10 Ways to Create a Landscape That Actually Looks Like Yours
To create a prominent landscape the quickest way is to stop copying the neighbor's yard and instead design the space based on how you actually use it‚ what grows well in Tennessee's climate‚ and which plants create layers of interest over all four seasons․ Everything else‚ including hardscaping‚ lights and focal points‚ is built on top of that․ Here's how to get there without busting your budget and without creating a yard that looks just like everyone else's on your street․
1․ Start With How You'll Use The Space‚ Not How It Looks in a Magazine․
Before buying a single plant‚ ask what the yard is supposed to do․ A family with small children needs open lawn and tough groundcover‚ not a fragile perennial border․ Place a small patio for morning coffee near sweet-smelling plants like Southern magnolia or sweetshrub․ And plan the three or four things you actually want to do outside‚ then design backward from that․
2․ Work With Your Zone‚ Not Against It
The majority of Tennessee is in USDA hardiness zones 6b and 7b‚ but the state has some areas in the mountains in zone 6a‚ and a few in the western lowlands in zone 8a․ This gives you plenty of options․ Plants that grow well on Atlanta gardening blogs probably will not survive our hard winters․ Native and near-native plants such as Eastern redbud‚ oakleaf hydrangea‚ black-eyed Susan‚ and Tennessee coneflower already thrive in the clay soil‚ humidity‚ and freeze-thaw winters of our area and grow easier from seed than those from other areas․
3․ Build in Layers‚ Not Rows
When planting your trees‚ do not plant them in a straight line․ Instead‚ think in layers‚ where the canopy layer has shade trees or big flowering trees‚ the understory layer has dogwoods‚ redbuds and small ornamental trees‚ the shrub layer has hydrangeas‚ azaleas and viburnum‚ and the groundcover or perennial layer is on the ground․ Instead of placing plants in rows‚ the plantings are layered‚ so the landscape may be read as planned and mature far sooner than single-layer planting methods․
4․ Plan for the seasons‚ not just spring
Most yards shine for six weeks in April and are bland the rest of the year․ Improve this by selecting at least one plant that looks good in each month: spring bulbs or flowering dogwoods‚ summer perennials or ornamental grasses‚ autumn foliage from sugar maple or sourwood‚ and winter evergreens like Eastern red cedar or hollies․ This is why TN Nursery has mixed perennial and shrub collections so you aren't stuck reworking beds every couple of months to keep something blooming throughout the seasons․
5․ Use Groundcovers to Do the Heavy Lifting
Deeply mulched bare areas between plantings can be filled with creeping phlox‚ ajuga or moss as a ground cover for weeding suppressing and moisture retention in the muggy summers common in Tennessee․ Moss continues to be the default in regions where grass does not grow in shade and moisture‚ giving a landscape an established‚ woodland feel in a single growing season‚ as opposed to the three-to-five years needed for turf to look settled․
6․ Add Hardscaping That Uses Your Area's Materials
Natural Tennessee fieldstone‚ river rock and reclaimed timber tie a landscape to the region in a way that big-box pavers never will․ Even the simplest stone path to a seating nook or a low dry-stack wall curbing the edge of a vegetable bed do not look like inconvenient lines in the landscape․ Also‚ the smaller the yard‚ the smaller such a water feature‚ so that a postage-stamp yard doesn't need a 4-foot-diameter water basin‚ but could hold a corner bed with a 2-foot-diameter bubbling urn fountain․
7․ Repeat Some Signature Plants Instead of Buying One of Everything
A rookie mistake is buying one of everything at the nursery that looks good․ The result is busy and disjointed․ Instead‚ look for three to five signature plants; for example‚ a native fern‚ a variety of hydrangea‚ and a flowering perennial․ Repeat them throughout the beds․ Repetition creates rhythm; it also gives you a way of organizing a wildly diverse list․
8․ Don't Skip the Soil Work
The heavy clay soil in Middle Tennessee doesn't drain well‚ and is the single largest reason for failure of perennials in their first year․ Amend soil with compost before planting․ If you are growing azaleas‚ hydrangeas or any other acid-loving shrub‚ spend the ten dollars on a soil test․ If your soil tends to be alkaline (which is the case here in Tennessee‚ too)‚ adding a little sulfur saves you years of yellowing foliage․
9․ Buy in Stages‚ Not All at Once
You don't have to landscape your whole yard at once and shouldn't․ It's best to choose structural plants (trees and large shrubs) first because they grow slowly and form the framework into which other plants can fit․ You can add more perennials and groundcovers over the next one or two seasons as your budget allows․ Generally‚ you can save 20 - 40 percent on a comparable plant by ordering from an online nursery instead of a local garden center․ Shopping the late summer and fall sales (when nurseries want to move plants before winter) can help your gardening budget go further․
10․ Let the landscape change over time
Don't be alarmed if the tree looks spindly in the first year or two․ It takes a dogwood sapling five years to build its canopy of blooms․ A hedgerow of hydrangeas fills in within two to three seasons‚ and there will be no good reason to cram in extra plants to make it look finished․ In a few years‚ they'll be competing for sunlight and root space and you'll be ripping out plants you paid for․ But give the design time to breathe and fill out and what you get is a yard with depth‚ texture and its own personality․
The best Tennessee landscapes aren't based on lots of money or even lots of plants․ The best are based on a good design‚ natives and regionally adapted plants‚ and a little patience․ If you start with the structure and add the seasonal color‚ the extraordinary garden will reflect your own lifestyle - the unique part takes care of itself․
