Assessing Your Yard

It’s that time of year to do the fall clean up, and access on how things looked over the summer.  Did that cultivar of daylily look as good as it did in the gardening catalogue, or even better?  Were plants overcrowded, possibly promoting diseases such as powdery mildew, or did the plantings look sparse? If you keep a record of the plants you chose and where you planted them, you can make changes so things will improve next year.  Try to remember when plants bloomed – did you have ongoing color?  Many catalogues have bloom times for annuals and perennials, so you can schedule the timing of color in your beds. 

On the prairies we have such a short growing season that we should plan for the rest of the year too.

With the winter months ahead, how will your yard look?  Will seed heads rise above the snow, and provide movement in the wind; will bright colored berries be available to our feathered friends; will different colored bark and evergreen ‘leaves’ stand out amongst the white? Are there any attractive and contrasting forms and textures along with varying heights and widths and shapes? Would a winter floral container spruce up a corner?

Hardscapes, the ‘bones’ of the landscape, stand above the snow line add interest and variety to your yard. These are things like pergolas, statuary, arbors, trellises, arbors, decks, benches, bridges, bird baths and feeders, driftwood, ornamental features, or even large rocks.

These are things you can take note of now, and over the winter, ponder how you can makes changes to make your yard an appealing addition to your home.