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Jan Johnsen, the Westchester-based celebrity landscape artist and author of the new book, Floratopia: Flower Garden Ideas for Yard, Patio, or Balcony, shares timely tips on how to create the perfect garden.
- Add flowers in planters by your front walkway or even-placed within the plant bed. Add a bench and several planters. Use different-size planters to vary the display.
- Stick with easy-care classics, like traditional red geraniums. They make quite a show, especially when you pot several matching planters. A dilute solution of liquid fertilizer every three weeks in spring and summer helps the show continue. Don’t overwater!
- Spillers make the difference. Hanging foliage adds interest and is effective both in pots and window boxes. The eye-catching “Silver Falls” Dichondra looks great with pink flowers. Also, try the yellow “Creeping Jenny” Lysimachia.
- Deer-resistant and evergreen hellebore is a perennial flower that is long-lived. The foliage is as great as the early-spring flowers. Float the blossoms on water for a great display.
- Got part shade? Plant large groups of deer-resistant Astilbe for a mass effect. More is better when it comes to this perennial. Add ferns for a great effect.
- Jewel-toned pink flowers look great with the fall-blooming Sedum known as “Autumn Joy.” Kids think the flowers look like broccoli before they turn pink in late summer.
