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the puzzle of landscape design

we sat with a big naked flower bed for over a year while I marinated on what to plant in it. I finished the paver border in June of 2023 and could have thrown some plants in to give some interest but flower beds are a whole thing for me. I’m particular, research way too much and consider a lot of details to find plants that will grow together in a way that decreases my efforts over the years.


[BEFORE + AFTER OF CLEANING OUT THE FRONT BED WITH PEGGY, BOB'S MOM. CARDBOARD LAYER TO KILL WEEDS BEFORE DIRT]


I’ve done a few flowerbeds over the years and I’m starting to get my own little process. probably no big surprise that I really get into the design part of landscaping. truly, I love all the parts about landscaping and I absolutely love figuring out how to put different plants together in a way that makes the flowerbed an experience rather than simply looking at it. it’s like a fun little puzzle for me…and sometimes the puzzle takes me a while.


[ADDING DIRT OVER THE CARDBOARD LAYER WITH HELP FROM FIRENDS]



THE PUZZLE OF LANDSCAPE DESIGN

the puzzle consists of a few things, some straight forward and a few of personal preference. the obvious is that the flowers have to fit the sun and soil requirements of where I will be putting them. unlike people, plants can’t get up and walk away when something is not suited for them. they don’t have the ability to change their surroundings to help them become their best version. they’ll just quit and not in a good way.


the personal preference comes in with both, my love for using native plants and maintaining four season interest. the topic of using native plants is a whole other thing. four season interest is that my flowerbed continues to offers an experience well into winter.


[VISUALIZING IS HUGE PART OF THE PROCESS FOR ME. BEAN + FORREST HELPING]

just because most everything is in a deep sleep during winter doesn’t mean it can’t still bring interest and smiles. actually, this might be the most important time my flowerbed needs to bring smiles…also, designing for a winter experience decreases my fall maintenance to almost zero because plants stay put until spring time. big win.


PUTTING THE PUZZLE TOGETHER

the trickery of it all boils down to a good majority of plants only have flower blooms for a few weeks. that means to get year round interest and true design that I crave in my flowerbed the flowers are only one small part of what’s being considered. so in addition to sun + soil requirements I also look at:


  • the overall size and shape of each plant

  • the leaf shape and leaf coloring

  • the shape of the flowers

  • the start of bloom time and for how long


I took a landscape design course a few years back, just for the fun of it, and this flower bed is an attempt at using some of the things I learned.


SUNSET FLOWER BED

once I saw this sunset and snapped a pic I immediately knew it was going to be an inspiration. turns out I had taken a pic of the same colors back in 2019 when we at the lake, way before we thought we'd ever live here. it felt fitting that this was the inspo for the colors I’d use in our front flowerbed.


[LEFT: RECENT WINTER SUNSET. RIGHT: 2019 VISIT TO THE LAKE]


I kinda let my impulsive, excited side get the best of me and I went plant shopping before my design was fully done. I knew better. this meant I ended up buying plants I didn’t have a plan for and had to get everything in the ground quickly before they died in their pots in my driveway. oops. and also typical for me. nothing like adding another element into the mix of things to consider.


[PLANT SHOPPING WITH THIS STUD?!...YES PLEASE]


since most of the plants will be focused on settling into their new home for the first year, it’s hard knowing exactly what kinda of sunset it will look like just yet. some of the plants will have a few flower blooms but mostly all of the action will be happening below the surface as their roots get established. I guess that’s just another part of my puzzle.


[A TOUR OF THE IN PROGRESS SUNSET FLOWER BED]


here’s a bit of the plan…mostly I can see all of this as a finished flowerbed in my head so I didn’t bother to take the time and make a moodboard. I used Notion to refine my plant options and organize them into their different groupings within the bed. I made some notes to help me remember as I was planting and for the future as I finished up the middle part of the design.



THE PUZZLE OF PLANTS + PEOPLE

although it takes me quite a bit of time to find the right fit of plants, it’s more than worth it in the end…and I’m not even finished with this bed yet.


as I design this sunset flowerbed I’m reminded of the importance of letting plants be who they are and trying not to put them into spots they don