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Backyard Simple Landscaping Ideas
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Backyard

Backyard Simple Landscaping Ideas

Over the years I’ve landscape somewhere between 500 and 1, 000 homes. I’ve done everything from simple, basic landscapes to extravagant landscapes for very expensive homes. Over the years I adopted a basic landscape design that I could apply to just about any house and actually repeat that scheme on different sides of the same house by switching out the plants.

In this photo you see a Canadian Hemlock planted on the corner of a porch. This is considered a specimen plant because it is singled out, planted by itself and accented with smaller plants. I like use Canadian Hemlocks in a landscape because they can be kept trimmed to just about any size you want them to be. I usually let them get as tall as I can reach without a ladder then maintain that size simply by removing the new growth once each season.

On a corner plant like this I like to use something dark green on the back side of the planting, maybe Taxus Densiformis or in this case boxwood, I think the variety we used here was Green Mountain. Sorry, we did this job a long time ago and I just found the photos on my computer.

On the front side I often use Gold Thread Cypress because they are bright yellow in color and contrast well against the boxwood and the hemlock. Gold thread are an evergreen and very easy to maintain to a reasonable size.

 

It’s a bit difficult to see in this photo but in front of the porch there are four PJM Dwarf Rhododendron, two on each end. Then planted in front of those, plant in an arc, are some Crimson Pygmy Barberry. This is a newer variety known as Bagatelle, has a variegated leaf. The idea of this arrangement is to allow the Rhododendrons to grow taller than the barberry and provide a backdrop for the barberry.

I’ve used this same scheme with all kinds of different plants, one of my favorites for the arc are China Boy and China Girl Holly. I’ll post another link at the bottom to show you how this design can be changed up.

At the corner of the walk is a Red, Weeping Japanese Maple and under the maple two or three Green Mound Juniper. Bordering the walk we have Variegated Lirope which is an awesome plant for bordering a sidewalk.

The Brick House on the 1/2 Acre Lot.

Back in the “Olden Days” we used to live in a Small, Brick Ranch House on a 1/2 acre lot. A lot of amazing things happened in that house. We raised the boys in that house and I Started My First Backyard Nursery at that location. And I planted a lot of shrubs around the house and in the landscape that I could use to get cuttings for the nursery.

Want more landscaping ideas?

Source: mikesbackyardnursery.com