Posts Tagged ‘Garden Perennials’

Common Landscape Problems And How To Fix Them

There are plenty of common landscape problems that can really mar the beauty of your yard. These problems range from something aesthetic to things that can actually affect the over all health of your landscape. When you encounter these problems, it is a good idea to fix them as soon as possible.

If you have ideas of your own to fix landscape problems, so much the better. If not, here are some suggestions for making simple improvements to the landscape.


Side yards are usually among the most common of landscape problems. They are so narrow that they may be hard to maintain as far as lawn is concerned, and they also make better passages than practical places to play or sit. Sometimes they seem like the perfect place to “store” odd items and then simply turn into junk heaps. To prevent junky or barren side yard from tainting an otherwise beautiful landscape design, turn into a cottage garden or courtyard garden.

Perennials and ornamental grasses, all in a variety of colors, are perfect for side yards. Turn it into a kind of wild little garden full of color. It will look beautiful and will not be an inviting place to stack junk. If you would still like to use the side yard as a pathway, it is possible to install a little pathway made from stone.

Exposed air conditioners and swamp coolers can be very visible blights on the landscape. While this is mostly a problem of aesthetics, exposed appliances can be heated by the sun, causing them to work harder and use more energy. Both of these problems can be fixed simply by planting a small tree or a hedge.

The offending appliance is screened from view, and the shade helps keep the unit cooler, resulting in lower energy bills. This can even be done in areas where space is at a premium: you can plant a narrow hedge of nandina (should be 30 inches from the unit) or you can add a trellis with a colorful vine or climbing roses.

There are areas in your landscape that are too small for grass, and sometimes you may have odd corners that are not feasible for you to plant grass. Most of these areas are near an entrance, or at the edge of a patio or deck. Some of them are near walkways. No matter where they are, these areas are hard to mow and otherwise maintain.

Solutions to these problems are also varied. Making use of containers with plants is an attractive solution. One large container with one plant can be used, or it is possible to make a small container garden with a variety of plants in containers of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Problem areas such as these are also ideal locations for accent objects such as an obelisk, a stature or even topiary bushes. Water features can add cooling and soothing effects to your landscape, and there are a variety of water features that can be built to fit into nearly any space.

Solving landscape problems is not too difficult if you use a little creativity. These problems can transform eye sores into beautiful additions to your yard that create enjoyment for you and add distinction to your home environment.

Long Lasting Flowers To Keep Costs Down

Flower gardens have always added beauty and life to a property. For the plant enthusiast, having a flower garden is not just a hobby, but it is also a passion. The disappointing part of having a flower garden is when they go out of bloom. Fortunately, there are many flowers that bloom all year long or last a long time, depending on the region and climate. Most gardeners plant perennials because they bloom each year, however, when properly taken care of, they can stay in bloom for a long time. The key to getting your flowers to stay in bloom for an extended period of time is to plant hardy plants so they last as late as possible into the fall. Examples of hardy plants include: mums, carnations, wild flowers, daisies, geraniums, marigolds moss roses, and peonies.

The following is a list of flowers that bloom all year long or last a long time:

1. Day Lillies – Although the Day Lily lasts only one day when it blooms, it is a very hardy plant that will bloom late in the fall. They are available in a broad range of colors and bloom over and over into the late season.

2. Catmint – The bloom span of the catmint is approximately 2 – 3 months. These plants will bloom throughout the summer. They are very robust and can thrive in drought prone climates. These flowers are blue-lavender in color and have gray foliage. They make a lovely addition to the flower garden.

3. Black-Eyed Susan – This pretty flower grows well in many regions. Their petals look like flat landing pads and they have a bloom span of 3 months. Deadheading will prolong bloom. They grow well in soil that is well drained.

4. Yarrow – This flower can bloom for 3 months or more. It is a hardy flower that can grow in a variety of regions and climates. Gardeners will deadhead the spent flowers for repeat bloom. These flowers prefer drier climates and soil.

5. Bellflower – The species Campanula, or Bellflower, has a bloom span of 2 months or more. They grow best during cooler summers. They should be grown in partial shade. There a number of species of the Bellflower and they are easy to grow and maintain.

6. Pin Cushion Flowers – These flowers look like pincushions and the stems are long and lanky looking. The bloom span can be over 3 months if you use deadheading. They require the full sun to thrive. Pin Cushion Flowers are a very interesting looking flower making them a very popular choice.

7. Coneflowers – This hardy flower can bloom for 2 – 3 months. They thrive well during periods of drought. They have long stalks and are a very colorful flower. They are popular because they attract a variety butterflies and birds. Deadheading will prolong the bloom period. To thrive, they require good soil drainage and full sun.

Planting long lasting flowers will help you maintain a beautiful blooming garden for a long time. The key point to remember is the woodier and thicker the stem, the hardier the flower because it can better resist the frost. There are many flower sites that provide essential tips on picking long lasting flowers. As well, you can consult with your local garden centre for advice on picking the best flowers. For those who view flower gardening as an art and passion, knowing the plant’s structure, attributes, and bloom period ensures they will extend the bloom time to much later in the fall.

Excess mulch is a landscape problem that has plant health implications. The problem is especially prevalent near driveways, walkways, and lawns. Mulch often overflows from flowerbeds or gardens, and this can create an untidy look to the yard. Additionally, if you have too much mulch (preferred depth is 2 to 4 inches) you can damage the plants and cause root rot.

There are a couple of things that can be done to prevent mulch overflow (which can happen if you put 3 inches of mulch on top of the soil bed). One of the things you can do is to use ground cover plants along the borders. This will be attractive and help to contain the mulch. Another possibility is to lower the soil level about 3 inches. Then you can add the mulch and rather than being higher than a nearby hard permanent surface, the mulch will be level with it, but still performing its job of plant care.

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Perennials Provide a Riot of Color – Garden Flowers 101

Garden perennials are popular with many gardeners, though there is a danger that the new gardener will over-plant them as they wait for those already planted to mature. The secret with perennials is patience, and if you want something to add color to your garden while you wait, then plant some annuals for the first year until the perennials really show their true colors.

A perennial needs at least a year before it flowers properly and that is when some gardeners get impatient. In year two, although you get some show of flowers, you will still not be impressed and might start to wonder why you chose perennials. That feeling totally changes, however, with the explosion of color in year three. That is when you will start to regret the extra plants you put in because the first ones did not seem to be doing anything.


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Once your perennials are established it will seem very easy just to sit back and admire your work, but you will have no time for that. Perennials do not last for ever, and the definition of the term is one that lasts for more than two years. As some die away you will have to remove and replace them with fresh plants. You can even move them about the garden since perennials are ideal for replanting. In fact many gardeners have a space set aside for starting off new garden perennials in a variety of colors that they can use later for filling in gaps as plants die. This avoids them having to wait until the plants mature.

It is not easy to fill an empty space in a row of flowers if you have to wait two or three years for a plant to flower, and a small personal nursery area is a good idea and quite common with gardeners experienced in growing perennials. Others fill spaces with annuals, but they never quite look as though they belong.

Growing perennials takes experience. Perhaps not so much the growing, but the planning and envisaging what your garden will look like in three years time. It is not easy to space your plants correctly since they will spread out a great deal more than you think as they mature, and some such as asters, can continue to bloom when others have died out. The overall plan of a garden should take several aspects of the plant into consideration, such as height, spread, color, whether it prefers shade or direct sunlight, and how long they flower for.

As mentioned, the aster can bloom past September into the fall, and you don’t want to plant asters together with summer blooms that die off in August. You will then be left with some asters all on their own and, while asters are lovely plants, it might not be as you planned it. Perennials can bloom right through from April to November, sometimes even later depending on the climate and the weather conditions.

Let’s face it, there are more to perennials than most people think, and they include plants as diverse as rhubarb, daffodils, and other bulbs, corms and rhizomes, lilac and even dandelions and daisies. You also have the soft, fleshy stemmed herbaceous perennials such as the peony. These have fragrant flowers, the smell of which varies between varieties and come in reds, pinks and whites.

The beautiful blue cornflower, also known as bachelor’s buttons because they were once worn by bachelors when they went courting, are excellent flowers for cutting, and the lovely flower belies the foliage that can get quite ugly as it ages. For this reason cornflower is best grown among other flowers with sufficient foliage to hide that of the cornflower.

Lobelia plants can be either annuals or perennials, and the delicate purple lobelia is very attractive. Although most people generally regard lobelia as being a purple plant, there are over 350 species of lobelia, and the short-lived perennial lobelia cardinalis has red flowers that appear in the summer through to the fall. The lobelia siphilitica (Azure Sage), on the other hand, does not appear till the fall and has delicate deep blue flowers. These plants prefer to be planted in clumps where they show their colors to best advantage.

The geranium is another garden perennial that looks good in borders, beside ponds or even as ground cover. The true geranium is a hardy perennial with a fabulous range of red to blue colors that love well drained soil and shady conditions. There are over 300 species, and new hybrids coming along all the time.

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In summary, garden perennials have to be understood, and once the gardener new to them gets past the first two or three years then he or she will be hooked. They provide a riot of color to any garden, large or small, and are able to be easily moved and transplanted to suit your particular planning needs.

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