Creating a 4 Season Garden: Design Tips & Plant Picks
This month, we had the pleasure of hosting Plant Lane Farm at our Garden Center. Plant Lane Farm specializes in landscape design, installation and maintenance. They also are the amazing designers who upkeep our front-of-store garden! Below are some of the tips they shared about creating a 4-season garden of interest. As we enter into fall, this is your best chance to re-imagine your garden using the following basic design principals, tips and plant recommendations:
Core Design Framework
The 70/30 Rule: To maintain year-round balance, 70% of the plants can be structural evergreen anchors and 30% focused on rotating seasonal color.
3-layer Depth Stacking: Group plants by height. You can pair a canopy/structure element (tree or large shrub) with mid-story color (flowering perennial) and a base texture (groundcover or ornamental grass).
Room to Grow: Always space your plants based on their mature width, not their current pot size. Air circulation is vital in hot, humid summers to prevent fungal issues like powdery mildew.
Ammend, Don’t Replace: Mix organic compost directly into your native clay soil. Avoid filling the hole with 100% potting mix or it can create a clay ‘bathtub’ effect.
Seasonal Design Focus
Fall: Focus on vibrant leaf color transitions, striking seed heads, late-season floral bursts, dynamic movement, and feathery ornamental grasses
-Fall favorites include Edgeworthia (Paperbush), Camellia sasanqua, Lenten Rose (Helleborus), Japanese Maples, Beautyberry, Osmanthus, Fatsias, and Abelias
Winter: Highlight textured bark, rich broadleaf evergreen leaves, vibrant winter berries architectural branching, and fragrant, cold weather blooms
-Winter favorites include Edgeworthia (Paperbush), Camellia sasanqua, Lenten Rose (Helleborus), Hollies (Ilex family), Autumn Ferns, plum yews, conifers, and agaves
Spring: Celebrate interesting foliage, early native blooms, tender green growth, dramatic bud breaks, and colorful spring bulbs
-Spring favorites include Redbuds, Azaleas, Coral Honeysuckle, Irises, Peonies, Flowering Dogwood, Flowering Peach, Sweetshrub, Fringe Tree, and Serviceberry
Summer: Choose plants made for extreme heat endurance, extended bloom periods, lush foliage textures, drought resilience,and active pollinator support
-Summer favorites include Oakleaf Hydrangea, Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), Salvia, Pink Muhly Grass, Black-Eyed Susan, Bee Balm Joe-Pye Weed, Lantana and Butterfly Bushes