TOP 5 WAYS TO JAZZ UP A GREEN GARDEN

I should explain that the “green” in the title refers to the color rather than the organic nature of the garden. This topic was raised by a gardener whose husband was perfectly happy with a garden that consisted of green grass and bushes with leaves of the same color. His wife wanted to know an easy way to add some color into the landscape and this article which I found on the Weekend Gardener website contains five great ideas.

Question: I have a design question: My husband likes everything green and I’m the colorful one, how can we have both in a small garden?
Chantell Strauss, Springs, Gauteng, South Africa
Answer: Hi Chantell! This is a great question and is a good extension of what we talked about last month: Add A Bold Statement With Colorful Pots
Now I don’t know the reason your husband likes everything green, I am guessing it’s because like some people, he equates colorful plants such as annuals and perennials as high maintenance, time consuming, and needing more water.
Those points are not necessarily true, but because of those things, he sticks to green lawn and shrubs because he thinks they are fast and fairly easy to take care of. This is a partially correct assumption on his part, but I think we can add a few things to make you both happy.
I am going to assume your yard has mostly sunny areas, so here are five ways to easily add some colorful spots to your small garden to brighten it up, keep it low maintenance, water friendly, and fit into your small area.
1. Add Succulents
In your climate zone which is around a USDA Zone 8 to 9
Zone 8:
(10 to 20? F, -12 to -7? C)
Zone 9:
(20 to 30? F, -7 to -1? C)
You can easily support the growth of succulents. Many people don’t use succulents to their best advantage because they think they are boring, but with so many new varieties available now, don’t overlook these useful plants!
They come in all shades of gray, gray-blue, green, red, purple, and pink foliage, and many flower profusely for several months out of the year.
Just look at some of these pictures for ideas and to see how they could easily brighten up your yard!