Chris, my husband, and I are traveling a path on which many of you have traveled before. We are empty nesters who are downsizing. We have chosen to sell the home in which we have raised a family, developed a beautiful private outdoor oasis, and created countless memories. We are grateful to be able to move into my grandparent’s old farm house. The farm house located only a few miles away from our current home holds wonderful memories but little in the way of landscaping and certainly no outdoor oasis. We have our work cut out for us and thankfully we have learned so much from homeowners, like you, who have successfully navigated from one phase of life to the next.
Part of the transition to this new home will involve creating new landscaping. While beginning this process, I find myself saying the same things that many homeowners have said to me over the past 30 years. I want to develop a beautiful but low maintenance landscape. The plants need to be of a certain size when they are planted. I want to replicate, perhaps on a smaller scale, the beauty that took me 24 years to create at our previous home. Certain plants hold special memories for me and I would like to incorporate some of those plants in our new landscaping. Screening is important and needs to be accomplished to allow for privacy throughout all 4 seasons. Above all, I would like to create a landscaping that allows for joy. We all deserve joy from our gardens.
This column focuses on creating beautiful new landscaping while minimizing the maintenance required. It also includes how to incorporating favorite plants, developing a sitting area, selectively using plants to screen areas and determining the appropriate size plants to install.
Our current landscaping includes a magnolia tree that blooms for an inordinately long time. Eight years ago, our daughter and her now fiancé posed under the tree for their prom pictures. Leaving that tree will be difficult as each time I see it, I think of them. Our new landscape will include a magnolia tree in their honor in addition to moss roses, bayberry, lilacs, a fringe tree and peonies. As Julie Andrews proudly proclaims, “these are a few of my favorite things.” Incorporating plants that hold special significance is a way to make a new landscaping feel familiar.
A low maintenance landscape is often the key to being able to enjoy the outdoors without feeling overwhelmed by all of the work that needs to be done. Carefully choosing plants based on their mature height and widths will reduce the amount of pruning that needs to be done. Plants that have long bloom times, are disease and insect resistant and don’t require deadheading will cut down dramatically on the time it takes to complete the gardening chores. Weeding can be minimized by evaluating the scope of the beds and reducing them if necessary. Applying Preen, a pre-emergent herbicide and spreading mulch also minimizes the weeds but will not eliminate them completely. Watering plants is often best achieved through a series of soaker hoses that is interlaced through the plants. Choosing plants that are tolerant of clay soils, drought tolerant and resistant to rabbits also helps to create a low maintenance landscape.
Developing screening in a landscaping requires not only correct plant placement but also the correct plants being chosen. Plants such as burning bush, forsythia and viburnum offer excellent screening but only certain times of the year because they are deciduous. Pine trees, spruce trees and arborvitae shrubs offer screening year-round. Due to the mature height and width of pine and spruce trees, they need to be sited carefully. Karl Forester Grass and Maiden Grass screen lower items such as utility boxes, but again, only during certain times of the year. Perennial flowers can be used to divert people’s attention away from a line of site such as a patio or a window.
Choosing the size of plants that are to be planted initially is usually a combination of budget and availability. Other factors may also include their growth rate, the intended use and type of plant. Generally, shrubs are available in a two, three or five-gallon container. The root systems on some shrubs are balled and wrapped in burlap. Those shrubs are usually categorized by their height when they are planted in the ground. Trees are typically sold by the caliper (width) of the trunk. Usually trees are sold as 2-4” caliper. Some trees such as multi-stem and evergreen trees are sold by their height. Ornamental grasses, perennial flowers, vines and groundcovers are all sold by the container size such as one or two-gallon. Plants for which the intended use is screening are typically 5-6’ when planted. Some homeowners choose to plant larger plants in the front of their home and smaller plants on the sides and back of the home.
Since we became empty nesters, our dog, Annie, occupies the pride of place in our home. Many meals and conversations now take place outdoors simply because Annie loves being outside. Our new home unfortunately doesn’t have a patio. Developing a patio that allows for a grill, table and chairs will be one of the first outdoor projects that we tackle. We have begun planning for the placement of the patio by using a can of spray paint to mark out on the lawn the location. This gives us a better visual and helps us literally walk through our project. We will use brick pavers for construction although many homeowners choose traditional or stamped concrete and achieve beautiful results.
We say goodbye to our current yard this week and hello to all of the potential our new yard possesses. It is with sincere gratitude that I thank you for all of the advice, stories and time you have spent teaching me how to navigate the path successfully from one home to the next. As you know, it is not an easy transition, but one that each of you have completed and for that, and many other reasons, you have my admiration.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
