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Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
How often do you see right angles and straight lines in nature? Not often in my experience. Nature likes curves. Curves energize a landscape. Wide open curves free the mind with dramatic long views while tighter curves invite your eyes to pause and wonder what is in store around the next bend. Depending on your perspective (isn’t that the secret to a well lived life) and distance curves can appear to change shape as you change position. You might notice something completely different whether you are coming or going. A bendable perspective doesn’t just hold water in reference to planting beds. Sidewalks, arches, and accent containers all benefit from some bending and shaping.
Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
The beds are shaped and smoothed, the trees and shrubbery & flowers are planted, and the mulch is on the ground. Like carpeting in a house, ground cover is the last thing to go into the landscaping. Groundcovers serve more than one purpose in the garden. Undervalued, and improperly used, groundcovers are the Cinderella of the landscape. These plants are living mulch, suppressing weeds, conserving moisture, and reducing maintenance. They are the workhorses of the plant world. Groundcovers add another to your garden by complementing and enhancing the plants they support through variations in color and texture. Smooth leafed groundcover next to something spikey and rough creates visual drama. The subtleties of great landscape design can be witnessed in well placed groundcover.
Monday, March 21st, 2016
Okay, we are all guilty of a spontaneous buying spree. See it. Want it, Gotta have it.
Spring blindness is running to the local plant emporium and buying everything in sight because it’s in bloom and green. What more could you want after winter?
Monday, March 21st, 2016
Ground CoverLandscapingPerennials
It’s just too bad those old bell-bottom jeans don’t fit anymore. Like clothing, landscaping styles change. There have been times when we couldn’t keep enough perennials in stock because everybody and their mother wanted perennial gardens. The same happened with grass gardens for a few years. We have been in this long enough to see the perennials lead to grasses to rocks to mulch to low-maintenance evergreens and shrubs to more stone. Each time the stone comes out and the mulch goes in and the mulch comes out and we do the hokey pokey and we turn it all around. That’s what it’s all about.
Monday, March 4th, 2013
We are waiting for spring to show its lovely face so we can get back to work. After a long winter we are just waiting for some 50 and 60 degree days to shake off the cabin fever. What are you waiting for? Do you drive up to the house and wish it looked better? Have you been yearning for a new patio in the back yard? How are those neighbors doing? Maybe it’s time to plant a hedge so they can stay in their own yard. Does your yard or basement flood every time it rains? What better time than now to start the journey to a beautiful landscape?
Wednesday, October 10th, 2012
Like carpeting in a house, ground cover is the last thing to go into the landscaping. Groundcovers serve more than one purpose in the garden. Undervalued, and improperly used, groundcovers are the Cinderella of the landscape. These plants are living mulch, suppressing weeds, conserving moisture, and reducing maintenance. They are the workhorses of the plant world. Groundcovers add another dimension of color and texture by complementing and enhancing the plants they support. We use many varieties of ground cover including dozens of Sedum varieties, Mazus Reptans, Ajuga, and Pachysandra to name a few. The variation is varieties is astonishing. Virtually any color or texture can be found to balance and enhance a garden. Ground covers, when chosen well, can be as beautiful as they are useful. They give the finishing touch that elevates the landscaping to the realm of fine art.
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
FlowersHardscapesLandscapingTrees
Have you ever slowed down to drive by a beautiful home or landscaping? Do people do the drive-by in front of your house or do they go by so fast you don’t know if they were driving a Ford or Ferrari? Your driveway entrance is an invitation to your guests to enter your space.
A driveway entrance is often one of those areas in our yard that get neglected. We see a few straggled survivors or leftover plants by the road. Sometimes the beds are neglected and overgrown. No matter the shape or size, a well-planned and planted driveway entrance creates a visual journey with promises of what awaits your guests upon their arrival.
What does your driveway entrance say to passersby? What does it say about you? Is it drive-by worthy or just another unremarkable blip along the road. Do drivers want to slow down just to imagine what they might find if they turned in and ventured to see you?
Smalls Landscaping
310 North 325 East
Suite A
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: (219) 476-7400
Toll Free: (855) 476-7400
Fax: (219) 476-7500
