Planning for an Outdoor Wedding

Perhaps you've decided a plain lawn isn't enough for you or you simply want to add some visual interest to your landscaping. It may occur to you to add splashes of color. However, the appeal of your yard improves when you also add texture. Make over your landscaping for maximum beauty by adding both color and texture.

Set a Color Palette

As with interior design, your landscape design benefits when your start with a set color scheme. It doesn't have to be as formal as with interior rooms, and you can also utilize more hues. The key is to spread the colors evenly. You may have purple lavender, red geraniums and, of course, greenery as your color palette. Draw the purple and red into other parts of the yard with flowers such as peonies and snapdragons. This creates a sense of balance.

Choose Architectural Plants

One method for adding visual interest is by choosing architectural plants. As Better Homes and Gardens points out, attractive landscaping works with focal points that move the eye around the yard. You can go obviously tall, as with ornamental trees. Shrubs work, too, especially those that can be manicured. If you have a rock or desert garden, consider a saguaro cactus or two. However, also look into graceful flowers such as globe thistle, alliums, and astilbes.

Add Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are excellent plants for adding texture and even color. What's more, ornamental grasses tend to be hardy plants. Examples with maximum visual impact include the following:

• Little bluestem: grows to three feet with gray-green leaf blades that turn bold hues in fall.
• Purple millet: grows to five feet with burgundy and purple foliage.
• Dwarf pampas grass: grows to five feet with white, flowery plumes.
• Feather reed grass: grows to six feet with upright blades and feathery tops.

You can use ornamental grasses as a frame for planting beds, as a mini garden or for privacy. You can also dot the grasses throughout the landscape for consistency.

Utilize Hosta

Hosta is another plant that delivers both color and texture. They're both hardy and easy to care for. Hostas are ideal for shady spots. Some especially attractive hosta varieties include June, striptease, deja blu, and pathfinder. All of those offer the characteristic variegated leaves as well as pretty flowers. Use hosta plants as ground cover and in any shady areas that you're having trouble cultivating.

With a set color palette and the right plant choices, your landscaping can become a visual beauty that complements your home. Contact a company like Botanical Bruce & Co. to learn more.