A landscape renovation is a wonderful opportunity to completely change the atmosphere around a home. If you need some inspiration to pull off such a feat, here’s how a plant nursery can help you choose plantings for a renovation project in the State College and Harrisburg, PA, areas.

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Aesthetic and Practical Objectives

First, you’ll want to know what each plant will do for the landscape. You may not need an exact plan for the types of plants you will be using before your initial visit to the nursery. You could simply bring along some ideas and consider: Is the intent to create a cheerful entry, or add shade to the backyard? Do you want to create a pollinator garden, make the landscape easier to care for, reduce watering needs, help integrate the home into the landscape, or create a living privacy screen? Do you want to establish pops of color throughout the landscape, or are you aiming for a soothing monochromatic look? Will a portion of the landscape feature edible plants such as fruit trees or berries? Does anyone in the family suffer from seasonal pollen allergies?

Having a plan will help our nursery staff assist you in choosing the plants that will add beauty to the landscape, meet the needs of the landscape professionals, and minimize upkeep if that is the intent.

Plant Needs

One strategy worth considering is to come to the plant nursery armed with a rough sketch of the property, or at least full awareness of the landscape’s environment. For example, is it heavily treed or mostly open lawn? Do some areas tend to collect water while others get baked dry by the sun? 

Choosing plants can be a careful process that takes into account the needs of individual plants including sunlight and shade preferences; soil type; watering needs; and space requirements (once the plant matures). 

The wrong environment could make some plants difficult if not impossible for them to fulfill their intended purpose (for example, putting a sun-loving plant at an entry facing north but that area rarely gets any sun). You may find after talking with our plant nursery staff that there may be a more appropriate plant substitute, one that is better suited to the landscape than you initially had in mind.

Plant Sizes

Larger, more mature plants can give the landscape a finished look faster, especially when it comes to shrubs and trees. It’s typically important to consider the mature (fully grown) sizes of plants so that plants aren’t placed too closely together. You can discuss your short-term and long-term goals with our friendly plant nursery staff, who can help you choose the right ages and sizes of trees and shrubs, and offer suggestions for plants that can fill in the gaps as the area grows in over time.

Maintenance

One of the most important considerations that can reduce the amount of watering and fertilizer required is to choose native plants. Many exotics (i.e., plants not native to the area) can survive and even thrive, but they tend to require a lot more maintenance. Plant nurseries can inform you about the types of plants that require more water, fertilizer, and winter care than natives.

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