When starting a new garden bed or adding to an existing one, look for inspiration – this can be found just about anywhere! Take note of the things you like in a neighbour’s yard, leaf through magazines and books for landscape ideas, new plant varieties and trends. There are always lots of ideas to be found online as well. It is always helpful to bring some of these pictures into the Garden Centre too!
The next step is take a close look at the landscape location itself – what kind of sun does it get? What condition is the soil in? Does it have good or bad drainage? Is it high traffic? Do you have time for a high or low maintenance garden? And what type of winter conditions does it receive? If you know this information, our Garden Centre staff will be much better able to help you find the right plants for your landscape.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to plant combinations! For shady areas, try using different foliage textures and colours instead of looking for something flowering. Add the texture of some ferns, lungwort’s, foam flowers and variegated Jacob’s ladder, and you will have a shade garden that will not disappoint!
There are even more options for sunny gardens. Most perennials can take a full-part sun, which suits most landscapes. Now is the time to get peonies, irises, campanula, daylilies, echinacea, butterfly bush, salvia, rudebeckia, Shasta daisies, red hot pokers, liatris, and gallardia in so you enjoy the full show through July and August.
Many of these plants have tons of great new colours and varieties, so be sure to try something new in your garden this year! Many of these plants also attract lots of birds and butterflies – if you plant them, they will come! Plant all these great items into a garden bed full of top soil, peat moss and compost or manure, add a good dose of bone meal, and you will have a garden that you will enjoy for years to come.
