A Little Bit of Inspiration

So much of what keeps yard and garden enthusiasts going is the sense of a new beginning that always arrives with Spring, and for many of us the tell-tale signs are the same -- the emergence of daffodils, The Masters and its magnificent azaleas bordering each hole, and, of course, Easter with its symbolic lilies and general message of life and rebirth.  All of this has been in the back of my mind, but this year I got hit with a big dose of inspiration during a recent family vacation. 

Let me just preface this by saying that I am constantly looking for new ideas for flowerbed design and interesting ways to use new plants, because come on, it gets a bit boring year after year seeing the same old plants in the same old front entrances, right?  Well, I also appreciate floriculture more than the average person, I'd say, and sometimes I get excited when I see a huge flower bed that requires thousands of flowers -- most people don't realize the cost and labor involved in a project like this.  In fact, one of my favorite flower beds each season is at an office park right off of 400 on the way to Perimeter Mall.  Their flower beds are always packed with blooms, and the beds themselves go on and on -- I'm usually pretty impressed.

So, last week I travelled to Walt Disney World with my family.  It was our children's first visit, and my daughter actually turned 5 while we were there, so it was magical in all the right ways.  About mid-week we trouped off to Epcot, and they just happen to be hosting the Epcot International Flower and Garden Show right now.  I was floored by the detail, the amazing use of plant materials, and the sheer number of flowers in each and every centerpiece.  We're talking topiaries depicting the likeness of many of the best-loved Disney characters, a miniature village complete with a working train, fairy houses made out of found and natural objects, an outdoor kitchen in "Italy" complete with herbs for fresco cooking, and beautiful vegetable gardens.  One of the most amazing things that I noticed was that there were beds with a mixture of cooler season perennials and summer perennials, which is not something that you normally see mainly because of the cost of using a specimen that will not last the entire season.

I became inspired almost immediately to return home and put some of what I'd seen into play in my own yard and in the yards of Team Turf clients.  We certainly don't have to be on vacation to be surrounded by outdoor beauty, and our own properties are the most ideal place to make an investment of this sort.  And while I realize that the majority of folks probably aren't yearning for a Mickey Mouse topiary in their front yard, there are more options than you'd think for incorporating some of these showstopping ideas into residential landscapes.

So for the next several weeks I'll be sharing some of the ways that we can do just that.  From raised vegetable beds that blend into your landscape, to European inspired outdoor sitting areas, to tasteful topiaries, we'll look at different ways to incorporate a bit of your personality and lifestyle into your landscape -- just remember to keep your eyes open because you never know where you'll be when inspiration strikes!