A new movement in landscape design is evolving: Fruits and veggies are more than just good for you.

Edible plants are no longer tucked away in a vegetable garden behind the garage. With the introduction in recent years of cultivars that offer improved growth habits and forms, many edibles can serve as stand-alone plants that make an attractive addition to your landscape. Typically, new edibles are developed to be hardier and more disease-resistant than old varieties. Many are more compact, so they fit comfortably in tight spaces or in containers. In certain parts of the

country, such as California and Florida, combining edibles with ornamentals is increasingly common.  Adding edibles doesn’t have to be an all-or nothing approach.

 Consider some of these recently introduced edibles to spice up your landscape designs.

Roman Beauty Rosemary

Dwarf evergreen shrub has

arching stems with silvery undersides.    

Drapes nicely over rock

walls or containers. Soft blue

flowers. Deer-resistant. Hardy in poor

soil, drought and salt spray. Grows

12 to 24 inches tall and wide.

Raspberry Shortcake

Charming, new dwarf variety has a dense,compact

mounding shape. Thornless canes make

berries easy to pick. Thrives in containers

or in the landscape without staking.

Doesn’t need a companion pollinator.

Spreads 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.

 






There are many other edibles that can spruce up your landscape, from fruits to vegetables. A few other suggestions are as simple and yummy as:  tomatoes, peppers, cumbers, bright lights swiss chard and cha cha chives. Adding edibles does not have to be an all-or nothing approach, a little edible color here and there is all you need. These edible beauties can be incorporated in both commercial and residential landscape designs.

Happy Easter! Spring Greetings

Greetings!!!

The Masters Golf Tournament is one golf event that most golfers put on their list of ‘Things to Do’ each year.  Golfers as well as non-golfers will watch the event due to the beauty of the course.  Azaleas around the course are in full bloom and are arguably the South’s favorite shrub.  There are more than 800 species and all of them can be grown in Middle Tennessee.

Generally, Azaleas fare best in filtered sunlight but unless they are planted against a wall facing south they will do well in almost any location.  Remember to shield them from strong winds.  Provide moist-well drained soil rich in organic matter such as, sphagnum peat moss, ground barks, chopped leaves and compost.  Avoid clay as well as alkaline based soils.  Plant with the tops of the root ball slightly above soil level, do not cultivate around these plants, as they have shallow roots.  Because they absorb water through their foliage, wet both the leaves and root when you water.  Avoid drip irrigation because it does not wet the root section evenly.  In spring just after the bloom fades apply a mulch and fertilizer with a controlled release such as, cotton seed meal.  Do not mulch in fall, this will hold heat in the soil and delay the onset of dormancy and increase the chances of winter damage.   

Pruning azaleas is easy just tip pinch young plants to make them bushy, prune older leggy plants to restore their shape by cutting back to a side branch a cluster of  buds.

Color Burst offers a wide choice of services:

         *Full service lawn care                                                                             * Landscape design and maintenance                                     

         * Brilliant seasonal flower displays                                                       *Naturalized of daffodils                                

         *Mulching                                                                                                   * Herb Gardens

        *Irrigation installations and repairs                                                       *Planters

        *Garden walls                                                                                             *Erosion control

        *Tree planting  (1’-8’)                                                                                *Landscape lighting

        *Patios-paver and stone                                                                          *Rain gardens

        *Water features                                                                                         *Seeding and sod

If you desire to get additional information on any of these services or information on other services, please contact our office and ask for; Cotey Livesay.