3 Essentials For A Southern Backyard
When most people think of landscape design, they think about their front lawns. Although the front lawn is an important part of your landscaping, the backyard should also be a priority, especially since you may spend a good amount of time relaxing and entertaining friends and family. Of course, creating a backyard that is not only appealing but also functional can be challenging. Thankfully, help is available. With these essentials, you can create the Southern backyard of your dreams.
Shade-Producing Trees
Enjoying your backyard throughout the year is important, but you may struggle to spend time outside because of the heat and intense sun through the spring, summer, and even part of the fall. Fortunately, you can make your backyard cooler and more comfortable by creating shade.
When designing your backyard's landscape, be sure to plant a few shade-producing trees.
Crepe myrtle trees are excellent options for any Southern landscape, since they are heat- and drought-resistant. They also grow fast, so they can quickly provide your backyard with some shade. Crepe myrtles not only provide shade, though. Available in a wide range of colorful blooms, crepe myrtle's flowers will enhance the appeal of your backyard, too.
Poplar trees are also fast-growing, shade-producing trees your backyard will love. These trees can provide enormous shade to your backyard because they can grow out to 30 feet wide.
Another shade-producing tree that will grow and thrive in your southern backyard is the juniper. These trees vary in size, so choose a species with the tallest potential growth if you want to maximize the shade in your backyard.
Perennial Flowers
Planting a few perennial flowers around your backyard will not provide you with any shade, but they can make your space more appealing and enjoyable. The main benefit of perennials, other than their appeal, is their ability to grow over time and bloom each year, unlike annual flowers that only survive a single season of the year.
When choosing perennials, be sure to choose flowers that work best in Southern landscapes where temperatures are high and drought conditions are likely.
The yellow coneflower is a good option for your southern backyard because it not only grows well in the heat, but it also thrives in warmer, drier climates. This perennial is actually quite compact until the late part of summer when the flowers start to bloom.
If you want to add a blanket of color to a few areas of your backyard, consider planting phlox. Creeping phlox, for example, is a form of groundcover that spreads quickly, adding texture throughout the year and incredible color during the spring season. Choose phlox plants in white, pink, purple, or even blue.
Salvia is also great perennials for your southern backyard because they love the heat and thrive in areas with full sun. Salvia plants come in blue, red, white, and various shades of pink and purple, so they can add vibrant pops of color to your landscape design.
Outdoor Living
To truly enjoy your backyard, you need to have an outdoor living space. Outdoor living, such as a deck, porch, patio, or combination of all gives you an area to entertain and relax while outdoors. In addition, adding outdoor living space can be a smart investment if you want to enhance the appeal and add value to your home.
Consider a covered deck or screen porch, which will provide you with some shelter from the sun's heat or surprise rain. An additional patio space will give you an area to place your grill and some furniture for days when you want to cook out or relax in the sun.
With the right design, your backyard can be a beautiful and functional retreat. This guide will help you design a Ssouthern backyard with ease.
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