Fast-Growing Trees for Midwest Yards

Landscaping Ideas for an Enchanting Outdoor Space

Just because you have a smaller plot doesn't mean you can't make it stand out. Maximize the impact of a minimal landscape with these small garden, front yard, and backyard garden ideas.

Garden of Eden The wild, earthly, Garden-of-Eden vibe is going to be big for gardens this year. So how do you translate that aesthetic to your own backyard? For starters, try mixing in edible plants with the rest of your landscape—don't just contain them to raised beds. This trend is also all about nurturing nature by incorporating pollinator- and bird-friendly plants, using organic products, and being mindful of soil health.

Landscaping is comprised of five main elements: color, line, texture, form and shape. These elements all work together to form a beautiful landscape design. Understanding each element will help you make good landscaping decisions, so we’ve outlined the ways each element can be incorporated into a design: 1. Color While all of the elements of landscaping are important, color might be the most essential. Color can add dimension, visual interest, and seasonal variety to your landscaping throughout the year. Color doesn’t just apply to the flowering plants you choose; you can also use paving, retaining walls, fences and mulch to add color to your landscape design. 2. Line Line refers to both hardscape and softscape elements, but typically it refers to the more structural features in your garden. Flower beds, walkways, patio perimeters, hedges and arbours can all be used to add lines to your garden and can help to draw attention to certain areas. If you prefer a more formal look, opt for hard lines as curved lines tend to be less formal and more relaxed. 3. Texture In any good design, texture is key. Plants are the best way to accomplish this goal, as the leaves, bark, flowers and branches all add instant texture. However, aggregates, mulch, paving stones, retaining walls and other structural features can also add texture to your garden. Be sure to choose elements with different textures throughout your garden to add visual interest. 4. Form You can think of form as the shape of a plant or other structural object. If you have a formal garden, the forms will be more tailored and manicured, with clipped hedges and defined lines. Informal landscapes tend to have natural forms and rely less on heavy pruning and maintenance. 5. Scale One of the trickiest elements in landscaping design is scale. You want to have a good balance between the size of your garden elements and the size of your home, as well as surrounding homes and public areas. If you have a smaller home, consider choosing elements that are in proportion to the size of your home. A larger home may be able to incorporate larger elements. Understanding these landscaping elements will help you design a landscape that you love! For expert help, contact The Luxury Landscape Co, LLC, for all your design and landscaping needs!

Well, it's past Memorial Day and we're working up to the 4th of July ... here are recommendations of complementary varieties in Red, White and Blue to plants. Red Geranium Red geraniums are a great centerpiece for a fourth of July potted container because geraniums are a floral choice that keeps giving and giving. Geraniums, when deadheaded, can continue to bloom and bloom all summer long. Pair this flower with white alyssum which will also flower all summer, and purple or red salvia plants which add their own pop of color without dominating the combination.

Like the island bed, there are no hard and fast rules for creating a berm. But some simple guidelines can help create a beautiful berm. Berms and island beds can be quite similar, but there are two notable differences. The island bed generally “floats” alone in the landscape, whereas a berms are sweeping hills that alter the landscape. A berm alters and becomes a part of the landscape, often flowing up to or adjoining with other elements of the landscape such as structures or an adjoining hills or a stand of woods. Tapering the berm to the natural ground level also makes it appear a part of the natural landscape, but it is becoming common to see berms walled up. The other primary difference is that an island is generally created on the existing elevation of the property. A berm significantly raises the elevation by building up hills or mounds with soil. If you are considering creating a berm, keep in mind that a surprisingly large quantity of soil is required. Cultivated soil may be cost prohibitive depending on the size and height of the berm you have envisioned. Check with excavating companies in your area, for a reasonable charge you may be able to acquire fill from construction projects such as digging for a new homes’ basement or a swimming pool. Add cultivated soil only on top and dig in to the planting areas where necessary. Purpose of a Berm There are many reasons to create a berm, some very functional, some strictly aesthetic. A functional berm usually becomes aesthetic in its’ finishing. Create interest in a flat landscape Separate functional areas Add a focal point Create a privacy screen Create a wind barrier Create a noise barrier Enhance a design Create a soil depth where soil conditions are unfavorable Elevate plants to a better viewing position Improve or redirect drainage

As homeowners spend more time outdoors, they have a new need for their outdoor space to feel more functional and complete. Whether it’s an outdoor kitchen, garden or pond, we are seeing homeowners lean toward creating more efficient, defined outdoor spaces. Landscapers and gardeners are now looking for ways to connect nature with patios and outdoor spaces to create the perfect spot to unwind and enjoy all the well-being benefits the outdoors provides.

Like the past few years, this has been a year dedicated to various home projects, including those in the yard. Everyone is after the perfect space, with beautiful landscaping, but deciding how to get that desired look can be difficult. Landscaping isn't something you want to rush, or it can look like a haphazard mess. Take the time to make plans for your landscaping projects for 2023, so you can do them right. To help get the ideas flowing, here are some great ideas to consider that can work for virtually anyone:

Mulch offers multiple decorative and practical benefits -- making mistakes when mulching can keep your soil from reaping benefits such as conserving moisture, suppressing weeds, reducing erosion and decreasing water runoff. What Does Mulch Do? Here are several ways mulch works in your landscaping: Keeps the weeds down and makes them easier to remove Slows evaporation of water, saving time on watering your plants and money, too Insulates the soil, protecting plants from extreme temperatures Gives beds a finished, polished look So, it's important to get your mulching right. Here's what landscape designers and researchers say are the best tips for how to mulch a yard. 1. Do Use Mulch as an Accent Mulching can help create healthy lawns but also has an aesthetic value. Choose colored mulch that complements the exterior colors of your home in the brick, stone, stucco and siding. For example, brownish/red pine mulch goes well with brick houses, says Jeremy Becker, owner of FireFly Landscapes in Kansas City. Using a dark mulch can contrast with flowers, improving your landscape design. Mulch also can be used to enhance your landscape theme and setting. 2. Do Look at Your Entire Landscape Consider using stone and mulch to create definition and interest in your landscaping project. 3. Do Clean It Out If re-mulching a bed, remove some of the old mulch, Becker says. Sometimes mulch has been added to the beds three to four times, so he recommends taking out some of the mulch that has built up over time. 4. Do Tweak the Thickness When you get close to an edge, such as pavement, stepping stone or tree trunk, thin it out. “There’s no benefit in having a pile of mulch next to a tree truck. You want to taper it down,” Day says. 6. Don’t Ignore Bare Soil Researchers are finding mulching has significant environmental benefits. Having bare soil on your property will cause erosion and sediment runoff, Day says. Mulching can help control erosion. Research by Day and Virginia Tech graduate student David Mitchell found that bare soil lost about five times as much sediment as soils covered with mulch. 7. Don’t Use Too Little or Too Much Mulch About 3 inches of mulch is recommended for beds, and Becker recommends mulching twice a year. Mulching with the right amount each time will help fend off weeds and conserve moisture, which will reduce your need to irrigate. 8. Don’t Forget Your Trees Place mulch around the base to protect the trunk, especially if you have younger trees, Day says. Mulch rings makes a protective area to reduce threats from other plants and keep mowers away. 9. Don’t Assume You Need Something Underneath Some people may want to use plastic or geotextiles, such as landscape fabric, to separate certain mulches, such as inorganic stone mulch, from the soil, Day says. There’s a belief that black plastic will keep weeds down. But adding a layer of plastic or landscape fabric could cause more water runoff and keep your garden from having a clean, streamlined look. If you use an organic mulch that will break down, like shredded hardwood bark, avoid landscape fabric because you want the mulch to be in contact with the soil to improve it, Day says. Plastic or landscape fabric could prevent water and rain from reaching the soil, and actually could increase runoff. Weeds also could grow into the landscape fabric, she adds. If the mulch shifts around or is replaced, the plastic or landscape fabric could show through. “It looks hideous when you have plastic or landscape fabric being exposed under the mulch,” Day says. 10. Don’t Use Bad Mulch The biggest pitfall is getting your mulch from an unreliable source, Day says. For example, mulch could be delivered with noxious weed seeds in it because it was stockpiled next to a field of weeds. "You could be paying for that for a long time," she says. Source: https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/landscaping-and-hardscaping/beds-and-mulch/10-mulch-dos-and-donts