Lauren Krystaf

1 week ago | housedigest.com | Lauren Krystaf

It often seems that no matter how colorful and full of sweet-smelling plants your yard may be during spring and summer, it becomes drab and gray once late autumn and winter arrive. Of course, if you pick the right trees and shrubs, that doesn't have to be the case, and your landscaping can have year-round appeal. One of the best options for winter flowers is the paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha). Native to China, paperbushes are hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10.

1 week ago | housedigest.com | Lauren Krystaf

What's not to love about hydrangeas? Their large, cheerful flowers can instantly add color and life to landscapes, and they even attract butterflies. If hydrangeas have a downside, it's that many cultivars can reach sizes of 25 feet tall and wide, limiting where you can use them in landscapes. Fortunately, dwarf cultivars like 'Little Lime' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Jane') are available to provide you with the same beauty, just in a smaller package.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Lauren Krystaf

What's not to love about hydrangeas? Their large, cheerful flowers can instantly add color and life to landscapes, and they even attract butterflies. If hydrangeas have a downside, it's that many cultivars can reach sizes of 25 feet tall and wide, limiting where you can use them in landscapes. Fortunately, dwarf cultivars like 'Little Lime' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Jane') are available to provide you with the same beauty, just in a smaller package.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Lauren Krystaf

Creating beautiful garden designs isn't just about adding a lot of colorful flowers, it's also about combining different textures and shapes. Luckily, succulents are remarkably good at bringing distinctive textures to gardens. One must-have succulent for growers in warmer regions is the stunning string of dolphins (Senecio peregrinus) plant. While string of dolphins have long been appreciated as unique-looking houseplants, gardeners in zones 10 and higher can also grow them outdoors as perennials.

2 weeks ago | housedigest.com | Lauren Krystaf

While there are a wide variety of stunning flowers you can fill your garden beds with, it's always a good idea to include some long blooming perennial plants in addition to your annuals. This way you can count on your garden coming back year after year, even if you don't get a chance to add in new annuals. Some of the most beautiful perennials to consider for your garden are geums.