What Are Some Good Foundation Plants With Some Pop and Color?

The term “foundation planting Cape Coral” once referred to Landscaping estimate Long Beach the front of a house to conceal its foundation. Today, foundation plantings also function as the foundation of a landscape layout to frame and improve the appearance of a house. With that change, plain evergreen shrubs are giving way to small trees, shrubs and perennials with interesting flowers and Lawn Service and foliage that add color and a visual “pop” in the landscape.

Little Trees

As a general rule, the tallest foundation plants should be just as high as the point midway between the eaves and the Landscape Design on the corner of a house. Some flowering trees stay small enough for foundation plantings, and the blooms offer shade in the spring. Coralburst flowering crabapple (Malus x “Coralcole”) grows just 10 feet tall and is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8. For planting close to a taller house, “Cherokee Chief” flowering dogwood (Cornus florida “Cherokee Chief”) reaches 15 to 20 feet and is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9.

Colorful Shrubs

Large shrubs can also be used to offer height for foundation plantings. Evergreen “Blue Maid” holly (Ilex x meserveae “Blue Maid”) is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, and provides year-round color with shiny green foliage and purple stalks accented by red berries. Evergreen shrubs aren’t the only way to provide year-round interest. Arctic Sun red twig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea “Cato”) has golden yellow foliage throughout the growing season, white blooms in the summer and yellowish stems tipped with red for winter color. It is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9, and reaches 3 to 4 feet tall.

Perennial Flowers

Several perennials make intriguing foundation plantings that pop in the landscape due to their colorful foliage or blooms. Among these are purple-leaf types of coral bells, such as “Amethyst Mist” (Heuchera x “Amethyst Mist”) and “Black Beauty” (Heuchera “Black Beauty”). Both those plants hold their color all winter, and are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. For interesting texture in addition to color, “Apricot Queen” New Zealand flax (Phormium “Apricot Queen”) includes lance-shaped leaves that are evergreen and gold. It is hardy in USDA zones 8 through 11.

Flowering Bulbs

To improve the foundation of shrubs, trees and perennials, plantings of flowering bulbs provide a pop of color for different seasons. For early spring, Greek anemone (Anemone spp.) Form a carpet of colorful blooms. They are hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10. Late spring into midsummer, Peruvian lily (Astromeria spp) includes showy blooms on 2- to 4-foot plants. In late summer and fall, montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiflora) blooms glowing red. Both Peruvian lily and montbretia are hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10.