Easy curb appeal
As you walk up the sidewalk to Joyce and Dave Ludlow’s Iowa front door, you know that you’ll find a gardener here. This beautifully manicured zone 5 garden is filled with plants carefully chosen for their ease of maintenance and combined for long-lasting interest. As she adds plants and redesigns beds, Joyce’s goal is to keep the garden manageable so she can continue to enjoy her beloved hobby for years to come. Enjoy our summer garden tour with Joyce in the Talk & Tour video above and keep reading to learn more about this lovely property.
Create a view from the front porch
When the Ludlows moved in, the front yard contained only a grouping of ‘Green Velvet’ boxwoods (Buxus hybrid). The couple had the retaining wall in the photo above built to surround the front porch with a spacious border that would lend curb appeal to the house without obstructing the view of the street. Now they can sit on the porch with a cup of coffee and feel a part of the garden while still seeing passing neighbors.
For several years, Joyce grew roses in this bed until chronic Japanese beetle infestations caused her to throw in the towel. She dug them out and planted panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), birchleaf spirea (Spiraea betulifolia) and barberry (Berberis thunbergii), which are naturally globe shaped and need only a light trim every spring to maintain a compact habit. They form the structural base of a planting that includes reliable perennials, such as lamb’s ear and three cultivars of allium (Allium hybrids), which can take this south-facing hot spot without complaint.
Plant drought-tolerant annuals
In addition, Joyce plants drought-tolerant annuals because she prefers not to spend all of her time watering in summer. These include Meteor Shower® verbena (Verbena bonariensis), Skyscraper™ Pink salvia (Salvia hybrid), Senorita Rosalita spider flower (Cleome hybrid), and Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas). She likes their long-lasting color and somewhat loose, casual habit. And when they’re planted tightly between perennials, they help deter weeds and reduce the need for mulch.
Using repetition in the garden
Many of these plants are repeated throughout Joyce’s garden. She likes the continuity of color and texture that ties all the beds together, and you will see them in this full-sun front yard foundation planting, as well as in the backyard. Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina) is a particular favorite — this dense ground cover fills in quickly, smothers weeds, only needs to be cut back in the spring so maintenance is minimal, and is easy to divide and spread around.
Joyce favors flowers and foliage in the pink, lavender, silver, white and chartreuse shades. In the front yard, this palette blends with the neutral tones of the house and subtly makes the full-sun garden feel cooler.
A serene garden scene
Next to the driveway, Joyce and Dave carved out an island bed and edged it with concrete pavers. A line of arborvitaes (Thuja occidentalis) screens the neighbor’s driveway and gives the spot a bit of privacy. It is especially pretty in spring when daffodils (Narcissus spp. and hybrids), moss phlox (Phlox subulata) and other spring-blooming bulbs fill the bed with color. Under the Japanese lilac (Syringa reticulata), Joyce placed a bench and an angel statue in memory of her father. Creating the bed was a source of comfort for her after his passing.
Tough-as-nails plants for clay soil
In full sun with hard clay soil, this bed can be inhospitable for many plants in the hottest part of summer. In addition, the maturing trees’ roots compete for water and make digging to plant around them difficult. Joyce has found a good mix of tough-as-nails survivors, including allium, ground cover and tall sedums (Hylotelephium spp. and hybrids), calamint (Calamintha nepeta) and perennial geranium (Geranium spp. and hybrids). Though they thrive, Joyce notes the plants in this bed are not as big and are slower to flower than the same plants repeated elsewhere in her garden.
You Might Also Like:
Follow Joyce on Instagram!
5 Clay-Compatible Plants
Easy-Care Perennials
Clay Soil Garden Plan
Create a restful patio
Faced with a steep slope from the house to the back of the property, the Ludlows brought in truckloads of soil to level a portion of the backyard so it would be more usable (and to keep the kids’ sports balls from rolling down the hill). Joyce worked with a landscaper to design the 13-foot circular patio in the photo above and install the hardscaping. Initially, she wanted a firepit in the center with seating. But Joyce found that she prefers the harmonious feel of the open, circular space without clutter — a calm, centered place to spend a few quiet moments.
The 2-foot-tall tumbled concrete block wall encloses the patio for a cozier feel. An arc of Bobo panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) and ‘Autumn Frost’ hostas (Hosta hybrid) fill up the 3-foot-wide space between it and the circular patio. These plants are more reliable bloomers in this zone 5 garden than their predecessors, a row of bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla). A few of those remain along the wall of the house on the opposite side of the circle. They only get one or two blooms a year, but Joyce likes them more for the lush green foliage that gives your eye a place to rest.
Warm up the shade
Joyce prefers a cool color palette, saying that red and orange “make you feel hotter in the sun.” But then she discovered coral bells (Heuchera hybrid) and became a fan of adding these warm colors in the shade. She sprinkles her favorite cultivar, ‘Caramel’, around to brighten the borders even when there are no flowers.
Clay soil no more
Between the corner of the house and the stairs leading to the second-story deck is a bed Joyce lovingly calls “the clay garden.” The ‘Pinky Winky’ and Bobo panicle hydrangeas planted here were always chlorotic, suffering in the unforgiving clay. Once she started topdressing with compost every fall, Joyce noticed how much the soil improved and was easier to work in. She also collects leaves each year, puts them in plastic bags, pokes holes in the bags, then tucks them behind the plants all winter. By spring, the leaves have broken down into a nice mulch that she spreads around on the bed. It has made such a difference in the soil there that the hydrangeas are not yellowed anymore. “I’ve got to stop calling it the clay garden!” she laughs.
Include plants with long-lasting appeal
Joyce plans to work in her garden until she is “a ripe old age,” and ease of care is increasingly top of mind. She knows that gardening is “the healthiest for your attitude, mentally and physically. If you want a de-stresser, plant a garden!”
Joyce’s favorite low-maintenance plants
As you walk through Joyce’s garden, you’ll notice many of the same perennials and shrubs in different spots. She chooses plants that remain attractive even when not in bloom, and looks for varieties that don’t require much maintenance. Check out the gallery below to meet a few of her favorites.
