Planning an Evergreen Patio

With urban living becoming increasingly necessary the sizes of urban gardens are decreasing and sometimes all the available space for cultivation is a patio garden. Would-be gardeners need not despair as patios can be interesting, colorful and provide year round appeal with the minimum of labor. One way to ensure labor is kept to a minimum and still have a beautiful patio garden is to design an evergreen patio garden.

Patio Design

An evergreen patio does not mean that it is necessary to stick to only green shrubs but it does mean sticking to shrubs and leaving the bedding and herbaceous plants out of the scene altogether. There are numerous shrubs that will give year round foliage and even deciduous shrubs can give extra value by having autumn berries and interesting winter bare gnarled branches such as Contorted Hazel. Listed below are just a few and are easily available in both garden centers and supermarkets. Of course nurseries provide the greatest choice.

Before any planting is started it is essential to look at the available space. This should be done with pen and paper in hand, at different times of the day and from all possible angles. Start by standing inside looking out at the patio. Picture what is required and where it is to be positioned. Names do not always spring to mind so write down colors, green, gold, variegated and burgundy etc. Make notes. Look for sun and shade, where does the sun shine most, where will the seats be? Simple questions are often overlooked. There is no point having a beautiful patio if it cannot be seen and enjoyed.

Shrubs

Skimmia is a tried and trusted patio shrub. It tolerates sun and partial shade and has year round appeal. For success keep the soil moist. Skimmia are compact shrubs with dark green leaves, flowers throughout the spring and buds and berries through the autumn and winter. Mostly they are single sexed so in order to have berries a male and female are required. Skimmia Japonica Rubella is a particular beauty on any patio.

Photinia Red Robin compliments it very nicely. It has shiny green leaves and if pruned regularly it continues to produce red foliage throughout the spring. It has tiny white flowers. Photinia Birmingham is another valuable plant and it thrives in full sun.

Euonymus is a genus of evergreen and deciduous shrubs often seen as mass plantings in public parks. Very little care is required and a pruning in spring to keep the plant tidy is about as strenuous as it gets. There are many leaf varieties available but ‚ÄúEmerald Gaiety” and ‚ÄúGolden Prince” are good companions. The foliage is the essence of this species as the flowers are not very interesting or showy.

For the shady areas one valuable plant is Aucuba Japonica. It is easy to grow and will tolerate drought but does better with a little water regularly. It will happily grow in the shade of other shrubs or trees and it has shiny green leaves littered with gold specks. The male plant produces tiny purple flowers and the female has red berries in the autumn.

Pieris is a true all-year delight. It is evergreen, does well in shade and partial shade, and has winter to early spring flowers – available in red, pink, white and also a pink flower which eventually turns white.

For enduring softness, tumbling from containers and troughs, use Hedera Ivy. Hardy, colorful, drought tolerant and vigorous – these easy to grow plants are ideal for patio cover plans and are readily available.

Other plants to use are: Camellia, Rhododendron and for a particular eye catcher try a tree fern named Dicksonia Antarctica.