Creating a Landscaping Plan | Plants

One thing I was somewhat surprised to learn is that talent for designing interior spaces in no way translates to talent for designing exterior spaces. Sure, some principles overlap, like balance, texture, and color, but there is SO much to learn about landscaping that simply isn’t common sense. Knowing which variety of plants are best for your environment, which can ward off creatures or which draw them in, which have poisonous leaves or berries… the list of things I don’t know is too long to comprehend.

So when we decided we would try managing our own landscaping I was incredibly hesitant. We planted two baby trees and three boxwoods beneath the dining room window, just to get something in the ground last year. There was no plan. No rhyme or reason. Just me thinking that dogwoods were really cute and wanting to grow a sugar maple that we could tap every year for fresh maple syrup (plot twist: sugar maples take about 50 years to become actual functional maple trees. I found this out after planting it, obviously).

I noodled on this for the longest time, spending hours researching, sketching, and Photoshopping.

This was before we realized we would have to set the fence back from the sidewalk…

This one really felt good to me - we ended up choosing the sugar maple over this red variety. We also omitted the left hand dogwood tree.

I stopped thinking about it a year ago when we started taking on larger indoor projects, like redoing our upstairs floors. Fast forward to one night this week, when out of nowhere I had a brilliant light bulb moment. I’m not even sure why I was thinking about it again, but it popped into my head and I suddenly had a full, perfect plan for our front garden landscaping.This is why I tell friends, family, and clients that sometimes the best thing we can do is take a step back. Usually the best ideas aren’t forced. They just happen.

Putting so much pressure on myself to get this right is actually what kept me from seeing the clear picture. As a designer, I constantly expect perfection. It literally never happens, but somehow I feel like I’m disappointing the entire world when things don’t come together the way I wanted. An issue for therapy and not the blog, but here we are.

So I put together a list of my favorite flowers, flowering shrubs, and herbs: lavender, hydrangeas, and mums. I like cool colors in the summer and warm colors in the fall. As it so happens, the lavender and hydrangeas should fade just before the mums begin to flower in early fall. Here are the specifics:

Lavender

Basically blooms sometime between spring and summer. I can’t even begin to describe how bad the information on gardening is on the internet… no two sources seem to agree on anything. I get that it’s not black and white, but for those of us who think actual rocket science is easier than taking care of plants, we need all the information we can get.

Hydrangeas

This one is really for my roots back in New England. It reminds me of home in the most intense way. I swear I can smell the salty air of Cape Cod every time I walk by one. Not to mention, just about every wealthy person in our neighborhood has these in their yard. Fake it til you make it, I guess.

These also bloom spring through summer. I’ll be gunning for the blue/purple shades. I’ve had friends in the past mention different ways to control the acidity of the soil, and therefor the color of the plants, with things like coffee grinds or rusty metal.

Chrysanthemums

The two main types of mums I am interested in are the French Vanilla and the Coral Cavalier… those muted, warm tones are everything. I can’t get over how gorgeous they are.

In my mind our blue and purple summer garden will fade seamlessly into our fiery fall garden (and the mums will bloom as the leaves on our trees turn shades of deep red and bright orange), but in actuality I’m sure it will look like a huge mess.

For me, a well balanced garden also means plenty of deciduous and evergreen plants as well as the flowering ones. It would be nice to grow some herbs for the kitchen, although the deer will probably get to them before we do. Here are the green options I’m considering:

Variegated Boxwood

Ivory Halo Dogwood

Radiance Abelia

Euonymus Manhattan

Before we get planting, we have to remove a ridiculous amount of tiny rocks from the front of our home. Our exterior has a farmhouse/cottage kind of feel, and I think these plants will fit right in, while also fitting my own aesthetic.

Please let me know in the comments or an email if you have any suggestions! I find the only true knowledge out there about gardening comes from people who have dug in their thumbs and just done it.