Adapting Your Yard for Summer

May 30, 2014

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Adapting your yard for summer is often a matter of practicality as well as aesthetic. What flowers will thrive in high heat? How do you repair and rejuvenate your landscaping after the effects of a long winter? Here are seven ideas for turning your yard into something beautiful for the summer months.

1: Cultivate A Shrub Garden

Plant a series of fragrant, brightly-colored shrubs in close proximity to one another. This will create a “shrub garden” where blue hydrangeas entwine with pink geraniums while snow-white astilbe peek up from behind the leaves. Not only will it bring a fresh feeling to your summer lawn, but it will also be lovely and low maintenance.

2: Embrace The Mulch

To moisturize the ground after a season of cracked earth, you’ll need landscaping mulch that’s up to the job:

– Cocoa mulch is long-lasting and dark in color.
– Compost mulch is rich in vital nutrients.
– Shredded hardwood mulch will add personality to walkways or woodland settings.

3: Transfer New Trees

Trees from seedlings will still be maturing by the time your grandkids have grandkids, but you can always skip the growing pains and install full or partially grown trees instead. Flowering trees are especially beautiful under the sun, so look into sassafras, redbuds or crape myrtles, which bloom in bright pinks and purples during the months of June-August.

4: Hide Your Problem Areas

If your lawn is still suffering after an Ann Arbor winter, you may have unsightly patches of dead grass that are throwing your ambiance off-balance. Instead of driving yourself crazy trying to fix what can’t be fixed, simply draw attention from the ugliness through the use of potted plants, garden ornaments or stepping stones.

5: Experiment With Moss Art

Moss sculptures come in all shapes and sizes, perfect for the yard that isn’t afraid to try something a little different. The only limits are your own imagination. Here are a few ways to use moss:

– Animal sculptures
– Fake trees and bushes
– Words on your stone walls
– Designs and patterns in the landscaping itself

6: Have A Theme

Pull all your design elements together when you create a theme for your summer yard. For example, you might draw inspiration from a Japanese zen garden with gentle ponds and a tree that drops sakura petals. You might revolve things around your grill for Caribbean living, planting seagrass and creating a sand pit in the corner for the kids.

7: Mark Your Perimeter

If you don’t already have a fence separating your yard from the neighbor’s, it’s time to either invest in one or mark your property in another way. Think about edging the land until a clear border appears or providing a physical barrier in low-lying shrubs and bushes.

These are just seven ways to shake things up outdoors as the weather warms and the world comes back alive. Whether you’re reseeding your grass in Ann Arbor or starting a garden in New York, you won’t want to let summer pass you by without rolling up your sleeves and digging into the dirt.