Archive for July 2014

Hot Summer Color Flowering Plants That Last

Carol with coneflower

Carol Lindsay of Landscape Design in a Day standing in a parking strip of Cutleaf Coneflower

Here are three great plants for summer color in the Northwest.  These vibrant flowering plants are very easy to care for and come back each year as long as they have good drainage.  These won’t survive our Northwest winters planted in a low place or puddle.  If the clay is hard and dry as pottery in the summer we do have plants that will live in these conditions, but very few and not these.

Hardy Fuchsia
Flowers all summer and into late fall. I had mine inside a courtyard and used flowers for my Thanksgiving table every year. Hummingbirds love this plant.  It’s old fashioned but my 30 something clients love it too.

Fuchsia 'Chickadee'

Photo of Fuchsia magellanica ‘Chickadee’ courtesy of Jockey Hill Nursery

There is quite a variety of shrub sizes, foliage colors, and variable sizes of flowers.  Look for hot pinks, hot reds, deep purples, orchid and pinks.  Some sun is needed to get  flowers.  All day dappled sun coming through tree leaves is perfect!  Morning sun and afternoon shade also works well. Deep shade works for annual Fuchsia baskets – don’t be confused.  The plants I’m talking about are shrubs Fuchsia magellanica  that come back every year and will not flower with too little sun.

Herbstonne rudbeckia

Our client Mary loves her cutleaf coneflower!

Rudebeckia Lacinata ‘Autumn Sun
Common Name: Cutleaf coneflower
Syn: Herbstonne

Here’s an easy plant on the other end of the spectrum in every way. Oh how to tell you??? Initially I used this plant to fill in planting areas while my clients wait for their new slower long term plants to grow in.  After 3 years when it was time to remove the 5′ to 6′ tall Rudebeckia, my clients tended to say……….”noooooo,  I love it so, it just means summer to me!”

So we found ways to keep the plant in the garden and the client happy.  Rudebeckia Herbstonne  grows to 6′ tall and softens the view of a fence beautifully, it loves hot sun, but will cope with perhaps as little as 4 hours of sun.  The flowers are drop dead georgeus.  The plant is low water needs and you won’t need to stake it!  It stands on it’s own!

Kims knee high coneflower

Photo courtesy of Monrovia

Echinacea
Color! Color! Color! is what Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Knee High’ and E. p. ‘Kims Knee High Red’ are all about.  They start flowering in June and keep going through August.  In September, coneflowers turn cool burnt colors and if you are willing to leave the flower heads overwinter … the chickadees will make a nice meal of the seeds in late winter.

This plant is easy once you get the soil prepped for it.  The only way to lose it is have slugs eat it all the first year while it’s just shooting up out of the ground in spring. Many varieties of coneflower get too tall and floppy.  The Knee High varieties do not flop and is one of my personal favorites!

True Low Maintenance Landscape Uses Synthetic Lawn

Save Time and Money by Installing Synthetic Lawn

Low maintenance landscape design in St. Johns Portland

AFTER: Low maintenance can also be lush. The plants have filled in nicely 2 years after installation.

The synthetic lawn and Landscape Design in a Day was a retirement gift Bob and Norma gave to themselves.  They were so sure about synthetic lawn they had already purchased it.

From the first phone call, I knew how many square feet of synthetic lawn we would use and where it would go.   They were looking forward to a lawn that would stay green no matter what their boxer dog did.   Mowing, fertilizing and watering would no longer be part of their new retirement lifestyle.

 

Before mid-century modern landscape makeover, St. Johns Portland, Oregon

BEFORE: Landscape Design in a Day, the synthetic lawn and all the homeowner’s hard DIY work

Plant Color and Diversity a Must
Norma especially enjoyed plants with a lot of color.  The front landscape plantings needed to have year round color, and have interesting texture.  She was interested in a very clean mid-century modern hardscape but wanted the plantings to add a softening effect.

The backyard could be completely devoted to summer color as few windows faced the back.

Norma’s New Plant Palette Includes:

Norma used the popular design website Houzz to send me pictures of her style. This saved time and worked very well for us to zero in on the kinds of plants she loved.

Synthetic Lawn Installed in St Johns Portland Oregon front yard

AFTER: Photo taken just two months after the Landscape Design in a Day was completed

Colorful foilage lasts for months, flowers in summer.

Weigela ‘My Monet’ displays colorful foliage that lasts for months. Bell-shaped pink pearl colored flowers appear in late spring / early summer and attract beneficials to your garden.

True Grit
Bob and Norma intend to stay in this home for many years.  I recommended they invest in my “true grit” soil prep process.  It creates an environment for healthy plants, the plants need less water, and often grow bigger than in typically amended clay soil.  It is a lot of work! We joked about whether Bob would still like me (since he was the one doing the heavy work) after he was done.  The results are very exciting and satisfying for me – let alone my clients!

Our Clients Say it Best
Norma commented, “Thank you for all your help. Bob has been digging and digging and hauling 19 yards of crushed rock, compost and dirt.  I have a feeling we saved a ton of money.  It was worth doing it ourselves!”

She continued saying: “We are pleased with how our new landscape turned out. In fact, people are stopping in the street and taking pictures and giving us the thumbs up. Thanks again for everything.”  – Bob and Norma, Vancouver, WA

Does Your Garden Need a Facelift?
Email or phone Carol today to schedule an appointment: 503.223.2426