Smart Garden

While sprawling backyards were once the norm, inner-city living has slowly, but surely, shrunk our gardens. But small garden design doesn't have to be inspiring. When you take over a small space like a patio, patio balcony, or front yard, there's no need to say goodbye to the lush green havens of our dreams—it's an opportunity to get creative by maximizing the outdoor space you have available. Space-saving solutions like vertical gardens, statement potted plants and climbing vines are perfect for pushing the boundaries of a small yard. All you need is a little imagination and these small garden design and landscaping ideas can transform a humble area into an urban oasis. Small Front Yard  Lanscaping Ideas  Six Tips For Effective Weed Control 1. Screening plants Bamboo is a favorite screening plant, but be careful which species you choose. The bamboo used below is Bambusa textilis 'Gracilis' (Fine Weaver's Bamboo), a non-invasive, cluster variety. ...

Your Home and Which to Avoid Planting a tree near your home provides many benefits, including a beautiful landscaping accent and shade and privacy. It can even improve your property value There are many benefits of planting trees near your home to make the area around your home look natural and soften the look. Having a beautiful ornamental tree in your front yard increases your home's curb appeal by making a nice first impression, and can also increase your property value. A strategically placed tree in the yard or backyard patio area also has practical benefits as it provides shade and a pleasant place to relax on hot sunny days. Likewise in winter, trees come into their own as they provide wind protection when you step out of the house to get fresh air in the cold season. Trees are great for privacy and screening, isolation from neighbors, the road, and other places you want to hide or disguise. Trees can provide privacy around a patio or porch and break up sight...

These unique, durable perennials are perfect for planting in the garden Silver foliage is a useful tool in garden design because it offers subtle variety that easily combines with all other foliage and flower colors. Unlike attention-grabbing chartreuse hostas or in-your-face burnt orange heathers, silver-leafed plants provide a soft glow in the subdued light of a shade garden. They don't scream for attention; They pull you in gently. Truth be told, there are few plants with silver leaves. Commonly referred to as "silvery," the leaves have fine white hairs, leaves in shades of gray, and occasional foliage with a true metallic silver sheen. Add to that the contrast of white combined with gray-green, resulting in muted "silver" leaves (especially when played against the dark green leaves of a neighboring plant), resulting in a wide range of foliage colors and patterns combined. Referred to as "Silver". Honestly, this article should be calle...

Blooming stunner from a species These shrubs have interesting foliage, flowers, or growing habit to enhance their appeal There are few groups of plants more valuable in the garden than broadleaf foliage. They provide garden structure and interest when nothing else happens. This diverse group usually includes any woody plant that does not lose its leaves in fall or winter and is not a conifer with needles or scales (think pines, junipers, firs, or arborvidae). Broadleaf evergreens represent some of our most popular and useful shrubs: rhododendrons, camellias, hollies and boxwoods. These plants offer a variety of textures with their variegated foliage and can often be complemented with beautiful flowers and graceful growing habits. A long blooming stunner from a species full of beauties Colorfu Succulents That You should Grow Night Blooming Flowers 1. ‘Donation’ Camellia One of my favorite varieties is the 'Gift' camellia, which does well in full sun to partial sh...

Common Poinsettia Care  Poinsettias covered in glitter foil brighten up the holidays with red, creamy white, pink or bi-colored blooms. Some have flowers painted in colors like blue and purple and some are glitter-bombed for extra sparkle. But the colorful parts of this plant are not the flowers. They are bracts (modified leaves). The true flowers are the small green or yellow areas in the center of the bracts. While spray-painted poinsettias usually don't last as long as natural ones, all of these plants do well with a little TLC. In return, they will reward you with their festive colors in the New Year. Start by avoiding these 7 poinsettia care mistakes people often make. 1. Exposure to frost Poinsettias are grown in colorful greenhouses for the holidays. They are then sent for sale. You can buy them in greenhouse pots or in arrangements or gardens   When we carry a pet plant from a warm store through a cold parking lot to the car, it will begin to lose its le...

Give your potted plants a late-season refresh If you're looking out the window during the dog days of summer and the potted plants you're growing are looking a little dull, you're not alone. It's very common, says bird and flower horticulturist Melinda Myers. Don't worry. Here are some reasons why your potted plants need attention. We have some easy ways to put a little life back into your small space garden. Problem: Too much vegetation "In mid-season, some plants fade and are crowded out by more vigorous plants. The bigger ones take off," . Part of this is the instinct to pack as many plants as possible into a container when planting in the spring. Sure, doing so gives instant gratification, but you don't take into account that these potted plants keep growing big, forming big roots in their pots and taking up a lot of space. Why Ola Irrigation Ideas For Perenneal Flower Garden Design Solution: Try a new container Freshening up your ga...

 Perennial planting combinations  What makes it bloom? This is one of the big questions gardeners struggle with. This list of best perennial planting combinations will help you create the most spectacular pairings and fill your garden with color throughout the seasons. 1. Pair perennials and roses Add structure and beauty to your perennial planting combinations by adding a generous selection of roses. Plant shrub roses in clusters or drifts to provide solid blooms where you need color most. The pink 'Knockout' rose is an eye-catching companion to the blue salvia in this border. 2. Rely on Classic Native Plants If you want a colorful garden but don't have a lot of time to worry about it, choose easy-care classics like the coneflower and black-eyed Susan, native to much of North America. These heat and drought tolerant plants bloom from summer through fall with minimal care. This perennial planting mix creates beautiful bouquets that you can enjoy all summer l...

You can let a large garden develop. And by 'large' I mean a garden more than 80 feet (25 m) long. All of the most successful small gardens I've seen lately have a strong idea behind them. In a small space, you can see everything at once, so it's important that everything looks good together. This principle applies regardless of shape, although many small gardens are wider than they are long. See here for general tips on the Shallow Wide Garden . Here are three successful small space garden ideas to inspire you. A plant-lover's garden After visiting Philip Ostenbring's garden (open once a year for NGS), I realized that a small outdoor space for unusual plants is a wonderful display area. There is no need to plant in a small space, in threes or in drifts, as the plants are very close to you. Each model looks great in a courtyard, terrace or patio garden. Whereas if you dot a variety of single plants around a large garden, everything can look out of p...