New homeowners often want to create a beautiful garden but may feel overwhelmed by plant choices and design. Understanding the Tri-Cities’ climate, soil, and plant choices for USDA Zone 7a-b is crucial for crafting your outdoor oasis. Our landscape design experts in Kingsport at Promier Landscapes share a guide to equip you in transforming your outdoor space into a captivating paradise.
Navigating Tri-cities climate
Kingsport usually experiences hot summers and winters that produce snow and ice. Therefore, it’s crucial to select plants that can withstand the summer heat and occasional frosty winters.
Here are some factors to consider when selecting plants for your Kingsport landscape
- Heat and Humidity: Opt for plants that thrive in warm, humid conditions, such as daylilies, salvias, coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans.
- Rainfall Patterns: The average rainfall for Tri-Cities is around 46 inches. Therefore, plants like sedges, milkweed, and cardinal flowers adapt to heavy bouts of rain and may be planted in areas that retain soil moisture.
- Elevation Variations: Depending on your property’s elevation, temperature and wind exposure may vary. Consult our landscape designers in the Johnson City area to assess your garden’s specific microclimate.
Unlocking the Tri-cities area soil secrets
Soil pH can vary in the Tri-Cities, which could affect plant life. While some plants thrive in acidic soil, others would die if the pH is too acidic. Therefore, we recommend having your soil tested to determine the best plants to plant in your garden or landscape.
Categorizing plant choices for bristol
A complete paradise includes multiple types of complimentary plant choices that create a stunning landscape design, including foundational plants, trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals.
Foundational plants are versatile and often include year-round specimens, such as evergreens or semi-evergreens. These deer-resistant, low-maintenance plants are excellent for hedges and borders. Some examples of heat and drought-tolerant plants for various soil types include the Boxwood, Dwarf Yaupon Holly, and Indian Hawthorn.
Trees provide visual appeal, seasonal interest, and adapt to a range of soil types and moisture conditions. Best known for creating a focal point, screen, or shade, trees are suitable for providing habitats and food for wildlife. Some examples of low-maintenance trees that add aesthetic value are the Eastern Redbud, Dogwood, and Red Maple trees.
Shrubs provide visual interest with ornamental flowers, foliage, and fall color to garden borders, mixed beds, or naturalized areas, and doubles as an attractor for pollinators and wildlife. Deciduous shrubs are a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance option adaptable to various light and soil conditions. Some examples of pest-resistant shrubs are the Oakleaf Hydrangea, Virginia Sweetspire, and the Butterfly Bush.
Perennials are best to accent landscape designs that are ideal to add color and texture to your garden beds. Common perennials to plant in Kingsport include the Black-Eyed Susan, Coneflower, and Japanese Anemone. Since perennials come back year after year, they are low maintenance because you won’t have to replant them each spring.
Annuals only last for a season or so and must be replanted. But annuals are known to provide the most stunning blooms superior to many perennial plants. Some examples of annuals are the Marigold, Geranium, and Petunia.
Essential gardening tips for success
If you’re considering sprucing up your garden beds, space plants to allow enough room for airflow, sunlight, and growth. Water deeply by watering for longer periods less often, which encourages deep root growth, and apply fertilizers as necessary.
Landscape Design in Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, Tennessee
Adding plants to your landscape is visually appealing and it attracts wildlife and pollinators to enjoy. If you’d like to learn more about professional landscape design, please contact Promier Landscapes today by calling (423) 872-2988. We look forward to helping you create the landscape design of your dreams.