The idea of landscaping on your deck or near your outdoor deck isn't a new concept, however, the actual word of deckscaping is fairly new to most homeowners. Learn about tips and tricks for a great view from your deck. Decks are a valuable addition to any home and incorporating plants into your deck's design can help you to create a relaxing outdoor space that allows your deck to blend seamlessly with the rest of your landscape design.
Beautify Your Deck for the Ultimate in Outdoor Landscaping
If you have an outdoor deck, chances are that you like to spend as much time out there as possible--that's why you had a deck installed right? Well, why not beautify that area so it is even more enjoyable all year round?
What are the Fundamentals?
Your major concern is the view--you can preserve it or obscure it. Take a moment to look at the views from on the deck and toward the deck. Decide where your primary focal point is and whether it is good or bad. You then plan your deckscaping to enhance or hide the view. Alternately, if you don't have a good view from your deck, then add a focal point on your deck. You can use plants, a sculpture or a water feature to be a focal point instead of an unattractive view. A great example is to use vining plants that are native to your areas such as morning glory, clematis or jasmine and let them twine gracefully along the deck rails to hide the rails. It allows access to all of the breeze but obscures the view of older deck railings that may look aged.
Camouflage the Deck Perimeter
A deck that has no greenery or color around the perimeter can look like it was an afterthought instead of it blending into the landscape design. You can add plants to soften the hard, straight lines to help it blend into your environment. Plant some tall trees or plants to surround a low deck. This can add shade to your deck to beat the heat in the summer and also create a sense of privacy on the deck.
Choosing plants that have color in the fall and bloom in the spring is a great way to achieve balance. Place them on the side of the deck that is upwind if the blooms are fragrant so you can smell the sweetness as you enjoy the blooms in the springtime.
Add Container Plants
Most decks are simply just a large, flat expanse of wooden color. You can add plants in pots that are green year-round to break up the monotony. Make a collection of containers filled with plants in many foliage colors on the deck such as near seating areas or entryways and add the same types of plants with similar colors in pots around the base of the deck to tie both areas in together.
Maximize your Space and Feed Your Face
You can maximize all your deck space, which would otherwise maybe be a space for a garden. Use container gardens to plant vegetables in the early spring and in the early fall, as there are two planting seasons in the great state of Texas. Any vegetable plant has greenery, it flowers for beauty and then you get to reap the rewards and fruits of your labors by eating them. You can place planter boxes on the rails of your deck or put some smaller vegetables in hanging baskets to beautify your deck.
Some great veggies to plant in the fall include broccoli, green beans, squash, cucumbers, and carrots. Choose either pole beans or shorter varieties of bush beans for your green beans to add height or keep the interest lower to the deck.
Some great choices of spring vegetables are cucumbers, parsley, summer squash, and tomatoes. These items all work well in container gardens.
Great Deckscaping Ideas
Adding flowerbeds on each side of the steps of your deck that lead to the yard or surrounding the deck gives your outdoor area great interest. Beds need to be defined by a border to look their best. You can use redwood posts in varying heights that stand vertically for a great border that is interesting.
Tall grasses and shrubs work well all year round to anchor your deck and help it blend in with your landscape design. Perennials, annuals, and groundcovers can add a burst of color all year long. Consider using plants and flowers of varying heights to appear more like the plants would grow in the wild to mimic Mother Nature's design.
You can repeat colors without making the flowerbeds look too busy. For example, green and white foliage is available in many plants such as dogwood, wintercreeper and vinca vine especially when accented with the Limelight hydrangea, which sports greenish-white flowers that mature to white and fade to pink and buff colors.
Some great varieties of flowering plants are Black-eyed Susans, marigolds, euphorbia, and zinnias.
Perennials vs. Annuals
Perennial plants and flowers will die back in the winter and will revive themselves in the springtime, so you don't have to constantly replace the plants. Some great examples of these are lady fern with a lovely dark green foliage all year round and peony that can be found in multiple colors. Astilbe is available in beautiful bright colors of red, orange, pink and purple for a splash of color each year. Hibiscus is most popular in the deep red color as this is often in the Hawaiian leis. Hibiscus grows tall and adds interest to your flowerbeds. You can find daylilies in many solid colors as well as variegated colors and the best part about these perennials, is that they multiply naturally.
Annual flowers are for either the fall or the spring and only last one year before needing to be replaced. Using annuals changes up your flowerbeds near your deck twice a year so you get many different looks with different bursts of colors each year.
The best deckscaping tips and tricks are to look at your space and plan out your design. A mixture of foliage colors, short and tall plants and flowers and blending both perennials and annuals together in your beds and on your deck will give you beauty to enjoy outdoors all year long.