SKIP RICHTER: For landscaping success, plan before you plant | Brazos Life

Start with your general landscape goals. Find out what you want it to look like, pull out the beds and decide on the suitable plants. Then you can get your shopping done with a much better long-term return on your time and money.

Don’t forget to consider the four seasons. Everything looks fine in spring. Don’t put all your money in spring color. What looks good in summer What about fall There are plenty of late season bloomers and even some leaf colors for fall.

Then think about winter. Evergreens make their living here, just like berry plants. Have you spread them out or are they all on one side of the landscape? Oops, there is still time to fix this if you plan before planting.

Place plants where they want to be

Plants can be pretty picky about where to grow. Sun, shade, moisture, drought, soil type and certainly climate zone are some of the variables that make the difference between a plant that is thriving or performing very poorly. A rose may look beautiful on this corner across from my breakfast window, but if that area is shaded by a large oak tree, the rose will definitely not agree.

Soil drainage, winter hardiness and heat tolerance are other factors to consider. Sometimes we can make a plant feel at home if we try hard. However, fighting nature involves considerable effort and cost, and nature usually wins. There are many plants that want to grow where they live. Find out what grows best in your area and invest most of your landscape dollars in such crops.