Garden Design in a Snowy Landscape

I've talked about how important the many facets of garden design are during the seasons. Never is this more important than in winter, if your part of the world experiences snow and ice.
When perennial beds and lawns are white with snow, it's hardscape structures, conifers, grasses, tree
trunks and shrub branches that provide focal points.

The black bench stands out crisply under recent fallen snow as do the junipers, Viburnum 'Mariesii' and trunk of the Linden tree.

The Euonymus bush does not lose its leaves over winter. It catches the snow nicely. The pussywillow shrubs have lost their leaves, of course, but are strong vertical accents against the white. Elaine is knee deep in the white stuff.

The evergreen yews in the front are thick and heavy, so the snow stays on top of them like a hat.

The gold grasses still rustle against the Mugho pine and the sedum 'Autumn Joy' looks like lollipops.

Here Miscanthus sinensis and the Burning Bush are covered with a feather-light snow.

The strong Pin Oak and the vertical lines of the obelisk provide a focal point at the back of the yard.

Colour on white really stands out - here you see red berries on the Burning Bush.

Evergreens are the best snow catchers!

Even the deck steps provide interest.

So, when planning your garden, remember: many plants die and disappear over the winter but certain ones stay. And if you combine those with some hardscaping, your garden will look good even in a season when you can't be out there, getting your hands dirty  :)

Plants around the Swimming Pool

It's hard to believe we've been in this house 24 years! Well not so hard, really. The easiest way to see how the property has changed is by the plantings. The linden trees and Pin oak are 40 - 50 feet tall and all shrubs have reached their mature height. 

As with all homes, certain things need to be replaced and changed after a certain number of years. We noticed that the (original!) pool liner had begun to leak. Yup! It had lasted an incredible 24 years but now was giving up the ghost. So we called the company that had originally installed the pool and talked about what else could be done besides replacing the liner.

We decided to take out the original concrete decking and replace it with interlocking brick.

We gained about an extra 2 feet of space on each side of the pool and a lot of extra new "patio" space at the end of the pool. All in all I think we are really going to enjoy this new expanded area in years to come! I can picture putting some of our deck chairs onto the new patio part and adding some containers full of colourful flowers.

As with all renovations, once you change the first thing, you often need to change something else.

At the back, because the yard slopes downwards towards the back fence, they will build in some steps to descend to the back of the yard. This area could use some plantings so I started to plan what might be suitable.

I think my best bet will be to stick with ornamental grasses. They have a natural beauty that suits water and the lovely swaying plumes will add movement. Their root system is shallow so it will not interfere with brickwork.

What else? Perhaps daylilies and sedum. Both are tough and low maintenance and blend well with the grasses.

Annuals are always good for all season colour.

I will not plant even small trees because of possible damage to the pool by tree roots. Also, I certainly do not need anymore leaves/fruit/catkins in the pool!!

Probably good to stay away from plants that attract bees…. and anything with thorns.

Any other ideas would be more than welcome :)

Ornamental Grasses

Using grasses in garden design is a relatively new concept. By "new", I mean that landscape architects rarely added ornamental grasses into designs prior to the 1980's. After German landscape architect Wolfgang Oehme began using them in public gardens around the Washington D.C. area, homeowners decided they loved the look as well! Ornamental grasses add an element of softness to borders. They are a fabulous focal point. Also, they are pretty much maintenance free.

Over the years I have introduced a number of ornamental grasses into my front and backyard garden. Most of the grasses are lovely and fit in beautifully - others became spreading pests that were difficult to get rid of once established.

My ultimate favourite grass is Maiden or Eulalia Grass Miscanthus sinensis. I have the variegated form Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus' in three spots in my garden. In the front, it has become such a huge clump that I have to stake it and tie it, so it stays upright. This year the grass itself is about 6 feet tall (and just as wide). The plumes are just starting to appear, so the plant will then be about 8 feet tall!!

It stands out as one of the main focal points of the front garden, alongside the landscape rock.

In the backyard, I added it to the side garden near the Serviceberry and Korean Lilac. This is its third year and it's almost as big as the front one, which is about 15 years old.

The one I'm a bit concerned about is behind Elaine. It's a much shadier spot compared to the other two, so it may just never be as large. Well…. maybe that's a good thing.

A soft silvery grass that never grows larger than 2' x 2' is Blue Oat grass Helictotrichon sempervirens. The blue-silver colour is perfect background for other colourful plants such as bright pink geraniums or Sweet William.

A very elegant and upright one is Feather Reed Grass  Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'. Its plumes are more golden in colour and already appear in the summer.

Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' Japanese Blood Grass is so incredibly interesting!! It's a short grass (18" in height) and during the summer, has red tipped shoots. These stalks turn dark "blood" red in autumn, making this a small bright focal point or perhaps a very sharp dramatic one, if planted en masse in one area. I have tried growing it twice. Once the rabbits ate it and the other time, it dried out. I really should try again. Japanese Blood Grass does best in full sun and rich soil.

I probably already mentioned this in a previous post but the three previous times I tried planting Japanese Golden Grass Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', the rabbits had it for lunch. This year I planted 2 pots of it as container plants on the deck. I LOVE them! They are graceful, dainty, not overly big (1-2' high and wide) and will grow in full sun or partial shade. I am going to cut them down and plant the roots into an unused area near the gate and put them back into containers again next year.

What looks like a graceful, arching grass has turned into somewhat of a bully. It's Spartina pectinata "Aureomarginata' - Variegated Prairie Cord grass. At first it was very obedient, staying nicely in the areas I had planted it near the back fence. But then it became invasive and took over the whole back section near my forsythia. It is IMPOSSIBLE to dig out and spreads quickly. Oh well - it does have a wild beauty to it. I guess I'll just have to live with this mistake.