317Grow Blog
Read . Grow . Thrive
Ferns don’t typically make me think of Christmas, but this semi-evergreen fern keeps going strong into December. Its foliage remains green into mid to late winter. It is not the most delicate and dainty fern, but its tough, large leaflets are a good addition to shade gardens when evergreen massing is called for.
The owners of this property in the Meridian Kessler neighborhood of Indianapolis called us in to revitalize their limited outdoor space to turn it from some foundation plantings and lawn into a multi-purpose space that would bring their family outside and improve curb appeal. We completed this project in two phases: first we did a functional overhaul on the back yard, and then a few years later we dressed up the front yard to fit with the new style and feel of the re-vamped back yard.
Welcome to September! Schools are back in session, football is getting started, and a certain coffee chain will soon start selling a certain squash-themed coffee-based beverage. One of my favorite early signs of the approach of fall is the way perennial grasses start to gradually shift to their rich winter browns and golds. Switchgrass is a sturdy, stately perennial grass that looks its best in the late summer. It's low-maintenance, which is always a plus, and it's native to Indiana, which gets any plant extra points in my book.
Here at the office, we like to joke that it's not a 317Grow garden unless it has liriope! We certainly do use this grassy plant a lot, and with good reason. With clean, tidy foliage and a pleasant surprise of purple flowers in late summer, it thrives in many conditions and matures to be a dense, low-maintenance groundcover suitable for a wide variety of soil conditions.
After enjoying all the fireworks on the 4th of July, we'd like to share one of nature's fireworks: bee balm. Bee balm (sometimes called bergamot or its scientific name, Mondarda) is one of our favorite perennials. It has a long bloom season and unique flowers, and pollinators love it, which makes it a perfect pick in advance of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's second annual pollinator count.
May's plant of the month is one of my favorites: columbine. Columbine thrives on woodland edges between full sun and part shade. The delicate, intriguing flowers nod gently on slender stalks from mid to late spring. The foliage is light and airy, and helps create a calm atmosphere even after the flowers are gone. Later in the season, the seedpods ripen and produce a gentle rattling sound when the wind blows.
This month's featured plant is one of my favorite perennials. Epimedium is a adaptable, four season, shade loving, drought tolerant spreading perennial that makes a great bed edge or groundcover. Did I mention that it has almost no pest and disease problems, and that deer and rabbits leave it alone? And it has unique spring flowers. It deserves a spot in any landscape with shade, and it's truly a shame it isn't more widely known in Indiana.
While we haven’t had a lot of huge snow events this year, almost every week there’s enough of a risk of snow or ice to put down road salt at least once. Over time, this salt can splash onto parking lot and roadside plants enough to damage the foliage, or temporarily shock the soil with too much salt for the plant roots. Salt draws water out of plant cells and leaves them looking burnt and stunted. In cases of soil salt accumulation, sometimes it just looks like a plant is smaller and struggling compared to the same plant a few feet further back from the street.
Winter is upon us, and the world outside our windows has become a lot more grey and dreary. When we approach a new design, it is not at all unusual for the client to request that we include plants that will look interesting all year round. For most, their mind will automatically turn to evergreens, but there are so many more plants that can light up the winter landscape in other ways.
We all want some late season blooms to keep our landscapes vibrant as the temperatures cool off, and anemone is an excellent candidate. Also known as windflower, these perennials send up long stalks with airy white or pink flower in September and October, and they sway gracefully in a breeze for an ethereal feel.
CONNECT WITH US:
