Atlanta, Georgia Landscaping Ideas

Outdoor Kitchen

• For entertaining a crowd or simply keeping the mess away from the house, consider an outdoor kitchen. Depending on your budget and space, you can construct built-in cabinets, sinks, coolers and refrigerators around a gas grill and oven. You could build a bar with stone countertops or simply arrange seating and tables nearby for eating and conversation.

Fireplace

• With or without a kitchen, a fireplace is a useful landscaping accent or focal point. It may be very elaborate or a simple stone pit. The fire can be enjoyed with your favorite beverage after dinner. Outdoor fireplaces are available that use electricity, gas or wood.

Lighting

• Outdoor lighting can make an area usable after dark, set the mood and provide security and safety. More elaborate fixtures can provide special effects highlighting landscaping features of your yard. To operate the outdoor lighting, you will need outdoor electrical outlets. The University of Minnesota suggests low-voltage lighting to save electricity.

Flowering Shrubs

• Flowering shrubs soften lines of walls and edges and add fragrance to the Atlanta landscape. The butterfly bush, or Buddleia davidii, produces white, pink or violet flower spikes throughout the summer, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Use it as a background for perennial flowers. It prefers full sun and can grow up to 15 feet tall. However, you can cut it back to the ground and it will grow again in the spring. For a lower shrub, plant spirea, or Spiraea japonica. In the summer, clusters of rose-colored flowers bloom on bright green foliage. This shrub grows up to 4-feet tall. It needs rich, moist soil and good drainage.

Perennial Flowers

• Sedum grows 4- to 24-inches tall. You can use them as ground covers or in rock gardens. The flowers appear in shades of white, gold or yellow. They need rich, well-drained soil but do just fine in partial shade. Pinch back new growth to encourage flowering and keep them short. Garden phlox, or Phlox paniculata, will grow in full sun or partial shade. It needs moist but well-drained soil. According to Gardening Central, this is a native North American plant. The blooms are pink, lavender or white with a light fragrance. This tough perennial flower grows in clumps from 3- to 6-feet tall, ideal for the back of a border. The University of Kentucky recommends their use as edgings or ground covers.