Richmond Landscapes Blog by Cross Creek Nursery & Landscaping

Continuing the theme in my last post, I am trying to apply myself in following what makes me Happy (shameless plug for Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project). Instead of chasing my tail trying to find that perfect vacation, I am applying myself to creating a haven in my own backyard. Right now with hard frost on the ground, my garden looks pretty forlorn…but now is the perfect time to plan!! This week we are preparing to build a fantasy outdoor room in the middle of the Richmond Convention Center. The Maymont Home and Garden Show is a perfect place to get those creative juices flowing and bring some of that springtime energy to planning for your outdoor space this year. I am so excited to see this go in, and I promise to post pictures soon. Wish us luck! We are going for a 3 time in a row Best In Show Win. And please come see us. We have lots of fun giveaways this year too. Cheers!

It’s the New Year and usually I am ruminating over my resolutions to lose weight, eat less, exercise more, etc. And weed more. Yes, absolutely do a better job of taking care of my yard, and so on. THIS year is different! I read a fabulous book by Gretchen Rubin called the Happiness Project. Check out her blog and ask yourself… WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

As a confirmed *plantophile, plants do make me happy and I want to share with you one that gives and gives and never takes! The indomitable Knockout Rose is my floral hero. I have abandoned her in the no man’s land next to my mailbox where she does not know the luxury of irrigation. Do I spray? feed? Prune? the answer is no. And take a look at her just 2 weeks ago before our hard frost. Still Blooming! And I could go on and on.  Make yourself HAPPY this spring and plant a Knockout Rose.

Blooms Spring to Frost!

(*PLANTOPHILE:  A person who loves plants and collects them like a magpie, a condition I consider harmless… much like collecting shoes)

It’s good to take an inventory of what’s happening in your garden even when its not ideal planting time. Doing this will enable you to improve your garden next Spring. If your garden looks Blah right about now, you may want to consider adding some Winter Interest plants when planting season comes around again. Here are some ideas:

Put in Some Plants with Berries such as:
Blue Hollies
Burford and Needlepoint Hollies
Red Hollies
Needlepoint hollies
Pyracantha
Nandinas
Put in Some plants with Winter Interest Foliage:
Nandinas – All varieties
Coral Bark Japanese Maple – Bark
Red & Yellow Twig Dogwoods – Bark
Put in some plants that bloom out of season:
Witch Hazel
Sasanqua Camellia
Helleborus
These are just some ideas to add Winter Interest to your garden. Feel free to add your favorites too…

We are in the busy stage of designing and planning our Maymont Show Garden. While I won’t tell you everything up our sleeve, I will tell you that the theme is “The Streets of Richmond” and that we have some pretty neat plans. Our landscape designers have drafted a rough design of the layout and we think we have a good shot at winning our third “Best in Show” award in a row.
As always we have kept the same theme for our design which is to have something in the garden for all ages and to produce something that can help give a practical vision for your own backyard.