Spring Color

This is the time of year we spend a lot of time in our yards enjoying the weather.  Why not add some spring color to your home by displaying colorful annuals in decorative pots.  A simple pot of brightly colored flowers by your front entrance or several around your patio area makes your time outdoors even more enjoyable.

A good time to plant spring annuals is in April when evening temperatures are consistent at 65 degrees or warmer.  With many new varieties of plants on the market, it’s easy to end up with a garden full of mismatched plants.  So, before you start digging, learn what you can do to get your garden blooming at its best.  Also keep in mind that although some flowers can tolerate the summer temperatures, they still need some sun.  So make sure that if you are planting in full sunlight (areas facing south or west), the plants can withstand at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.

Here are a few tips for your spring landscape planting:

-Pick a color scheme.  Choose colors you like that also look good with your house.  Red may be your favorite color, but it will clash against a rust-colored brick.  Popular schemes include hot or cool color borders (reds, oranges, and yellows or blues, violets, and greens) or an all white garden (sometimes called moon gardens because the flowers seen to glow in the moonlight).

-Find balance.  Keep vertical elements (such as tall shrubs or flowers) in check with horizontal ones (groundcover or low, clumping shrubs).  Create a sense of continuity in the garden by repeating similar groupings of plants, colors, or flower shapes in different pots.

-Keep it in proportion.  When buying young plants, be sure to check their mature height and spread.  Graduate the heights of your plants so there isn’t a huge gap between the tallest (usually planted at the back) and the shortest.

-Deadheading

Deadheading is the term used for removing spent blossoms.  Cutting or pinching off the dead flowers prolongs the blooming period.  A plants job is to produce seed.  If you remove the old blooms with the seeds, the plant has to make new flowers to make new seeds.

-Fertilization

Flowers are heavy eaters and will require both nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (such as Miracle Gro) once a month.  Nitrogen will promote vegetative growth while phosphorus is for healthy roots and reproduction (which includes flowers).

 -Types of Spring Annuals

Visit a local nursery to see firsthand the variety of colors, textures, and heights available.  A few varieties we use in our landscapes at AAA include Vinca, Pentas, Coleus, Lantana, Portulaca, Verbena, and Arizona Blue Eyes.