Gardens with Homes
In the spring you might have a few blue wild indigos (Baptisia australis) or golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) in bloom, or perhaps some pasque flowers (Pulsatilla patens). These plants donāt lose architectural interest as they fade ā in fact they have stunning seed heads ā but they do need other plants to fill the flower void. Follow with a succession of grouped summer-flowering perennials, such as coneflowers (Echinacea spp.), rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) or butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Use mass plantings to create flow.
Meandering garden paths.
Notice how the serpentine bed lines in this large garden create a peaceful feeling and continuously pull the eye through the space, posing the question of what lies beyond.
In this garden the alternating lawn and paving stones are set at the same height, making mowing simple
A concentric-circles effect like this is achieved by setting the mower at different cutting heights.
Mulch pathways cushion the feet and bring to mind the seemingly silence of a wilderness retreat.
Perennials and Trees
Garden Art.
Cutout windows in hedging and walls.
The Secluded Nook
The Pathway Sweeps through The Garden.
Purple Catmint (Nepeta) and Pink Dianthus.
Sedona, chief critter of the backyard, loves to hang out in this beautiful landscape, and apparently likes to match his Pucci-esque accessories to the perennials.
A dark forested backdrop provides conservation woodlands.
The Herb Garden channels the view to a Grove of Paper Birch Trees.
The garden's geometry pulls horizontal bands of brick through an herb garden. Between the bricks, creeping thyme, culinary thyme, rosemary and chives
Pops of purple from Catmint and Allium tie the back garden to the front
Astilbes, geraniums and caramel coral bells.
Catmint and geranium rozanne add ever-blooming color down the front walkway throughout the summer.
The mounded forms and spires of the perennials, ornamental grasses and inkberry.
Plants like irises add tall green spikes and flower earlier in the season, while plants like lamb's ear add soft silvery green texture closer to the ground that for months.
Salvia, miscanthus and peonies combine warm and cool colors.
Add Doggies to your garden.
In rural Maine to eliminate the need to mow 2 acres of grass a design of meadows, an orchard and colorful perennial gardens
Even in winter, there remains some color, such as the gold of faded straw, which has a subtler beauty than a palette of flowers.
Fine-textured Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) sways readily in a breeze.
Fall The grasses put on their show when summer comes to an end. In fall, colors give way to textures.
Grasses capture and diffuse light better than any other kind of plant.
As the soft wind blows through the garden.
Temperatures can be cool in the far north. The garden sleeps, but with one eye open: Deep down, the roots are still alive.
If you are unsure about how to implement this concept, start by stretching a garden hose across your sidewalk or driveway until you discover a continuous line that pleases you.
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