This was my first project in March 2020…
This was a new development that had large front beds with a lack of plants. It needed a makeover to increase the curb appeal of this beautiful house. The bed was 19 feet wide by 11 feet deep, and the bed sloped towards the sidewalk creating a mound of mulch in the walk path after every rain.
The Project
- Plants that are able to hold in the mulch so that they weren’t sweeping after every rainfall.
- Hardy, but rain garden plants preferred.
- Make the design as visiably symmetric as possible.
- Lots of color.
Proposed Layouts
Each design started at the center and then unfolded to keep as much symmetry as possible. The differences on each side started once the slope exaggerated on the left, and at the curve on the right. While the design looks plant-heavy, there are a lot of perennials that only mature to 12-18 inches wide at full growth. It takes a lot of plants to fill a big space with plants in that size range. The two main factors to consider when using that many perennials are layering (shortest to tallest at maturity,) and bloom time. You want to use perennials that have the longest bloom season, and hopefully multi-season blooms. You have to create a design that has as much seasonal interest as possible, and that the blooms are spread across the bed simultaneously instead of heavily in one spot.
It is also important that when doing a front bed this size that you have at least two layers of shrubs pulling off the front porch. This way, you have layered evergreens to place hold your view when the perennials are dormant. Here in NC, that can be from December to May dependent on the harshness of the winter. In this particular design, we are using the existing Sunshine Ligustrums, and adding some Encore Azaleas, Jubilee Gardenias, and a Pink Perfection Camellia. These evergreen shrubs alone will add year-round blooms.
The Install
These show an almost completed install. I ended up having to come back to install the camellia, install a metal edger where the bed meets the sidewalk, and prune the existing ligustrums. It will take two years before the perennials will meet maturity, and five years before the shrubs became full-grown.