3 Atlanta Landscaping Trends for 2014 from Leading Atlanta Landscaper

2014 Atlanta Landscape Trends

The New Year is here and with it comes the opportunity to create the outdoor living area of your dreams. Unique Environmental Landscapes offers the experience and design expertise needed to ensure your project is exactly what you dreamed it could be! So, what are many Atlanta property owners hoping for in 2014? We’ve got the hottest landscape trends right here. Which is your favorite?

1) Paying attention to new plant introductions: Much of the trends are driven by the environment. We’ve now experienced the polar vortex, drought, floodingrain…Georgia experiences a wide variety of environmental conditions……and opportunities – if you know how to choose the right plants for the right environment. We have access to the best new plants and can help you make the best choices.

2) Experimenting with new palettes of landscape plants: The palettes of landscape plants in the Atlanta area have evolved, too, as the wishes of the consumer have evolved. Pantone color trends aren’t just for interior decorating! Homeowners and businesses are increasingly looking to their landscape professionals to be on top of the latest color and design trends. Unusual color combinations, well-suited to the aesthetics of your home, business, personality and neighborhood can elevate your outdoor areas.

3) Outdoor living continues to grow: In Atlanta we are truly blessed with a climate that allows almost year-round outdoor living. Our Atlanta homeowners and business owners continue to demand practical and beautiful designs that bring the outdoors and the indoors together, creating a seamless living experience, adding value, and providing unparalleled opportunities for social, resident (personal?) and family time. Our designs can integrate the latest in both design and technology, including:

  • Landscape lighting systems that are controlled with your phone or tablet
  • Outdoor firepits with gas systems that are remote controlled
  • High quality audio and video that allows virtually year-round viewing and listening to favorite programs

In conclusion, one of the wonderful things about the green industry is that change is constant. Here at Unique Environmental Landscapes we thrive on providing the best in industry design coupled with the most innovative and forward-thinking trends. Whether you are interested in traditional or classic design that includes the latest technology, or trendy color combos that will make your home stand out, we are here to work with you every step of the way. Our designers are not only gifted creatively, but exceptional horticulturists, as well.

Are you ready to take advantage of one or more of these wonderful landscape and outdoor living trends? Give us a call today and we’ll help you get started.

Check out these posts for additional inspiration:

Outdoor Kitchen Retreat

Backyard Oasis

Inspirational Design Video Montage

A Full Portfolio of Inspiration

Goshiki Osmanthus Plant is a Year Round Pleaser

Winter is a good time to assess just how colorful your landscape is! It’s very easy when planning a landscape to create a great spring and summer display, but the trick to creating year around color in your landscape is selecting from plants that bloom each season. I will try to lay out over the next couple weeks and months plants that you can add into your landscape that will bring it year-round interest and create focal changes as the seasons progress. A lot of these plants I’ve used for years in my landscape designs as well as my home landscape. Just walking around yesterday I realized how Yellow Twig Dogwood, Edgeworthia and other winter plants create an interest even on the dreariest of days.

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' is a tough, strikingly variegated evergreen shrub with five colors on each leaf which create an eye-catching display in the landscape.

Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’ is a tough, strikingly variegated evergreen shrub with five colors on each leaf which create an eye-catching display in the landscape.

For starters, let’s look at Goshiki Osmanthus. This great mounding evergreen shrub has variegated foliage throughout the year with interesting color changes as the new foliage comes out and the later summer foliage matures. It is a slow growing shrub that loves to be pruned hard so it’s adaptable in small spaces and, if left untreated, can grow 4 to 5 feet tall, which makes it very adaptable for many areas in your landscape. For those of you who get creative around the holidays, its foliage works very well in Christmas wreaths and holiday greenery. Goshiki means ‘five colored’ in Japanese and refers to the various colors found on each leaf. The leaves will show off all five colors: cream, pink, orange, yellow, and white. Those colors will appear in attractive spots or swirls that combine together to create an eye-catching display!

Other notes:  Thrives in dry, hot climates, good container plants, drought tolerant, fragrant, low maintenance

Learn more about Unique Environmental.

 

Tips for Atlanta Cool Season Pots and Planters

2013 Fall Pots and Planter Blends2

Temperatures are dropping here in the Atlanta, Georgia area, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to enjoy beautiful flowers through the fall and winter! Our designers at Unique Environmental understand that there is a lot of misinformation in the marketplace about cool season annuals and how well they work in your pots and planters. We are going to tackle some of those for you in just a moment, but if you’d rather spend more time with your family and still have a gorgeous yard during the fall and winter months, you may want to consider the container planting or seasonal color bed installation that we provide. You can check that out here.

Ready? Let’s debunk some common DIY landscape ideas:

  1. Pansies For All: Yes, the great thing about pansies is you can find them in all different shades of colors, but have you considered violas? Violas bloom stronger and mix well with pansies. In fact, this precious flower was chosen as flower of the year by the National Garden Bureau in 2007. They can be the workhorse of pots and planters and are perfect for bridging the seasons in warmer zones, where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter.
  2. Chrysanthemums Last Forever: Mums, a gardener’s go-to for classic beauty, would also do wonderfully in your window box for a quick hit of color. Remember, though, typically the blooms will last about 4 to 6 weeks depending on temperature and then they are just a green plant, which can still provide a nice backround for other plants.  Just make sure they are spaced properly, watered frequently and have at least 4 hours of sunlight each day in order to thrive. You will need to update your pots and planters if using Chrystanthemums, so be sure you want to include them in your mix!
  3. Snapdragons or Bust: If you are looking for a tall, elegant flower for your window box, snapdragons may be the perfect choice for you – but they only bloom late September through early October- then they go through a dormant stage and will not re-bloom until late March or early April. This is an example of how your pots and planters can really look sad if you aren’t educated about the best types of plants and materials.
  4. All I Need Are Flowers: Spectacular, well-designed, awe-inspiring pots, planters and seasonal beds aren’t only full of flowers. There is a wide variety of accent material and accent plants that will make the color of the flowers pop and sing. Our generous blends of trailing pansies, variegated foliage, and coordinating uprights mean that the outdoor appeal of your living areas is strong – even in the fall and winter. Just give us a call.
  5. Plant and Go: There is no such thing as a maintenance-free planting – that is, unless we are maintaining it for you! Your pots and planters are only beautiful with the proper attention to soil/ fertilization and the general care necessary for prolonged seasonal color. It is not a one and done process. Even after the installation deadheading, fertilizing is critical to maintain long-term color. Beautiful pots and planters are within your reach

What about you? We would love to hear about some of your favorite cool-season plants! Stop by our Facebook page and share with our online community your go-to fall and winter flowers. If you have a picture – feel free to share that too! We look forward to hearing from you.

For more information about Unique Environmental Landscapes and the services we offer – give us a call at 404-691-9310 or visit us online.

Unique plants for your winter landscape

Does your landscape needs some interest this winter? Try incorporating in these two shrubs and an evergreen perennial into your woodland landscape plantings.

Daphne odora is a classic southern fragrance.

Every southern landscape needs Daphne odora to welcome in the fragrance of winter. This evergreen flowering shrub creates a unique feature to your winter landscape, flowering from late January to early March, depending on weather conditions. Its fragrance summons the thoughts of what spring will be.

Daphne is a great plant for a woodland or shade garden, growing only 3 to 4 feet tall on maturity. Mixed in with plantings of hostas and other later spring blooming perennials, it creates a great seasonal mix for your pathways and woodland garden.

Need a winter flowering fragrant shrub for your landscape?

Think of planting Edgeworthia (Paper Bush) shrub. Edgeworthia flowers in the winter months and is a great woodland plant for your landscape. Mix them in with evergreen ferns or heuchera to create nice woodland plantings that are seasonally interesting.

Upside down tulip? No, it’s Hellebores.

Sometimes that’s what Hellebores (Japanese lantern) look like when they bloom. This winter blooming perennial is quite interesting for a woodland garden landscape. The blooms with shades of pink to white make up the color array of this hardy evergreen perennial. Incorporating again Hosta, evergreen ferns and Heuchera along with other early spring and summery perennials creates a long-lasting array of seasonal interest in your landscape.

Washington Hawthorn Makes a Super Ornamental Tree Choice

A Washington Hawthorn is an excellent ornamental tree that will bring spring color and winter brilliance to your landscape. The Washington Hawthorn is a mid-size tree that bears white flowers in the spring and boasts beautiful red berries throughout the fall and early winter months. Unique Environmental Landscapes chooses this tree for many Atlanta landscapes. Our clients love it.

Washington Hawthorn in December

Fall Landscape Ideas from Unique

Fall is the perfect time to add plant material to your existing landscape or to plan a compete landscape makeover in your yard. Whichever the case may be, Unique Environmental Landscapes has a few plant suggestions for the Atlanta and Northern Georgia region. It just so happens that three of the plants Unique will be using this fall are also University of Georgia (UGA) Gold Medal Plant winners for 2012.

The first, and one of Unique’s favorite, is the Red Bark Coral Maple. One of it’s most outstanding characteristics is the vivid red-coral color the branches turn during the winter. Because it is a deciduous tree, the branches become a focal point in the winter garden, shine a little light on this beauty after dark and add drama to your nighttime landscape (see photo below.) In the spring, the new leaves don red edges adding another cool characteristic to the Coral Bark Maple. Then there is the fall splendor with yellow-gold and red colors.

Another one of Unique’s favorite is the Rabbiteye Blueberry (or Southern Highbush Blueberry.) You will notice this plant at this time of year for it’s beautiful fall foliage color, a deep red. Of course, the blueberries we harvested over the summer are a tasty reason to love this deciduous shrub, too. Next spring, this native blueberry bush won’t disappoint either with it’s incredible cream colored blooms almost like that of Lily of the Valley. Even though plant selection might be limited in the fall, it is the very best time of year to plant a blueberry shrub, it will love a rainy winter. Be sure to purchase at least three plants including two or more varieties for cross-pollination purposes.  If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, be sure to keep the soil moist. A good layer of mulch at the base always helps retain moisture…a must for best blooming and berry harvesting!

If your landscape project includes adding to your perennial garden, try Coral Bells (Heuchera) in a part-to full-shade garden. It looks best when planted next to the fine textures of plants such as bleeding hearts and ferns. It also looks great around smooth creek rock or garden statues. This perennial adds year round color, though older and tired leaves should be trimmed off before the new spring growth.

All three of the plants listed here tolerate drought conditions fairly well. Though it’s always important to remember, newly planted material requires sufficient watering for the first year especially. And of course, there aren’t really any plants in the south that don’t need a good drink of water occasionally!!

Drama in the landscape

Coral Bark Maple is a night time show piece!

Rich’s Winter Recommendations

Frozen-pipes

What will this toe numbing, water pipe-busting, shiver-inducing weather do to our vulnerable southern plants? The weather is anything but predictable as we all know, but the last few years have really been doozies when it comes to extremes!  Drought followed by ridiculously heavy rainfall and now freezing weather hanging around for over a week.  What is a landscape to do? 

Let’s deal with the latest extreme, the arctic express of January 2010.  It’s not that the temps have been disastrously low; they’ve certainly been lower and more disastrous in past years.  That they are staying below freezing for an extended period of time, however, is cause for some concern. 

 

So what can you do?  The harsh reality is that in many cases the answer is nothing.  People tend to use plants that are borderline hardy, (and some that just shouldn’t be considered at all) and harsh conditions such as these remind us that perhaps we should choose plants more discriminately while planning a landscape, or when we replace them, as will be the case with many this year I’m afraid.  In most instances it just isn’t practical to try to cover all those tender plants for extended periods.  Tent cities of plastic and multi-colored blankets over those poor plants look ridiculous on so many levels, and frankly, they’re still going to be damaged.

 

What then can you do?  You can plan ahead and contract with qualified, experienced landscape professionals like those at Unique Environmental who will design landscape areas using plants that will survive these extremes.  You can make sure your plants are well mulched before the cold weather arrives.  Once the weather warms, make sure that your plants are hydrated, especially in planters or raised beds, as these cold, windy dry days will desiccate a plant in no time flat.  Deadhead your pansies and give them a drink (straight up, NOT on the rocks!) and perhaps remulch those perennials, hostas and other more shallow rooted plants that are exposed to these decidedly northern conditions.  Should you notice damaged leaves on your evergreens, refrain from cutting them back until it is apparent they have died back, later this spring.

 

Beyond that, know that this is but a passing event and we’ll soon be warming again.  Join us at the Southeastern Flower Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre, February 4th through the 6th, enjoy our garden and those of others, and dream of sunny days and sultry nights.


Rich