Jump Start Your Dazzling Fall Garden!

Jump Start Your Dazzling Fall Garden With Just 1 Simple Plant

Posted on August 30, 2018 by zatopekpropertiesblog

Imagine the impact of a pot of brightly blooming flowers set on your doorstep. The eye is immediately drawn to the color, skimming over other areas of the porch, perhaps not noticing details like peeling paint or steps in need of a sweep. In the same way, adding just one colorful perennial or a shimmering ornamental grass can rejuvenate tired, end of season borders. Give them a boost with one of these high-impact plants that cross over from summer to fall.

Take a look at how planting a single fall favorite, such as gold-petaled black-eyed Susan or purple fountain grass, can gracefully transition beds from summer to fall.

‘Autumn Joy’ Stonecrop 

(Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’)

This easy-care plant is a popular choice for fall gardens, with good reason. Its standout blooms come into their own in September, turning from pale green to rosy pink and then to deep pomegranate, just as many other summer flowers are beginning to fade. Sticking just one of these clumping perennials into a garden bed will immediately draw the eye and the attention of butterflies and other pollinators.

Paintbox Garden

‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop with fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

Pair it with: Ornamental grasses and fine-leaved perennials, such as artemisia or thyme. The contrast in textures between stonecrop’s succulent leaves and chunky flowers and feathery grasses or small-leaved plants makes for a standout combination.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 37.2 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 3 to 10; find your zone)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 1½ to 2 feet tall and wide

Black-Eyed Susan
(Rudbeckia hirta)The cheerful golden-petaled and dark-centered blooms of black-eyed Susan, also called gloriosa daisy, enliven late-summer and fall borders. The plants, native to prairies of the central United States, are much beloved by butterflies. Cultivars may be available at your local nursery, producing flowers in shades of red, bronze and orange and with bicolored petals.

Pair it with: For a fall bouquet garden, pair black-eyed Susan with other late-summer blooms that work well as cut flowers, such as shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum; shown here with black-eyed Susan), annual sunflowers, chrysanthemums and coneflowers (Echinacea spp.).

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 37.2 degrees Celsius (zones 3 to 7)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 foot to 2 feet wide

Mardigras Sneezeweed
(Helenium spp.)Look past the unattractive common name for what is a gorgeous late-summer bloomer. Flowers bloom from August to October, with petals in yellow, orange, red and striped variations that grow from the center like rays of the sun.The plants grow in clumps that can mature to be about 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. To refresh borders this season, remove tired-looking summer annuals and fill in the gaps with budding sneezeweed.

Pair it with: The chocolate centers of sneezeweed flowers play well with plants that have brown or deep bronze hues. In this border,  sneezeweed is combined with the brown seed heads of a rush (Juncus sp.), purple-bronze leaves of ‘Grace’ smoke tree (Cotinus ‘Grace’) and dark-centered black-eyed Susans to make a stunning quartet.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 37.2 degrees Celsius (zones 3 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide, depending on variety

Purple fountain grass and lion’s ear (Leonotis leonurus) line a Southern California pathway.

Purple Fountain Grass 
(Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’)The grande dame of ornamental grasses, purple fountain grass can grow up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide in a single season, with arching purple leaves and fuzzy, caterpillar-like seed heads. The commonly available ‘Rubrum’ cultivar does not reseed as other Pennisetums do, making it a good variety to plant in the home garden.

Pair it with: While purple fountain grass is often added to planting beds studded with other deeply saturated hues of red, orange and gold, it can be paired with silver and blue-green foliage to create a subtle, elegant vignette that looks particularly fresh in fall.

A few silver-leaved plants to consider: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Blue Surprise’ and dusty miller (Senecio cineraria), as pictured in this combination, varieties of stonecrop (Sedum spp.) or variegated ‘Marjorie Channon’ kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Marjorie Channon’).

Where it will grow: Hardy to 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 3.9degrees Celsius (zones 9 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), dense blazing star (Liatris spicata) and ‘Phantom’ Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium ‘Phantom’)

Coneflower 
(Echinacea spp.)

Another fall garden favorite, coneflower is easy to grow, drought-tolerant once established and consistently in bloom from June to late August or September. Pollinators adore the blooms, which can be left to go to seed, providing a food source for birds and seeding new plants in garden beds.

White and pink coneflowers surround blue oat grass(Helictotrichon sempervirens).

Pair it with: For a naturalistic meadow look, plant coneflowers blooming in shades of pink, white and pale yellow in beds with mixed ornamental grasses or lavender-blue-flowering Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia).Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 37.2 degrees Celsius (zones 3 to 8)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 2 to 5 feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide

New Zealand Wind Grass 
(Anemanthele lessoniana)This cool-season grass is a medium olive green for much of the year, but come fall the wiry blades turn a brilliant orange. Once the color change occurs, the grass appears to burn like a fire in planting beds —particularly when backlit. New Zealand wind grass has the added benefit of being resistant to deer and tolerant of difficult growing conditions, like rocky and windy slopes. It does, however, need excellent drainage; if you have clay soil, amend heavily before planting.

Pair it with: Given its fiery golden orange color and distinctive texture, New Zealand wind grass stands out next to most other plants. Play with subtle combinations of it and plants with gray-green and silver foliage, such as silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae), shown here, or low-growing stonecrop. For more drama, combine it with purple-leaved plants, such as spurge (Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’) or dark purple smoke tree (Cotinus spp.).

Where it will grow: Hardy to 20degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 6.7 degrees Celsius (zones 8 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 3 feet tall and wide

Planting Tips

For instant results, look for semimature to mature plants at the nursery. For perennials, pick plants that look vigorous and are in bud; for ornamental grasses, choose ones that look full in their containers.

As always, pay attention to the growing conditions each plant needs to thrive: Does it need full sun or partial shade? How much water? Choose the placement in your garden accordingly.

Once you bring the plants home, get them in the ground as soon as you can. More mature plants run the risk of being root-bound in their nursery containers, so it’s best to carefully loosen roots before planting and to plant your choices relatively quickly.

Bonus: While you may be planting now to refresh your late-summer garden, you’re actually getting a jump-start on next year’s spring garden as well. Perennials and ornamental grasses planted in fall make use of the cool winter months to establish their root systems. Come spring, they’ll be ready to burst into growth, giving your garden a head start.

Ultimate Lounging For All Patios

Ultimate Lounging For All Patios

Posted on August 28, 2018 by zatopekpropertiesblog

Many of us aren’t able to change the sizes and layouts of our patios or decks. We’re left to choose furniture and its arrangement, decide what to plant, and select other outdoor elements to make the space our own. Make tiny terraces feel larger and expansive decks more inviting with these tricks for styling your outdoor lounge.

Small Bistro Approximate size: 48 square feet (4.5 square meters) or smaller
Great for: Hanging out on your own or with one or two other people

If you’re starting with a deck, patio or balcony with a small footprint, most design challenges center on how to maximize the space. Steal a design trick from this contemporary terrace in London and stick to a light and bright color palette to visually open the space and make it feel larger than it actually is.

This cozy balcony in Stockholm makes an argument for getting the largest outdoor lounge your small patio will support. The homeowners squeezed a sectional sofa into their postage stamp-size terrace, creating enough seating to host a small group. Piles of pillows, a soft throw, a bistro table for drinks and a chevron outdoor rug make the space even more inviting.

Hanging chairs can be a great option if you have an awning or covered porch. They make a bold design statement and keep the floor clear. A single cloud-gray egg-shaped chair hung in the corner of a covered porch looks almost irresistible, encouraging one to curl up with a good book.

There are a few ways to approach a small, narrow space such as a skinny rooftop terrace or a side yard patio. This rooftop deck in New York uses wall-mounted planters to save floor space and adds lounge chair seating that is long but narrow. A hammock with a floor stand may not be practical to walk around, but it sure looks like a dreamy destination for an afternoon nap.Another strategy for narrow spaces is to use furniture, screens or medium-size plants to divide the space. For example, placing a bench seat running across the shorter side of a patio can help the space feel wider and less like a corridor.

Medium-Size Outdoor Living Room Approximate size: 120 square feet (11 square meters)
Great for: Kicking back with a small group

Combinations of furniture, such as a built-in bench paired with outdoor chairs or a sofa, often work well to allow flexibility, expand seating and open up more room for planting on medium-size patios or decks.

The designer of this southwest London backyard built bench seating into the planter to save space and create a cozy nook for a couple of people. A folding table and a pair of bright Acapulco chairs can be moved in to allow seating for additional guests.

This medium-size roof deck in London’s Kensington neighborhood also uses a combination of seating options to comfortably accommodate up to seven people. The designer included four cushy ottomans instead of a second outdoor sofa. This keeps the seating arrangement flexible and views of the garden and rooftops uninterrupted. The low-lying ottomans also open up space for a row of boxwoods potted in tall planters, a pleasing design feature of the terrace.

Decks that are 12 by 12 feet, plus or minus a foot or so, can be ideal for hosting a small group in a space that feels intimate rather than too spread out. If your existing hardscape feels larger than what you can use for a lounge, consider quartering off a section of it as a small group seating area.For example, this San Francisco backyard uses an L-shaped bench seat to define a lounge area around an outdoor table. The space feels cozy and inviting for four or five people to share a conversation.

Larger Entertaining SpotApproximate size: 168 square feet (15.6 square meters) or larger
Great for: Hosting a backyard party for six or more

One of the challenges of choosing the furniture layout and planting design for a large patio is making an expansive space feel more human-scale. For example, arranging large-scale outdoor seating in U-shaped or semicircular layouts, around a coffee table or fire pit, can make the space feel like a cozy, more inviting gathering place.

This expansive rooftop terrace in London, also shown in the previous photo, uses a U-shaped arrangement of sectional outdoor sofas to form an inviting lounge for a large group. The surrounding planters — filled with trimmed boxwood, pale pink and white geraniums, fragrant confederate jasmine and a small tree — encircle the seating area, enhancing the pleasant feeling of enclosure.

This garden in Sheffield, England, achieves a similarly intimate feeling in a large space with two semicircular sectional sofas arranged to face each other across a small table. This is a great spot to entertain guests on warm summer evenings.

Lowering the ceiling of an outdoor room can make an open area feel less exposed. In this backyard in Marin County in Northern California, a movable shade sail set on wires provides cover from the sun and makes the space feel more intimate.Other ways to lower the ceiling of your outdoor room: Build a pergola, plant trees to provide a leafy canopy or hang crisscrossing string lights overhead.