‘Best in Show’ Winners

Two decades of Southeastern Flower Show and Atlanta Home Show

Unique Environmental Landscapes took the top award for medium size booths at the Atlanta Home & Garden Show held at the Cobb Galleria March 20-22, 2015. Unique’s eye-catching garden was a popular spot all three days of the show, attracting the attention of landscape design/install seeking residential patrons. Highlights of the garden included a custom built natural waterfall pumping 4800 gallons of water per hour, a wood burning fireplace, Coral Bark Japanese Maple which was beautifully accented with uplights. A good deal of the plant material in the garden was selected from the Southern Living Plant Collection, a favorite in Unique’s plant palette for the Atlanta landscapes. To finish off the garden, Unique placed beautiful (and comfortable) furniture from Casual Image on Belgrade’s Lafitte Rustic Slab paver patio so patrons could picture themselves enjoying this beautiful landscape garden.

Relax in front of the fireplace in Unique Environmental's garden at the Atlanta Home & Garden Show.

Relax in front of the fireplace in Unique Environmental’s garden at the Atlanta Home & Garden Show.

A peek into Unique Environmental's garden.

A variety of shrubs, trees, and flowers used in Unique Environmental’s garden.

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.

Unique is Presented with Two Urban Ag Council Landscape Awards

Unique Environmental Landscapes will be presented with two Distinction Awards at the annual Urban Ag Council Awards Dinner this evening at the Gwinnett Center. The awards are both for residential landscape design/install projects completed by Unique. The first project in the ‘over $150k’ category is in Millen, Georgia where the client requested a tropical resort in their backyard. The other project in the ’75k – $150k’ category, is located in Kennesaw, Georgia. Please visit the Urban Ag website for a complete listing of all winners   http://www.urbanagcouncil.com.

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

A Ginkgo Biloba Tree Is a Great Shade Tree and Fall Color Addition

Noted for it’s outstanding brilliant yellow fall color, the Gingko tree is very tolerant and can withstand some pretty harsh conditions. The one thing that must be considered is soil drainage. The Gingko does not like standing water, it prefers a loamy or somewhat sandy soil. It is okay with short droughts, but NOT flooding. It likes a few hours of bright sunlight each day, too much shade could slow the tree’s growth which can grow to enormous heights. At first it grows very slowly and maybe a little crooked, no worries though, it will straighten out and pick up growth after several years.

Low maintenance – The Gingko needs minimal basic fertilization, maybe two times per year. A light layer of mulch at the beginning of each season is adequate. It requires very little pruning unless you want to ‘shape’ the branches which is best done in the spring.

The Gingko plant is readily available at most garden shops. You should know the female variety is fruit producing and this fruit can have a pungent odor. Removing the fruit immediately after it falls helps minimize this problem. Fall is a good time to plant the Gingko or almost any landscape material so it has time to get established before the heat of summer.

Spectacular fall color on a mature Ginkgo Tree

Fertilize those Fall Flowers

Like the landscape installation department at Unique Environmental, your fall seasonal color has probably been in the ground for about a month now. You’re thinking the recent rainfall was good and now the sunshine and average fall temperatures should make your cabbage, pansies, and violas happy right? Wrong! It’s time for a feeding. Take advantage of one of the warmer days when it comes along over the next week and fertilize with Peter’s liquid fertilizer. I recommend liquid over granulated now because it will work faster.

Compost Your Leaves This Fall

Starting now and through January, the site of landscape companies using motorized leaf blowers or family and friends hand powering a leaf rake will be a common site all across Atlanta and North Georgia.  Leaf drop on properties depends on the varieties of trees within the community.
Before bagging or burning leaves, please keep in mind that allowing leaves to fall and decompose in natural areas or placing and spreading them there is beneficial to the trees for water retention along with nutrient replenishment. Leaves can also be used to cover bare soil in your vegetable garden during the winter to protect the cold-hardy vegetables (carrots, kale, leeks, etc.) When it’s time for spring gardening, just turn the leaves in but add a slow-release nitrogen before planting as the leaves will deplete soil nitrogen.
Burning is a bad option because the smoke contains dangerous compounds and it can irritate anyone’s lungs, especially children or elderly and anyone with respiratory or cardiovascular disease.
But before all the beautiful color falls to the ground, get out and enjoy it. There are many parks around Atlanta that exhibit beautiful fall color.