Woodie's Picks: A Quartet of Elegance & Versatility
This week, we're spotlighting a selection of plants that perfectly balance elegance, texture, and seasonal color in any garden. Together, these plants create a timeless and vibrant garden, perfect for those looking to cultivate a space of year-round beauty.
In this blog we will dive into the specific plant attributes worth highlighting from each of these plants as well as explain how they work in unison to create a fluent and eye-catching landscape throughout the seasons!
Four Plants To Create An Elegant Landscape
Dwarf English Boxwood
Dwarf English Boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa') are a staple in many landscapes around the country due to their compact size, evergreen foliage, and classic appeal.
These slow-growing shrubs are perfect for creating well-defined borders and low hedges in formal and informal garden designs. Their dense, rounded form and small, glossy leaves make them ideal for adding structure and symmetry to garden beds and pathways. Dwarf English Boxwoods are also commonly seen lining walkways and entryways. They are well-suited for container gardening as well, where they can serve as elegant focal points on patios or flanking entrances.
Dwarf English Boxwoods are also highly valued for their resilience and adaptability in different landscape settings. They can thrive in various soil types and tolerate both full sun and partial shade, making them versatile for different garden areas. Their evergreen nature ensures year-round interest, with their lush green foliage providing a vibrant contrast to seasonal flowers and other deciduous plants.
In addition to their use in traditional garden designs, Dwarf English Boxwoods are increasingly popular in modern landscapes, where they are used to create clean lines and minimalist garden spaces. Their ability to maintain a tidy appearance with minimal maintenance makes them a practical and attractive option for many garden styles.
Carolina Sapphire Cypress
Carolina Sapphire Cypress (Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Carolina Sapphire') are striking evergreen trees known for their fast growth and unique blue-green foliage. This tree is prized for its soft, aromatic needles and ability to quickly reach heights of 20 to 30 feet, making it an excellent choice for creating privacy screens or windbreaks in the landscape.
This cool-toned evergreen's naturally pyramidal shape and dense branching structure make it an impressive focal point or backdrop in larger garden spaces. The Carolina Sapphire Cypress is also very drought-tolerant once established, making it a low-maintenance option for gardeners looking for a hardy tree that can withstand less-than-ideal conditions.
In landscape design, Carolina Sapphire Cypress is often used to add year-round color and texture, with its silvery-blue foliage providing a striking contrast to the greens and browns typically found in the garden. It can be planted in rows to create a formal hedge or used as a solitary specimen to draw attention to specific areas of the landscape.
This tree is also an excellent choice for erosion control on slopes or as a barrier against strong winds. Its adaptability to various soil types, from sandy to clay, and its resistance to pests and diseases make it a reliable and versatile option for homeowners and landscapers alike. Whether used in a formal garden or a more naturalistic setting, Carolina Sapphire Cypress brings both beauty and functionality to any landscape.
Austrian Pine Trees
Austrian Pine trees (Pinus nigra) are robust evergreens known for their hardiness and adaptability, making them a popular choice in various landscape settings. These trees can grow up to 60 feet tall with a spread of 20 to 40 feet, featuring dark green needles that are 3 to 6 inches long and form dense, rounded canopies.
The thick, rugged bark of the Austrian Pine adds to its visual appeal, providing a textural contrast against its soft needles. This tree is particularly valued for its ability to thrive in poor soils and withstand harsh conditions, including drought, wind, and urban pollution, making it a reliable choice for challenging landscapes. Its resilience also extends to cold climates, where it maintains its deep green color throughout winter, offering year-round visual interest.
Austrian Pine trees are often used as windbreaks or privacy screens in the landscape due to their dense foliage and substantial size. Their fast growth rate makes them an excellent option for quickly establishing a natural barrier or shelter. Austrian Pines can also be planted as specimen trees in larger gardens or parks, where their stately form can be fully appreciated.
Additionally, these trees are frequently used in reforestation projects and as a means of soil stabilization on slopes and other erosion-prone areas. Their versatility and ability to endure tough environmental conditions make Austrian Pine trees a practical and aesthetically pleasing choice for various landscape applications.
Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea
Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Renhy') is a stunning deciduous shrub known for its large, cone-shaped flower clusters that transition in color from creamy white to blush pink and finally to a rich strawberry-red as they mature.
This hydrangea variety typically grows to a height of 6 to 7 feet and spreads about 4 to 5 feet wide, making it a prominent feature in the garden. The unique color-changing blooms appear from mid-summer to early fall, offering a long season of visual interest. The sturdy stems of Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea ensure that the large flower heads remain upright, creating an impressive display. Its rich green foliage provides a vibrant backdrop to the multi-colored blossoms.
In the landscape, Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea is an excellent choice for adding color and texture to borders or mixed shrub beds. Its eye-catching blooms make it a popular focal point in cottage-style gardens, where it pairs beautifully with perennials and other flowering shrubs. This hydrangea is also versatile enough to be used in more formal garden settings, where its structured form and long-lasting flowers can create a sense of elegance and continuity.
Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea is well-suited for cut flower arrangements, allowing gardeners to bring its beauty indoors. Its relatively low maintenance requirements and ability to thrive in full sun to partial shade make it an appealing option for gardeners looking for easy-to-grow, colorful shrubs that make a large impact.
How To Incorporate Elegance Into The Landscape
Now that you have an idea for four elegant plants to add to your landscape this season, you may be wondering the best ways in which you can incorporate them into your landscape to embrace that luxurious feel. When it comes to designing a harmonious landscape, there are several factors you should keep in mind. These factors are as follows:
Repetition
Use subtle repetitions of elements like color, texture, and form to create a sense of order and rhythm. For example, you can repeat a color in foliage, stems, or berries instead of just flowers. You can also repeat forms by using different plants with the same shape.
Variety
Add variety with new plants, patterns, or by blending flower and vegetable beds to create interest and contrast. Variety can also encourage creativity and resiliency.
Unity
Choose a theme that matches the character of the land and house, and repeat it throughout the design. This theme can be based on plants, shapes, colors, or textures. All elements of the design should connect and share a similar essence, without clashing or competing.
Conclusion
The secret to a thriving and harmonious formal landscape is not completely a matter of skill and expertise. A large part of formal landscape design comes from the knowledge of what plants can pair well together without overtaking the others' beauty! Whether it be the four plants mentioned above, or different plants entirely, you too have the capability to create a canvas of elegant color and beauty in the landscape!
Shop our wide variety of trees, shrubs, and perennials online today and watch your landscape transform one plant at a time.