When it comes to landscaping, many different materials can make your yard look beautiful. Some examples from Landscapers Baltimore include mulch, sand, gravel, and soil.
Landscape rocks are a great way to create an eye-catching walkway or driveway. Some popular choices are boulders, cobblestones, and flagstone. Sand can also be used as a filler in projects like walkways and as a base layer for sections of pavement or brick.
Gravel
Gravel is a stone-based ground cover that provides many benefits. It can add visual interest to gardens and rock landscapes while also helping preserve soil moisture. Additionally, gravel is a good option for replacing organic mulch since it won’t be as prone to decomposition or attract bugs. When placed deep enough and in conjunction with landscape fabric, it can even serve as a weed control.
Like other landscaping stones, gravel comes in a variety of colors and textures. It’s also easy to install and less expensive than pavers. As a result, it’s a popular choice for walkways, driveways, and decorative hardscaping features.
There are several types of gravel, including pea gravel, lava rock, sandstone and quartzite. Each offers its own unique look and feel to the landscape. For example, pea gravel has a smooth surface that’s more comfortable to walk on than jagged crushed stone. However, lava rock has sharp edges that can cut bare feet.
Landscapers use gravel in flower beds and garden paths. This is because it prevents weed growth, protects the plants from extreme temperatures and promotes healthy soil. It also slows soil erosion.
Gravel also lasts a long time, unlike organic mulch. But it may be difficult to grow grass or flowers in areas covered with gravel, as the underlying dirt can be too rocky for roots to develop. In addition, it doesn’t suppress weeds as effectively as organic mulch does.
Ornamental Grass
Ornamental grass is a landscape plant that adds texture, movement and interest to the garden. They’re low-maintenance and thrive in a wide range of growing conditions. Many are deer-resistant, heat and drought tolerant and provide interesting color throughout the year. They also act as effective screens and make excellent groundcovers. Some are used as accent plants and others can even serve as vertical design elements.
Grasses come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, so you can use them to create a wide variety of designs. They’re typically grouped in masses to create a powerful effect that makes your yard feel more alive and connected with nature. Mixing tall and airy varieties with short and compact grasses can add a more balanced look to the garden.
The graceful sway of ornamental grasses in the breeze is a beautiful sight to behold. It’s an aspect that can make your yard feel more soothing and welcoming, so it’s great to use it around seating areas and other places where you want to create a more serene atmosphere.
Many ornamental grasses are easy to maintain, and they require minimal fertilization. However, it’s best to check the soil before adding any fertilizer. Excessive nitrogen can lead to disease and overly vigorous growth. It’s also important to avoid overwatering or underwatering, as it can damage the root system.
Depending on the type of grass, it may be either clump-forming or creeping. Clump-forming varieties like mountain oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) grow in compact tufts that become larger over time. Creeping grasses, on the other hand, spread by aboveground stems called stolons or underground stems known as rhizomes. This means they’re easier to contain within a small space.
Leafy Plants
While flowers bring a great deal of beauty to the garden, foliage adds texture and interest. Leaf color, shape, variegation, and fall color are all characteristics that can make a dramatic impact. Look for native and exotic plants with foliar appeal to create lush planting schemes.
Foliage plants can act as a backdrop to flowering shrubs and perennials or be featured in their own right. Boxwoods, for example, are grown for their compact, clipped habit that lends to being used as living hedging or as sculptural focal points in the landscape. Plant them with spring blooming bulbs, hellebores, or hostas to provide a colorful early season display in the shade garden. Or, use them in containers, as a groundcover, or as part of a privacy screen. Sprinter(r) boxwood from Proven Winners, pictured, is an excellent choice for this purpose.
Caladiums are valued for their bold arrowhead-shaped leaves in an array of intricate colors and patterns. They thrive as bedding or container plants in shady areas and pair well with other shade-lovers such as ferns, coleus, impatiens, and hostas. Caladiums can also be planted as border and edging plants, or in the garden as a groundcover to control weeds.
Ninebarks are another carefree foliage plant with multi-season appeal. They feature lobed, round or oval leaves in shades of green, burgundy, gold, orange, red, and multi-hues with some varieties offering new foliage growth that changes hue throughout the growing season. Ginger Wine(r) ninebark from Proven Winners, pictured, makes an ideal shrub for use in mixed borders, as hedging or screening, or to create a focal point in the landscape.
For indoor spaces, big-leaf houseplants offer a visual refresh that adds personality to rooms. From large philodendrons to towering palms and designer-beloved fiddle-leaf figs, these showy specimens perk up bookcases and windowsills with their gargantuan foliage. When caring for these plants, it is important to ensure that they receive sufficient light and water to keep them healthy and beautiful.
Vines
Native vines add an element of height and texture to gardens. They twine along fences, trellises and walls and soften hardscape features like gates and driveways. The flowers and foliage of some varieties attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Native vines are also excellent for establishing natural screens and borders to protect outdoor areas from unwanted views or disturbances.
Vines can be planted alone, or they can mingle with other plants to bring color and interest to the garden. Consider pairing a blooming vine with a shade-loving shrub, or adding bright-flowering climbing roses or clematis to an arbor or trellis. Some vines, such as passion flowers and native honeysuckle, are also excellent pollinator attractants.
Like other woody ornamental plants, vines require regular watering, fertilization and attention to pests. They also benefit from a healthy layer of mulch to help conserve moisture and control weeds.
Vine growth is dependent on the type of support it grows on, and a lot of consideration must go into selecting the right vine for the desired site. The vine must be suited to the support structure and must be able to grow well in the available sunlight. For example, a thick-stemmed vine may not work on a delicate trellis or pergola.
Like many other plant types, native vines have evolved to thrive in the specific climatic conditions of their regions. As a result, they typically require less watering and maintenance than non-native plants. This contributes to a more sustainable landscaping approach that is better for the environment and local water supplies. Native plants are also more resilient to environmental changes, such as extreme rainfall or steep slopes. These attributes can reduce the need for chemical sprays and stabilize the soil, reducing erosion and the risk of landslides.
Mulching
Mulching is a layer of organic material placed on top of soil in garden beds, landscapes and around the base of trees and shrubs. It helps prevent weeds, keeps soil healthy, conserves moisture and adds a beautiful aesthetic to the landscape. Mulching can be made from a variety of organic and inorganic materials. Organic mulches are derived from plant matter, such as bark, wood chips, shredded leaves, pine needles or manure. They enrich the soil as they decompose, and help to improve its structure, water-holding capacity and nutrient content.
Inorganic mulches are made from non-organic material, such as gravel and stone or polyethylene plastic. They are usually used in areas with heavy rainfall, as they reduce erosion and minimize evaporation of soil moisture. They are also good for sandy soils, as they help to bind them together and can break up clay soils to make them more porous.
There are several types of mulch, and each one is best suited to a different situation. For example, gravel and rocks are ideal for preventing weeds and resisting soil compaction, and they can be used as a stepping stone path through gardens or landscaped areas. They also look attractive around houses and in driveways.
Inorganic and organic mulches are both excellent choices for improving the health of soil. Organic mulches, such as hay, straw, grass clippings, leaves and compost, enrich the soil as they decompose and provide organic matter for the micro- and macro-organisms in the soil. In addition, they prevent weeds and suppress their growth. While some organic mulches can introduce disease-causing pathogens into the soil, fully composted, humus-rich materials are less likely to do so (Fraedrich and Ham 1982).