As landscape designers, we at Peer Landscaping of Fort Myers, FL use annuals in many different ways in your overall landscape design. Annuals stay in bloom for several months, so we like to use them for the constancy they provide while other plants go in and out of bloom according to the season. These flowering plants are a great color addition when lining sidewalks. With their multitude of textures and colors they are also make great border plants for surrounding a garden bed or as a ground cover in front of a tall green hedge.
When laying out your landscape, our designers look to create various levels of visual interest, so we design in layers. For example, we may put tall hedges in the back, with midsize bushes in the middle and the flowering annuals will fill in the area closer to the ground. The annuals provide that interesting vibrant view right in the foreground of your garden, making it feel lush and full. The annuals are great filler plants for a newly planted landscape, and even a more established landscape. We also love to place annuals in containers because they add a splash of color to a deck, porch, or patio. In garden beds and as sidewalk borders, they provide bright accents.
You may have observed that in this article we keep mentioning annuals as an accent or filler for your garden, and that is typically the way we use them. They are not typically used as a dominant feature in the way larger bushes or plants such as white birds of paradise are, and as such we look to try to harmonize their colors and shapes with the other plants, shrubs, and trees we are using for your landscape. We use the vibrant color of annual flowers to direct the eye to the parts of the garden we want to draw attention to, or perhaps even to a particular feature in your yard. For example, we may surround a water feature like a small pond with beautiful blue and yellow flowers, or use gorgeous red flowers alongside a concrete walking path to draw people to your front door.
Pairing Annuals and Perennials
One of the most common misconceptions people have told us about their annual garden bed change outs is that they think they have to only be annuals and we can't use perennials. But that is simply not true. We often mix annuals and perennials because they help keep color in your landscape all year long, especially at times like in the fall when the summer annuals have already run their course and are no longer flowering, but it’s too early to plant the winter annuals yet. This is why we like to add perennials. Perennials are beautiful color addition to the garden when mixed with the annuals and the two types of plants can be interchangeable depending on the type of flowers you love. We love to use both annuals and perennials together to create a stunning look using distinct color and texture combinations of plants. We look to contrast light and dark colors, or use warm hued flowers in hot spots, and of course, we will be sure to surround them with beautiful foliage. Whether you want a tropical flair, or a cottage home look, at Peer Landscaping of Fort Myers, FL we can use the mix of annuals and perennials to give you exactly what you are looking for.
