With spring comes renewal and rebirth and we’re all eager to enjoy warmer days filled with the first blooms of the year. To give your landscape a burst of spring color, here are some landscaping ideas that highlight the vitality of spring in Milford, NH.
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The rule of thirds is often used in photography and design to create pleasing balance. It’s a great starting point in landscape design, too. This is a general rule that offers a lot of flexibility while still giving your landscape design structure and order without appearing rigid or contrived.
The Rule of Thirds: Bloom Times
Blooming times can be divided into thirds. For year-round color, make sure one third of your plants should be spring bloomers, one third are summer bloomers, and one third are fall bloomers. The contrast between what’s blooming and what’s not creates interest, and this contrast is particularly evident in spring as the early bloomers add color to an otherwise green landscape. You can mix spring/summer/fall bloomers together in a plant bed so that it’s always beautiful to look at no matter the season; or, you can create seasonal mini-gardens that offer a moving color show that puts individual parts of the landscape in the spotlight at various times.
The Rule of Thirds: a Layered Landscape
The rule of thirds also applies to the positioning of plants. This applies to both horizontal and vertical design and will create a beautifully layered landscape with a lot of visual interest. Horizontally, a balanced landscape design features a low, light, and soft foreground; a mixed mid-ground that features a variety of plant heights, shapes, and densities; and a taller, denser background. Vertically, too, the rule of thirds applies. The bottom third can be considered the “floor” of your outdoor space (grass, low flowers and groundcovers); the middle third can be considered the “walls” (taller flowers, ornamental grasses, and shrubs) and the top third can be considered the “ceiling” (trees).
The Rule of Thirds: Colors
Most people want a riot of color come spring; but you also want to balance this with darker greenery and a lawn so that a landscape isn’t too much of one thing.
Which spring bloomers will make your spring landscape “spring to life”? Tulips, daisies, columbines, blooming ground covers such as thyme, daffodils, crocuses, rockcress, bluebells, azaleas, lilacs, magnolias, hyacinths, cherry trees, and crabapple are just a few spring beauties that bring color and cheer to a landscape waking up from its winter slumber.
Contrast these with your lawn and non-flowering shrubs, trees, and evergreens so that there’s always a beautiful mix of greenery and color. There are many tones of green to use in your landscape. As deciduous trees and shrubs show their first spring-green leaves that will gradually darken, contrast this light green with silvery greens (such as a blue spruce), emerald green (such as holly) or broad-leafed plants with variegated colors such as hostas. Sprinkle in a few purple-leaved shrubs such as ninebark for even more color.
A new bed of fresh mulch also helps to highlight spring blossoms. Mulch is available in a multitude of colors that add spice to the landscape. Choose a color that offers contrast to your spring bloomers. It will weather gradually as the summer sun intensifies but for now, in the mild and often rainy days of spring, fresh mulch is another source of color.
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