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Innovative Landscaping For Large Garden Areas
It's easy enough to put flower beds along the front walk, next to the house, or by the door, but what do you do when you have a large garden area where you don't want to put sod and yet don't want to have the maintenance work associated with putting in yet another flower garden? There are some great ways to incorporate an awkward area like this into your overall landscaping: here are some innovative ways to make that area look great.
Xeriscape it
Xeriscaping has long been a popular landscaping approach in the desert southwest, where water is at a premium and where conservation is king. The idea behind xeriscaping is to cut down on the amount of lawn grass areas through the use of indigenous plantings and rock landscaping.
The resulting look is incredibly charming and very unusual: in the west, tufts of native grasses are combined with flowering shrubs to create a textured, multi-colored look that keeps its interesting appearance all summer long. Different colors of pebbles or rocks are laid over black plastic (to keep down weeds) and are often used to create intricate and artistic mosaics right in the garden. Xeriscaping requires very little if any outside watering, and so it is stunningly (and refreshingly) low maintenance.
Although it is common practice for gardeners in the desert southwest, there's no reason why the concept cannot be used in more temperate areas of the country that get regular rainfall. Check with your local nursery to find out what kinds of indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers would do well in your particular climate.
Go for the unusual
There are many plants that will spread rapidly and cover large areas without any problem at all. The issue is often that these plants can go absolutely wild if left unchecked, so people hesitate to put them in. The situation can be remedied and this kind of landscaping enjoyed as long as the gardener does his homework, places the plants properly, and does a little preparation first. Plants such as Bishop's Weed are beautiful and prolific, but they tend to take over and choke everything else out. Try planting a beautiful flowering tree in your large, bare area, plant Bishop's Weed underneath it, and surround the area with concrete or other edging. It will be lovely and virtually no maintenance.
If you are lucky enough to live in semi-tropical climes such as Louisiana, your options are many. Bamboo thrives in the Pelican State and other similar places and there are a host of varieties to choose from. If you have a large part of your garden that you don't know what to do with (as in acres of space), you can plant giant Moso bamboo that will create a virtual forest in your backyard within a few years.
Creating beauty in unused garden space just takes a little ingenuity and a willingness to try something new and different: the results will make the effort well worth your while.
About the Author R.LeeBerry-BambooGardens (http://www.bamboogardensla.com) is a online bamboo nursery, south Louisiana's oldest and largest supplier of temperate and tropical bamboos. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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