Why dont many people, especially in the US in fancy subdivisions use more perennials and colour in landscaping?
Posted on Nov 04, 2009 under Best Perennials | 13 Commentsnoticed many have mostly evergreen shrubs like hollies, trees, etc. as a background, which i guess is nice, since it blocks the foundation of the home, but dont understand why they dont add more colour , using perennials etc. in front of this.
why and how so for this in your opinion?
Thanks for your answers!
They obviously have spent a lot on their landscaping , but for some reason didnt add any unique perennials much to the outside of the beds with evergreen shrubs and trees mostly.
I read an article once in a nursery magazine about gardening. In a nutshell, the article stated that gardening is a hobby that the younger generation treats differently than the older generation. It said that older people were more likely to spend more and buy more varied plants. Younger people didn’t have time for gardening and they wanted fast, easy fixes (so color bowls, hanging baskets, etc). So, more annuals and tender perennials.
I think a lot of people don’t have the time for gardening and so some are just not picking it up. Some people also want no maintenance gardens and shrubs and evergreens are pretty close to that. It really comes to preference.
I live in California and there are a lot of subdivisions that were installed in the 70′s and California was experiencing a drought. A lot of these gardens remain today and there is a big trend here to plant drought tolerant species again.
I always push fore more perennials because there are soooo many beautiful ones and many that do well here. I’m in zone 8 so you can imagine all the beauties that I can grow!
Vegetable Gardening In Winter- 10 Requisites Of Vegetable Gardening In Winter
November 4th, 2009 at 5:47 am
That is how my subdivision is, except some people put out hanging baskets for color. We just like the look of the shrubs and mulch because it makes for a nice clean look outside, and it is easy to maintain. Also, our house has a brick front so it already has color in the brick.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Probably because most people associate color with annuals – which in their minds means work. And people want their homes to look nice with no work involved.
References :
Horticulture/Landscape design student
November 4th, 2009 at 6:59 am
Many people will tend to use ground cover rather than colorful perennials, plus many perennials grow very tall rather than spreasd so that could cause another problem with maintenence and neatness.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 7:08 am
I’m a landscape contractor and horticulturist in Louisiana, and this question hits me where I live.
Here are the reasons they tell me:
Too much maintenance
Perennials tend to fall over and become unkempt.
They will get tired of them.
They are afraid of the new thing, etc.
I have some perennial beds where people in cars slow down to look.
I have a pass-along plant program with my clients, and I have a lot to chose from. I have a few people who just turn their nose up at what I think is fabulous. It’s sad when you have to beg people to take stuff like Giant lirope, agapanthus, mexican heather, ginger.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Colour is great
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 8:07 am
The US has temp extremes so anything other than shrubs you mention would be labour intensive.For cottage gardens you need gentle weather warm not hot in summer.cool not cold in winter.Most perennials would suffer or die in America’s weather,other than north western states
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 8:51 am
It mostly comes down to maintenance, replanting costs/time.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 9:37 am
I read an article once in a nursery magazine about gardening. In a nutshell, the article stated that gardening is a hobby that the younger generation treats differently than the older generation. It said that older people were more likely to spend more and buy more varied plants. Younger people didn’t have time for gardening and they wanted fast, easy fixes (so color bowls, hanging baskets, etc). So, more annuals and tender perennials.
I think a lot of people don’t have the time for gardening and so some are just not picking it up. Some people also want no maintenance gardens and shrubs and evergreens are pretty close to that. It really comes to preference.
I live in California and there are a lot of subdivisions that were installed in the 70′s and California was experiencing a drought. A lot of these gardens remain today and there is a big trend here to plant drought tolerant species again.
I always push fore more perennials because there are soooo many beautiful ones and many that do well here. I’m in zone 8 so you can imagine all the beauties that I can grow!
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 10:05 am
They want the quick fix and low maintenance.
Sellers also know that most people who are first time home buyers do not know much about outdoor plants and so plant the simplest kinds of trees and shrubs with low maintenance. I have known first time buyers to literally tear out hundreds of dollars worth of shrubs and perennials from a yard. It’s not really worth the time and effort on the builder or seller to put too much into a new yard except the basics. It’s a sad state of affairs, but I blame a lot of this type of thing on how children in the U.S. were brought up — not all, but a good number of them: They were not given chores that included taking care of the yard. They grow up with no appreciation of the natural world right outside their doorstep.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 10:34 am
You have a lot of good answers; although I don’t agree that perennials are hard to care for. One reason is that some subdivisions may be restrictions in the rules. Even some cities try to manage what yards will look like. Folks who buy homes in these places must agree that green alone is more attractive.
Personally, green is my favorite color, but in our new yard there will also be lots of color. I also prefer a garden that looks as if it just grew there on its own. So I mix colors and textures.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Just to add a few things that people have told me:
#1 Homeowners associations wont allow for perennials or anything that looks "weedy." Everyone signs a strict contract that is full of rules about how the garden is maintained and what is acceptable for plantings.
#2 Many of these new homes have an focus on square footage of the home. They barely even have a yard because the house is build out to the legal boundaries. Most of these kind of houses sit so close that there isn’t enough room to grow much of a garden beyond a few good looking shrubs.
It’s a little sad, really. No space to grow a veggie garden or a fruit tree. But look around our America, the kids all stay inside and play video games. The parents work most of the day and never have enough time to maintain much of a garden. That’s just my observation, hardly anyone seems to be outside anymore.
References :
November 4th, 2009 at 11:34 am
it’s because most gated communities that were built by one contractor deal with one landscape contractor and they have all these rules regarding what and what not to have on your landscaping. This saves the contractors time and money to having everything uniform. Community contractors also want to keep things simple and easy to maintain thus the common shrubs.
References :
We live in a gated community/cookie cutter houses. Prior to settling down, we went house hunting for months like everyone does.
My brother in law is an architect and we have friends who are interior designers and landscape cotnractors.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:43 am
The main reason is they usually want an extremely low, low maintenance landscape that they do not have to do anything to at all! You try to explain to them that there are perennials that do not look weedy or fall over, but look natural. Perennials also come back year after year. Still, a lot of people just want a clean, simple landscape that they do not have to fool with. Some would be satisfied with plants they do not even have to water!
References :