonal interest. Plant list: ‘Savoy Ave’ ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea ‘Savoy Ace’) Prairie Fire sedge (Carex testacea ‘Indian Summer’, zones 6 to 10) Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.) ‘Caramel’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Caramel‘, zones 4 to 9) ‘Chilly Chilly’ ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum ‘Chilly Chilly’) Cape plumbago (Plumbago auriculata, zones 9 to 11)
Full sun idea--Dynamic duo. For this French-inspired home in Orange County, California, a combination of geraniums and trailing ivy complete the scene. Geraniums are one of the all-star plants of summer window boxes. They bloom for months with little care and come in both bushy, upright forms and trailing varieties. Plant list: Geranium (Geranium sp.) Variegated ivy
Full sun idea ---Trailing vines. For a window box that’s positioned to be admired from a distance, a mass of lush, trailing vines packs a visual punch. A combination of lush green and purple sweet potato vines and orange-flowering canna pop against the pale-colored shingle exterior of this Minnesota home, creating a statement that’s visible near and far. Plant list: Ornamental sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas cvs., zones 9 to 11) Canna (Canna sp.)
Partial Shade idea---Pink and white. Transitioning boxes from spring to summer offers an opportunity to swap out violas — which will quickly look spent as temperatures rise — for summer annuals like petunia, bacopa, lobelia and long-blooming perennials like geraniums. This colorful combination in New York by Astra Gardens features two types of pink geraniums, fragrant lavender for height and cloud-like billows of white lobelia. Plant list: Lavender (Lavandula sp.) Geranium (Geranium sp.) Lobelia (Lobelia sp.)
Partial shade to full sun
Anchor with evergreen ie: boxwood and switch out color seaonally
8. Clean Lines If minimalist spaces and orderly lines put your mind at ease, you may find a sense of peacefulness in this elegant patio in Washington, D.C., designed by GardenWise. The designers created the floor with cut stone pavers set in lines, interspersed half with granite cobbles and half with tufts of dark green mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus). It forms an interesting but restful pattern that draws one’s eye through the space. Design idea: Repeat forms. Bring a sense of visual calm by using the same forms in repetition, such as a row of three weeping conifers in matching pots on a patio.
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