Right Plant, Right Place
Do you feel like a plant killer or black thumb? Perhaps you’re drawn to plants for their color and plant it hoping fate will help this plant live. Gardening is really not that complicated but it does take some planning to determine which plants will work for a particular landscape.
Right Plant, Right Place Actions:
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Determine how you will use your landscape. Need lawn space for kids, pets or recreation? Do you want to grow veggies or reduce lawn to provide for wildlife?
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Take a walk around your property and sketch characteristics for sun conditions, dry vs wet soils, existing vegetation, drainage patterns, utilities, etc. Different conditions often exist in the same yard. The front yard may be high and dry, while the backyard may be poorly drained and soggy.
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Select plants based on what will fit your existing conditions. Excellent resources include books, plant search databases online and other gardeners. Read labels on plants at the store before purchasing a plant you’re not familiar with growing.
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Group plants according to their maintenance needs.
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While turf grass may seem easy to maintain, it actually requires more maintenance than most other landscape plants. Turf grass needs regular mowing (cut only 1/3 of the blade at a time at the height appropriate to the type, service mower once per year including sharpening mower blades), watering 1” per week, fertilizer and lime applications (SOIL TEST TO DETERMINE AMOUNTS!).
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Consider replacing unneeded turf areas with a groundcover or turn into a wildlife garden.
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Use deciduous trees or shrubs on southern exposures to allow the sun to passively heat your home in Winter. Shading the eastern and western walls of your home will help save energy costs.
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Attend a workshop at your local county center with N.C. Cooperative Extension.
Good landscape design hinges on one basic concept—the right plant in the right place. Careful planning and site evaluation are the first steps in applying this concept. Although there is no such thing as a maintenance-free yard, it is possible to have a low maintenance, attractive yard.
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