Create Instant Beauty in Your Garden

We all need a pick me up now and then and so do our gardens. Here are a few things you can do to add a bit of instant beauty to your landscape.

Fill in voids, replace tired flowers, and add season long color with annuals. Select varieties that blend well with perennials and your overall garden design. Consider plants like Blue Horizon ageratum, pentas, and classic zinnias.

Move a container into the garden. Set a favorite, unique or colorful pot into the garden and fill with flowers and grasses that complement the planting and container. Elevate smaller pots on a stack of steppers, pedestal, or an old chair.

Plant a few surprises. Combine old favorites with a few new varieties that require the same growing conditions. This also helps stretch your plant budget by using the more economic old favorites as the base or backdrop to the often-pricier new introductions. Or create new combinations with old favorites for a fresher look.

A bit more information: Create a focal point and add color with garden art, a birdbath, funky chair, or a great boulder. These can be added to existing gardens or the impetus for creating a new garden bed in your landscape. Then light it up. Colorful glass orbs, lanterns, and lights add beauty while lighting a path, bird bath, or outdoor living area. And consider up-lighting a tree or shrub to show off its colorful bark or interesting form.