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Landscape Design: Right Plant, Right Place

Spring is right around the corner and that means planting!  I know a lot of people are asking themselves, “what plant will work here?” Well, Lawn Wrangler has come to the rescue and we want to help you figure out exactly how to pick the right plant for the right place.  A few problems we all have when selecting a plant are what we should plant and where it should be planted.  To select the right plants for our landscape, we first need to check and understand the site conditions where we want to plant.  Four main components exist: zone, sun, soil, and drainage.

Your plant hardiness zone depends on where you’re located on the map. Anne Arundel County is split in half west to east, west being 7a and east being 7b.  These designate the average extreme low temperature (a being colder than b.)  Check the plant tag for this information.

For sun, simply monitor your planting area a few times throughout the day and see how much sun it gets.  Light requirements for plants range from full sun to full shade.  Many plants will still survive if they receive less sun than required, but will almost always produce less blooms and glow at a slower rate than if they were in the appropriate amount of light.

Soil and drainage go hand in hand.  Whatever soil you have will basically determine your drainage. Sandy, rough soils have a better drainage than soft, clay-like soils because of particle size.  The bigger the grains, the more space between each grain there is and vice-versa.  Dig a sample 5”-12” deep and check it out. Feel it and ask yourself: Is it rough?  Is it smooth?  Is it smooshing (I know, real professional) easily?  Most plant tags will tell you whether a plant needs wet, medium drainage, or well drained soils.

After determining what zone, sun, and soil you have, you can go look at plants.  However, you need to NOW ask yourself: Why do I want to plant here?  What is my goal?  There are countless goals for planting whether it be for more color, a nice soft border, or screening (for that pesky neighbor!) You should always have this idea in mind so you don’t end up buying something that won’t fit.  Lastly, realize that PLANTS WILL GROW!  Most of us forget this when buying plants then two years down the road we have an overcrowded garden eyesore.

Last but not least, perennials are plants that come back from dormancy every year and annuals are plants that die off every growing season.  As simple as this is, many people mix the terms up frequently!

So, as Spring approaches and you’re looking to plant that new garden or update an existing bed, remember to analyze you’re landscape, think about what you want to achieve with your bed, and don’t forget to be patient! Check out Monrovia.com for all things planting!  They have great tools for selecting plants of all kinds. Good luck and always choose THE RIGHT PLANT FOR THE RIGHT PLACE!