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Nature�s bounty comes in many forms. Those most enjoyed throughout this lush region are the flowers that bloom in the spring.

The alert eye, however, will notice that it is not necessary to wait for very long to see flourishing flora in this semi-tropical region. If you have been paying attention to the development of floral displays and aromas over the last few months, you will have realized that nature�s gives us her beauty and bounty all year long.

Lest the bees themselves be made to wait for the nectar of the flowers, nature works year-round to make sure they are not all overworked at the same time. By producing blossoms in relays, one set of flowers is bursting forth just as another is fading until its next season.

The early-blooming displays set one�s mind to what is to come, and when the early spring temperatures are perfect for comfort, driving with your car windows open provides changing aromas as you pass bushy plants with aromatic blossoms. It is at this time that the bursts of color and fragrance truly begin.

It is not necessary to set out on a floral-and-fragrance mission every day in order to capture and enjoy an on-going production of color and aroma. Creating a setting for your home on your own property means that you select plants which give you pleasure and express the kind of growth-style statement you want to make. While springtime plantings of annual flowers provide a burst of color for everyone�s enjoyment, it is possible to plan for a never-ending display by choosing perennial plants that bloom in a staggered fashion and glorify your yard with year-round color and fragrance. The search for the key to year-round curb appeal starts with a little research into when plants bloom, what fragrance they emit, and how significant their leaf color and texture are.

�Leaf color and texture are as important to your horticultural plans as anything else,� explained Bob Upson, owner of Four Seasons Landscape & Garden Center. �That is what you see all of the time, and some plants have such stunning foliage, they don�t need blossoms to set them apart.�

As you gather information about the characteristics of different plants, you will begin to develop a plan that includes the style of growth you want and the types of foliage that appeal to you.

If you live in a log cabin, you will most likely want to design a yard plan that has a natural look, and you might choose a more manicured style if you live in a home with a formal architectural style.
Spending a little time looking at the yards of and plant choices made by others is one of the most enjoyable ways to conduct your research. Making notes about what you see that you like and even taking photographs that you can show to gardening experts are good steps toward learning what works well together and produces the floral displays that you want. When you talk with horticultural professionals, you can learn from them what type of conditions a plant likes and what type of care it needs.

Even before you are aware that spring is coming, nature is doing her work. The wintertime blossoms on the camellias are always a pleasure to see. Camellia japonica has a winter bloom which follows the fall blooms of the camellia sasanqua. Even when not in bloom, the sasanqua makes a statement with its beautifully glossy, rich green leaves that excel at providing backdrops for garden neighbors.

According to Chris Zipperer, owner of Hester & Zipperer, �When the cassia tree blooms in the fall, it reminds us that the blooming time has not ended � indeed is just beginning. By selecting your plants, you can have year-round blooming without year-round planting.�

One of the most dramatic heralds of the coming of the blooming season is the ornamental pear tree. Upson cautions his customers about what they choose. �While the Bradford Pear trees have become very popular because of their breathtaking blossoms, they have revealed themselves to be subject to breakage in severe weather situations because of the way the limbs extend from a circular pattern around the trunk.�

He did, however, offer another variety with a much more sturdy structure. �The Cleveland Select Pear is also an impressive ornamental,� Upson continued, �and it is much more reliable in its ability to withstand detrimental conditions. Its branches originate at different locations around the trunk, making it able to disperse the strains of weather.�

Accompanying the ornamental pears and always a pleasure to see are the bulbs offering their floral reassurance each year. The most familiar herald of early spring is the daffodil. However, jonquils, narcissi, paperwhites, and tulips can be colorful additions to the flower bed. Between the ground covers and the shrubbery, the flowering bulbs can make a significant contribution to your landscape design.

�Colors and textures make a garden,� said Allan Bradham, owner of Fancy Plants, �and the use of available light and placement in a plant�s desired environmental conditions determine the success of your plantings. Success depends totally on placement, and every yard has the kind of soil and levels of sunlight that will be best for certain plants. That�s why we spend whatever time is necessary to help our customers choose the plants that will thrive.�

One of the most fragrant blossoms that tells you spring is near and which you can detect from the street is ligustrum, whose shiny dark leaves and white flowers are seen widely spread in both natural and manicured environs.

Just as the ligustrum ends its reign, the gardenias take over, providing their enticing aroma on the plants and in vases. Even after the blooms turn brown, their fragrance continues to be detectable. At about the same time, the wisteria vines produce their grape-clusterlike flowers, with the fragrance so familiar to those who love this prolific vine. It can take controlling residence in trees, but it provides leafy beauty throughout the summer when trained to a trellis or pruned in bush form.

Anyone designing leaf color and shape into the garden environment will want to consider the Japanese maple. The range of shapes and sizes from which to choose is vast, including tiny filigree patterns found in the lace-leaf types as well as crinkled, threadlike, even bamboolike leaves. Colors come in all possible shades of the sunrise and sunset that provide year-round beauty.

When looking for color in tree selection, all of the maples have something to contribute to the palette. Red maples provide leaf color almost as good as any flower and are impressive in both spring and fall.

No one can deny the beauty of the mimosa�s feathery pink blooms and its delicate fernlike leaves. Even though the mimosa is not traditionally long-lived, it provides a lushness to the roadside landscape that makes it always popular. They volunteer freely, and many people plant them in their yards, happy to have them as long as they will thrive.

The elderberry bushes also volunteer along roadsides, making every outing more enjoyable by the lovely white fluffiness of the flower.

It is true that there is no limit to what blooms in the spring, but by late summer, many plants continue to flower. Rudbeckia (black-eyed susan), shasta daisies, and crape myrtle provide lasting enjoyment.

Covering the Ground

Ground covers provide options other than grass and the lawn care that accompanies it. Perennial Dianthus produces lovely flowers in addition to providing a nice ground cover look.

Lysimachia procumbens, known as golden globe, is a mat-forming herbaceous perennial with red-throated yellow flowers and subtly colored green leaves. It likes sun or partial shade and performs well as a ground cover.

The fragrance of lantana and its variety of colors add to this plant�s adaptability to a low and spreading form or a bushed structure. Lantana blooms into the fall and is also very effective in attracting butterflies, as is milkweed, buddleia, and cuphea llavea�batface, which looks like Mickey Mouse.

The African iris likes full sun and spreads in a clumping form, making a decisive statement with its long, erect leaves.

Wet or Dry

If your garden includes aquatics, the varieties of water lilies, hyacinths, and canna lilies, surrounded with shapes such as those provided by red yucca can present beautifully defined areas with the sounds that accompany water settings.

�As far as I know,� Bradham continued, �I introduced the red yucca to this area. When I brought it to Savannah, I had not been aware of its being planted here. It is really a xeriscape plant, tolerating dry conditions and salt spray, but it looks beautiful near a water environment.� Rock gardens and similar settings lend an oriental flavor to an area. Sisyrinchium angustifolia, known as blue-eyed grass, makes a nice addition to any rock-garden setting.

Consider These

The Daphne odora blooms in January and February and has a distinctive fragrance when in bloom. It thrives in heavy shade, giving you a lovely plant under larger plants.

While everyone is familiar with azaleas and their abundant plantings throughout the area, gardeners and azalea lovers around the world are learning about the performance of the new Encore Azalea.

Created by the hybridization of spring-flowering varieties with a less-commonly known, summer-blooming azalea, the Encore Azalea gives you blossoms for an extended period during spring and fall and occasionally in summer.

Goldflame honeysuckle is very attractive to hummingbirds. Its addition to your garden ensures not only a beautiful, fragrant flower but also wonderful visitors to its blooms.

Citrus plants produce well on Tybee Island, so you can have fruit as well as lovely plants. With colorful fruit, fragrant blossoms, and glossy evergreen foliage, the Meyer lemon can be a distinctive addition to your yard.

The Japanese persimmon tree bears fruit the first year. The cool weather in the fall causes the fruit to ripen and the leaves to turn a brilliant orange much like a brightly lighted Christmas tree filled with hanging ornaments.

Heuchera is a perfect example of leaf color and texture that makes its own statement. It�s purple hue provides a significant complement to many other plants.

Making It Happen

Widely recognized for her flower-box creations fronting many downtown businesses such as Six Pence Pub, Soho, and Granite Steps, Jackie Phillips takes the bounty of nature and produces exquisite floral displays for her clients. Helping translate her clients� garden spaces into the look they have in mind gives her many opportunities to create a real transformation.

Truly a creative spirit in floral creations, Phillips knows that the flower boxes she designs for her clients have much to do with how passers-by perceive the attractiveness of the establishment.

Consulting with area residents about how to translate their ideas into beautiful yard spaces, she is adept at presenting different leaf colors and textures for dramatic or subtle or elegant presentations.

�Many of my clients value their privacy,� Phillips added, �and it is important for me to make that a part of what I design for them. I have to include plants that will have abundant leaf-bearing capabilities while they maintain their proper place in the planting scheme. If a plant grows too fast and spills over into other plantings, it can diminish the overall effect.�

Your privacy plan might be designed for mostly evergreen plants, and you can achieve this by planting both conifers and deciduous evergreens which are so much a part of the Savannah landscape. A mixture of trees providing year-round leafiness and winter bareness can contribute greatly to the drama you present in your yard while you maintain the privacy you desire.

Taking the First Steps

There are many publications available which provide ideas for your garden layout. You can use them to help you decide how you want to arrange the plants that you choose. The most important factor in creating your garden is your own preferences. It is possible to create a planted system that produces a beautiful setting for you all year long.

Those who eagerly await your questions and generously provide information are the gardening experts in the area who have devoted their lives to understanding how to make nature�s bounty the essence of beauty in your garden. By letting them be one of the first steps in your search for what is just right for year-round curb appeal, you can see and listen at the same time.

Ginger Miles can be reached at (912) 652-0209 or by email at ginger.miles @savannahnow.com.