Great new plants

Too often mistakes are made when choosing plants for a landscape. The landscape should consist of different colors and textures. If all of the foundation shrubs are green, the landscape becomes boring and looses it's definition. The same can be said if all of the foundation shrubs are deciduous. The winter landscape then becomes a sea of bare sticks and looks cold and uninviting. There are some easy solutions to this problem. At Cheap Scapes landscaping we pick plants that add color and interest all year long.

One of my favorite plants is Loropetalum. There are many varieties that have been used over the years and they work just fine. One variety has a purplish leaf with a magenta fringe flower at various times of spring and summer. During the winter they turn deeper purple giving color to a drab winter landscape.

I never thought Loropetalum could get any better until a recent trip to a local nursery and found not one but two new varieties from the Southern Living collection. "Purple Diamond" is a beauty! It has a deep plum purple leaf that stays through out the summer months that offers great contrast to the magenta flowers. Purple Diamond gets about 5' tall and 5' wide at maturity. It is a moderate grower so it will take some time to get there. If you can't take a plant of that size there is a smaller form "Purple Pixie". "Purple Pixie" gets 1-2' high and 4' across and has the same great purple color and magenta flower. This would make a great ground cover or cascading over a wall. They both would look great in a Japanese garden , rock garden or shaped into formal hedges if desired. Any way that you use them I am sure that you will be pleased with the results.
Take a look around your landscape and see what you can do to give it some pop! If you are stumped and not sure what to do, take a look at magazines or look up some landscapes on the Internet for some inspiration. If that isn't working for you ask a professional for some help. What ever you do try to incorporate at least one of these into your landscape.