Having a yard with a stunning landscape design can make it more enjoyable to host guests and encourage you to spend more time outdoors yourself. Your home should be your safe haven, and your yard can be an extension of that.
Beautiful landscaping in your yard can create a place you enjoy being and bring friends and family too. Not only that, but it can also increase the value of your property if you ever decide to sell your home.
A beautiful yard is every homeowner’s dream, but finding the right plants to incorporate into your landscape can be more complicated than you might think. There are many things you need to consider when choosing plants for your yard.
The location, amount of sunlight the plant will receive, how much access to water it will have, and how much space you have for the plant to grow will all impact your decision. Choose the wrong plants for the wrong places, and you might find yourself having to replace them in a year or two.
Here’s a guide to some of the most popular plants you should consider incorporating into your Utah home’s landscape.
This beautiful shrub requires very little water and grows well in rocky ground, making it ideal for Utah’s desert climate. Cliffrose is part of the rose family. It will attract bees and hummingbirds to your yard, and it smells fantastic.
The shrub blooms with beautiful white flowers in the late spring and early summer and might even bloom a second time during particularly wet summers. This rose bush will require plenty of space and full sunlight. It can grow up to eight feet tall and should be pruned in the late winter or early spring.
Boxwood is one of the most popular shrubs for lining the walkways and gardens of Utah homes. This boxy plant is excellent for sculpting, and it comes in many different shapes and sizes. This beautiful shrub has dark green leaves that hold its color well.
The best part? Boxwoods are resistant to frost, so you don’t have to worry about them dying during Utah’s harsh winters. Deer don’t care for them much either, so if you have them in an open yard, you can rest assured that they won’t be nibbled on.
Evergreen trees are an excellent choice for Utah landscaping because they hold their beautiful green color all year round. Juniper is part of the evergreen species, and they are lovely in any yard or garden. Young juniper trees need plenty of water, so it’s essential to water them during dry spells for the first two years after planting. After that, they can make do with rainfall alone. They do best in well-drained soil and need a good amount of sunshine. They don’t require much by way of pruning, and they’ll make your yard smell and feel like a forest.
Juniper comes in many varieties depending on the appearance you’re going for, and they’re incredibly durable to withstand Utah’s everchanging climate.
This desert plant has beautiful blue-green foliage that flowers in the late summer and then turns golden bronze in late fall. It does best in well-drained soil and is extremely hardy. It can withstand temperatures up to -38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Little Bluestem is a tall, ornamental grass that reaches up to 4 feet in height. It’s extremely drought tolerant, which makes it ideal for Utah landscapes that don’t get as much water.
There are more than 6,500 varieties of peony, each one as beautiful as the last. These stunning flowers are long-lasting and grow well in sunny Utah yards. They need at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day and grow best in well-drained soil.
Peony plants don’t need tons of water but should be watered every 7 to 14 days or once the soil becomes dry. They are relatively carefree and easy to grow, and they can withstand cold winter temperatures. Watch for their big beautiful blooms in late May or early June.
There’s a huge variety of fruit-producing and edible plants that would do well if included in your landscape design. While some are best saved for summer gardening, others can be included as a part of your everyday landscape.
Raspberry and blackberry bushes thrive in the summer and are hardy enough to survive through cold, snowy winters. The same is true of many varieties of grapes. Utah properties can also successfully grow apple, cherry, peach, and pear trees to yield fruit in the summer and fall.
Remember that edible plants generally require more maintenance and upkeep than other plants and trees. But if you’re willing to put in the work, they are an excellent choice to incorporate into your landscape.
The red elderberry shrub belongs to the huckleberry family. It grows anywhere from 7 to 20 feet in height, but its soft leaves and stems make it easy to trim and maintain. The bright green leaves bring a beautiful variation to any landscape, and in late spring, you will find it covered in tiny white flowers.
Red elderberry draws hummingbirds and butterflies, which can benefit all of your other plants as well. Avoid eating the raw red berries since they can make you sick, but they make delicious jam and syrup if you cook them. This shrub needs well-drained soil and full to partial sunlight. It’s easy to grow and does well in Utah’s climate.
Are you ready to improve your Utah home’s landscape with these beautiful plants? Aerorscape Property Maintenance & Landscaping is here to help. Our landscaping experts are prepared to serve your Utah home or business all year long, from landscape design and installation to sprinkler repair and everything in between.
We provide superior property maintenance and landscaping services in Midvale, Utah, and throughout the greater Salt Lake area, including Park City, Lehi, and more. Contact us today to get started!
Accent boulders can be a beautiful addition to any yard design. But how can you utilize them properly?
Keep reading to find out how you can use boulders to improve your home’s landscape design.
Consider accentuating the path leading up to your front door with a few strategically placed boulders, which will help to make your front door the focal point of your home. If your front door is centered in your home you can mimic that symmetry with the boulders, or opt for an interesting asymmetrical look.
Boulders can not only be decorative, but functional as well. Add boulders around your firepit or in corners of your yard to create additional seating for yourself and guests. Unlike wooden or plastic seating options, boulders are sure to withstand the test of time and provide you with seating for years to come.
An outdoor vignette combines a variety of plants and rocks of various textures in order to create a compelling image. By adding a boulder to a vignette you’re giving it additional height, texture, dimension, and color. To create a vignette, start with your boulder and begin to surround it with a variety of plants, flowers, and rocks of varying shapes and sizes. You’ll know the vignette is done when the scene is pleasing to the eye without looking bare or cluttered.
An unusually shaped boulder can function as a natural work of art. Surround your accent boulder with plants, flowers, and smaller rocks of your choice to fill any additional space around the boulder, and enjoy your natural sculpture.
Why should you only be able to enjoy your landscaping during the day? Consider adding night-time lights to your yard in order to light up your boulder whether it’s part of a vignette or functions as seating or a centerpiece. This way you’ll be able to appreciate and enjoy the work you’ve put into your yard no matter the time of day.
When landscaping with boulders, there are some important things to keep in mind. Make sure you take into consideration:
At Aeroscape Property Maintenance and Landscaping, creating beautiful outdoor spaces is what we do best. If you’d like to use accent boulders to make your home’s landscape design stand out this summer, contact us today to get your free quote. We proudly serve Salt Lake, Summit, Davis, and Tooele counties in the beautiful state of Utah.
