Landscape Design Plan Ideas - How to Use Color and Texture to Create Your Relaxing Retreat

Streams of water gently over the stone slab in the natural rock lichens reflecting pool below. Ponderosa Pines in the wind whispering in my head. The smell of wild shrub roses sweeten the air in summer. Ahh ... as a relief from the annoying guy who was at their heels all the way home from the store! Not to mention the employees who would not stop telling everyone about his ex all day, while seeing customers twice. And the dog, who escaped - once again - from enjoying her favorite noisethe neighborhood and the next $ 100 for sterling.

Sorry calling! A chance to relax and contact with nature ...

Silver Santa Hat

While there are many things to consider in the design, the rest (so that no matter how absurd the day was, you can regain your sanity, when at home!), One of the most important, but so often overlooked, The use of color and texture. It 'also one of the easiest ways to ensure all year round with a flourishGarden.

In addition to determining "the right plant for the right place" (how big the plant at the end, sun vs. shade and water requirements) know how to use color and texture is the magic word that will really make your landscape, that "withdrawal" of quality. Here are some things to consider:

1 Always include evergreen and "winter interest" systems - both in the landscape and the interest for years, and usability. Especially where I live, inhigh-lying south-west, is the key. The summer is mild, but winter also offer plenty of sunny days and climate warm enough outside, enjoy some 'much needed vitamin D. After a therapy garden during the colder months, even longer necessary and are filling the soul as the days grow shorter and dark and we're getting to a position outside the least. With a little 'research, it is possible by the abundance of evergreen or semi-evergreen were surprised. And please ... notlimited by juniper! It also does not evergreen "winter interest" offer - rust-colored leaves and red berries peeking through the snow, tufts of grass seed heads dry, peeling bark is a sign of the focus tree branches twisted. In Flagstaff, AZ, and many places in the south-west at an altitude near 5000 '(north of Fort Collins, Colorado, and east to Santa Fe, NM) to consider:

Western Birch * Corkscrew Willow Quaking Aspen Hawthorn Woods * Rosa Rugosa Rose * Apache Plume*Sagebrush *Rabbitbrush *Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany *Cotoneaster *Oregon Grape Holly *Lavender Cotton *Plumbago *Creeping Barberry *Pineleaf Penstemon *Candytuft *Wild Strawberry *Cut-Leaf Daisy *Red-Leaf Bergenia *Mat Penstemon *Wall Germander *Woolly Thyme *Turkish Speedwell *Woolly Creeping Speedwell *Yarrow *Periwinkle *Leatherwood Male Fern *Switchgrass *Little Bluestem *Maiden Grass *Mexican Feather Grass *Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass

2. Mix leaf types - shape, size, and color - It is a combination of trees (if you have room) to shrubs, grasses, vines and perennials, do it. Skip (other than to make fun planting pot as accent pieces - are expensive to replace every year, and useless, with all the other plants to choose from) the yearbooks. While many plants can look very similar texturally (you have already received some large plants, only to find that they lose something when combined?), There are really a lot if you're trying to make a pointthem out. The finely dissected leaves of Tall Yellow Yarrow contrast and combine beautifully with Red Shrub Rose - add in Blue Switch Grass and the effect is gorgeous. And don't forget the natives! Native plants not only are well-adapted and tend to be low-maintenance and low-water, but also offer unique features -- attributable to their hardiness -- such as the finely-cut, evergreen, blue foliage of Blue Rabbitbrush, fuzzy seed heads of Apache Plume that look great backlit against the sunset, and fern-like foliage of False Indigo.

3. Go beyond green and consider purple and gray/blue foliage combinations. This is one of my favorite color combinations because it can add so much vibrancy to the landscape and there are so many plants to choose from. While these two colors look great as a feature in the garden when paired together, they can also serve as background, highlighting flowering plants or interesting fern-like foliage or ornamental grasses. It's all about contrast! Consider these plants:

*Canada Red Chokecherry *Smoke Tree *Purpleleaf Plum *Japanese Maple *Globe Blue Spruce *Dwarf Arctic Willow *Blue Rabbitbrush *Fringed Sage *Blue Spruce Sedum *Partridge Feather *Silver Speedwell *Pussytoes *Serbian Yarrow *Husker Red Penstemon *Purple Maiden Grass *Blue Switchgrass *Japanese Blood Grass *Blue Avena Grass *Blue Fescue Grass

4. Extend color in your garden by choosing plants that flower at different times and are long-bloomers or repeat-bloomers. Okay, this part of planning your retreat can be a little daunting and tedious, I admit. But I'm really not a fan of those "spring" or "mid-summer" garden plans. Who wants to go to all of the trouble of creating a garden sanctuary only to have it really be interesting for a few months each year? To ensure you are getting good color throughout the flowering seasons, sketch out your landscape design plan on paper and then use colored overlays for spring, summer, and fall. Also, choose plants that flower for 4-6 weeks or repeat-bloom, such as:

*Butterfly Bush *Trumpet Vine *Blue Mist Spirea *Columbine *Yarrow *Winecups *Red Valerian *Bleeding Heart *Purple Coneflower *Cranesbill *Blanketflower *Coralbells *Lavender *Desert Four O'Clock *Tufted Evening Primrose *Scarlet Bugler Penstemon *Mexican Hat Coneflower *California Fuchsia *Coreopsis *Hummingbird Mint *Hollyhock

5. Don't forget the hardscaping and ornamental finishing touches! It's like deciding on your wall's paint color, hanging pictures, or decorating your table's centerpiece. These elements are so joyful to incorporate - whether you choose custom landscape architect designed features specific to your site, or simply have a fun shopping outing. Some will actually help form your garden's structure, or "bones," prior to any plantings, while others will be finishing touches that find their place nestled amongst rambling groundcovers. Lichen-covered boulder dry streams and limestone outcroppings, flat stone patios and meandering gravel pathways, carved wood benches and ornamental metal tables, architectural pots and garden ornaments, soothing water pools and cascading falls, rustic peeled-pole arbors and copper-embellished archways...there really is no limit! Use your imagination and explore unique combinations that suit your personality -- and have fun adding color and texture to create your relaxing retreat!

Landscape Design Plan Ideas - How to Use Color and Texture to Create Your Relaxing Retreat

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