Sustainable Landscape News Distributed 03/06/09
By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Allen Owings and John Young
Early March is the time to begin preparations for adding warm-season annuals to your home landscape. Annual plants are usually simply referred to as “bedding plants” or “color.”
One way to plant annual flowers (and herbaceous perennials) is to create islands of flowers in an open lawn. Because such beds are easily viewed from many sides, however, they often require high maintenance to keep them attractive. You can achieve lower maintenance and sustainability in these landscapes with proper planning, preparation, plant selection and planting.
An option to an island bed is a border along a wall, fence or hedge. This arrangement can soften the transition of landscape structures into the rest of the landscape or can create alleys of color.
Rectangular beds lend themselves to border planting where space is restricted. When planting a border, leave some space behind it. The gap allows for better air circulation, more light penetration and ease of maintenance from the rear.
Generally, flower borders should be 6- to 8-feet wide, allowing adequate space for at least a combination of six or more varieties of plants that can provide progressive blooming through the season.
To prevent grass from growing into the beds, use some form of broad edging or separating strip. Bricks laid flat, flagstone, bare ground or a heavy layer of mulch such as pine straw or pine bark will help keep out grass. You also can regularly use a string trimmer to edge between the lawn and flowers.
Annual and perennial flowers may be grouped according to color. Include plants that bloom at different intervals for a continual color display. Pay attention to plant height, too. Place the tallest plants toward the back of a border bed to serve as a backdrop. Position a few forward, however, to prevent monotony in the design. In island plantings, place tall plants toward the center.
Fall-blooming perennials are usually the tallest, making them the best backdrop or accent plants. Most of the medium-height perennial plants are summer bloomers and may occupy the majority of the center space. Spring-blooming perennials are primarily short plants and should be placed toward the front.
Emerging foliage and flowers of later-blooming plants can help hide the fading foliage of earlier flowers. Narrow beds with excessively tall plants are usually not effective displays. Whether for borders or island beds, keep the width of a planting about twice the height of the tallest plant.
Garden centers offer many colorful flower options for Louisiana yards: ageratum, begonias, cockscomb (celosia), coleus, impatiens, marigolds, periwinkle (vinca), petunia, portulaca, purslane, salvia and zinnia.
Additional warm-season bedding plants include sunflowers, torenia (wishbone flower), gomphrena and melampodium.
Come to LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is located near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (La. Highway 30) in Baton Rouge across the street from the new LSU baseball stadium. Go online to Louisiana Yards and Neighborhoods for additional information.
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Editor: Mark Claesgens