Pollinators can find everything they need in this super low-maintenance landscape.
He arrived at their new place with a clear vision of a meadowlike landscape of grasses andflowering perennials.
So out went the frontyard’s clipped lawn, along with shrubs and overgrown vines in the backyard.
Austin Eischeid and his mother Belinda admire the different blooming perennials in the garden he designed.Credit: Carson Downing
Eischeid also put techniques from school into practice, such astightly packing plants to prevent weeds.
“She sends me 40 to 50 pictures a week, no joke,” Eischeid says.
“She calls the garden her entertainment.”
Instead of a front lawn, a diverse mix of plants fill curved beds.Credit: Carson Downing
With the new design, the garden requires almost no care.
His parentsskip the typical fall cleanupand let the perennials go to seed as food for birds and winter interest.
Eischeid has a few easy tips anyone can use to embrace a morenatural style in their garden.
Providing a sense of order, clumps of ‘Millenium’ allium and ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum alternate around the central fountain in the backyard.Credit: Carson Downing
Plant Perennials
Eischeid suggestschoosing five to seven varietiesand planting several in a mass for waves of color and texture.
Repeat combinations in different beds, such as clusters ofalliums,coneflowersandpenstemonnext to moor grass.
Let Your Plants Grow Naturally
Part of the beauty of a garden is seeing it unfold through the seasons.
Butterflies flock to clusters of ‘Jeana’ phlox.Credit: Carson Downing
Eischeid suggestsskipping deadheadingand instead watching perennials' life cycle: Filling in, flowering, and setting seeds.
In his parents' backyard, he included three water features and fivesmall seating areas.
Along the driveway, perennials step down in height from tall Culver’s root to midsize sea lavender to low oregano.Credit: Carson Downing
A potted ‘Hawaii’ bromeliad draws the eye to the back of the garden with a bright hit of color.Credit: Carson Downing
