As Your Landscape Grows, Think Dynamically

As landscapes grow and evolve, it pays to create a long-term plan that takes into account mature plant sizes and seasonal maintenance.

Most people will agree that landscape and garden design is an art form, but unlike other types of artwork, a landscape is never finished.

Landscapes are continually growing, changing, and evolving. This is one of the primary reasons why it pays to take your time creating a design for your garden before you start planting — consider the mature sizes of plants and shrubs, as well as how their growth will change the garden dynamics. Even tiny, flowering ornamental plants and bulbs can grow tall and spread out far wider than you initially dreamed possible.

As your landscape grows, you must think dynamically. This means having a plan for seasonal maintenance, annual cutbacks, and a multi-year plan.

Plan Ahead

When you first design your garden, use graph paper and make a drawing to scale so that you can sketch out where everything will go.

Calculate the mature sizes of the plants you have chosen, and draw them in at the mature size. This will help you to make sure there is enough space to accommodate the plants you want.

Think about the flowering seasons and fall colors, and draw out your garden in every season. You don’t have to be a great artist, just think in colors, shapes, and sizes.

Look at where the shrubs and trees will cast shade, and plan for how that will change the garden as they grow. The more you plan in advance, the easier it will be for you to make decisions about the landscape as it grows and changes.

Shape and Manicure

In addition to designing a landscape with the mature sizes of plants in mind, you should also consider how you may want to shape shrubs and ornamental trees as the landscape matures.

As shrubs and ornamental trees grow, they can become unruly and cast shade onto understory plants, affecting their growth and flowering. Cutting them back will keep the landscape in balance and can add a beautiful overall design element.

There are many different methods for manicuring ornamental trees — from pollarding to topiary — so look at the different ways that you can mold them to fit into your aesthetic.

Shaping small trees and shrubs isn’t only practical, it adds geometry, whimsy, and stronger lines to your landscape.

Multiply, Divide, and Add

Just as a family might add an extra bedroom to their home when they have another child, you should consider expanding your garden beds over time to make room for new plants and to adjust for the growth of older, more mature ones.

Some of this expansion will happen naturally — for instance, with flowering bulbs that multiply over time. Every few years, bulbs like to be divided, which means digging them up and removing half or more of them to create space for the bulbs to thrive.

While this can be a great opportunity to share with friends and neighbors, it also means that you can increase the number of bulbs in your garden — often by expanding existing flower beds or creating new ones.

If you are running out of flower bed space, you might want to consider giving up some of your lawn to create larger planting areas that leave only pathways between planted areas.

Take the Inside Outside

When you first begin to plan your garden, look at your space and imagine how it might evolve over time.

It doesn’t matter if you are only beginning with one small corner of the yard — always think about the big picture and how it will look in one, 5, or 10 years. Over time, landscapes often grow to the extent that they begin to encroach on your outdoor living spaces.

As garden beds creep closer to porches, patios, and decks, one of the most natural progressions is to incorporate outdoor living spaces into the garden.

A simple pergola or gazebo can turn part of your landscape into an extension of your home. Flowering vines like wisteria or jasmine can provide shade in the summer, and an outdoor heater and curtains can extend the season into late fall or even early winter.

One thing about having a beautiful garden is that you want to be in it as much as possible. Creating outdoor living spaces gives you an opportunity to do that.

Outdoor kitchens, showers, sitting areas, and even small meditation spaces are all ways that you can transition some of your time spent indoors to being outside.

Don’t look at the landscape as just a decorative part of your home, but rather as an extension of your living space.

Be Open to Change

As landscapes grow, things will inevitably change. Trees may become sick and die, ornamental plants may become too aggressive and begin to take over, and extreme weather can take its toll.

Wherever you are forced to adjust to change in the garden, look at it as an opportunity.

If an area of the landscape never seems to drain properly, instead of fighting it you may choose to install a rain garden or a water feature.

If you struggle to provide enough water for your garden, it might be a good idea to install more of a drought-resistant landscape.

If an ornamental plant you installed begins to take over, remove it and replace it with something less aggressive.

If a tree or shrub is dying, take the opportunity to figure out why and replace it with a more appropriate species.

Landscapes are always changing, and the more open you are to change, the happier you will be when things don’t go as planned.

Be prepared for growth with plans for expansion, adaptation, and maintenance. But also be prepared for unfortunate weather events, pests, and plant diseases. Your landscape is a work in progress — and a great adventure.