This time of year, there’s still plenty of time to accrue meaningful, productive projects as homeowners contemplate improvements to their landscape and may have entertainment dates on their calendar that make upgrades a pressing issue. Whatever the reason for a landscape revamp, we have landscape nursery recommendations for your next project in the Ulster County, NY, area.
Turf
When selecting grass for turf, it is important to know your hardiness zone—the minimum temperature that the lawn will be able to withstand before dying—as well as how it will be used. For example, excessive foot traffic and areas where a lot of outdoor activity will occur may need a hardier lawn area. Cool season grasses are likely the best selection for our brisk winter season to feel confident that a seasonal replant will not be necessary.
Ornamental Grasses
These are great additions for backdrops and giving your landscape design a natural texture and rustic element. They come in varying sizes, textures, and colors, so they are a popular use for creating dramatic scenes. Selecting an ornamental grass for a winter spread will provide a nice gardenscape coverage and foliage even when other plants have succumbed to the seasonal changes. Some examples of hardy cool temperature ornamental grasses are the Yellow Foxtail, the Big Bluestem, the Blue Oat, the Silver Feather Maiden, and the Bottlebrush.
Related: 10 Perennials From Our Plant Nursery for a Sussex County, NJ, Backyard
Topiaries
The act of topiary is to shape and train plants and trees into precise shapes and designs. It is a practice that has been around for centuries and offers a timeless, stylish, and whimsical feel to a landscape design. Topiary can be subtle attributes to a front porch entranceway, provide privacy, and create boundaries. It can also make grand statements to rolling landscape designs. Whatever the desire, topiaries can be viewed as must-have additions to “spruce” up a landscape design.
Shrubs
Shrubs are commonly used for the art of topiary. Choosing shrubs with small leaves but a dense foliage could prove to be most beneficial. A popular choice of shrubs for topiary is a boxwood. Boxwoods are evergreens with broad leaves and thick trunks, making them sturdy and easy to shape with crisp, clean lines—perfect for a formal landscape design.
Hedges
Hedges are closely placed shrubs, and sometimes trees, that form lines to create boundaries and privacy. When maintained and clipped properly, they are beautiful topiaries that offer a natural appeal with a functional purpose.
Vines
Vining ivory is often used for topiary. It is fast growing and can encompass wire mesh and other structures, such as pergolas and outdoor statutes rather rapidly. A shear, clip and trim later and you have made a statement in your landscape design.
Annuals
An annual is a plant that will complete a cycle from seed to bloom within a growing season and then they die off. These are wonderful plants to pot and place at gate areas, along walkways and stairs, at front entrances and around pool decks and other outdoor living areas. They also are excellent additions to gardenscape areas and around outdoor water features. They offer very vibrant color pops and differing textures to landscape design. They can be easily changed out with the seasons to keep a landscape alive.
Related: Why You Should Only Buy Healthy Plants and Where You Can Find Them in Hudson Valley, NY
Perennials
A perennial offers a much longer life span, often lasting up to a few years before needing to be replaced. They can grow more robust and reach larger sizes due to their ability to live longer. Selecting a perennial for our Northeast climate may be a better solution to maintaining the integrity of the landscape design over our seasons. Some popular choices are the Astilbe plant, the Bleeding Heart, columbine, daylily and coral bells.
