The Importance of Season-Long Color: It's all about Planning

Spring: bulbs and flowering groundcovers

As I walk by some landscapes, it is easy to tell in what part of the season they installed their yard. If they installed in early spring, the landscape will be full of flowering groundcovers and some shrubbery. If they install in the fall, the beds will be full of mums and asters. The result: a landscape that is showy at only one point in the season.

Fall: roses, ornamental grasses, Russian sage

When I design a plan, I make sure clients have a variety of plant material that will take each take their turn in the spotlight. There are early flowering shrubs and groundcovers for the spring, heat tolerant perennials that bloom through summer, and late-flowering roses, perennials and trees that peak in fall.