A Garden Corner Display in One-Two-Three

Some yardwork is arduous. Some is quick and easy, and its impact is notable. For great impact in a corner of your yard, try a quick and easy approach that is as simple as one-two-three.

Corners of the yard are important as can be. The corner nooks where panels of fencing come together or where hedgerows meet form angular plots that can be made into beauty spots given the right choice of plant material. And while beautifying other parts of the yard may require more thought, the one-two-three approach to corner planting will get you in and out of gardening mode quickly (you can get back into it in other areas of your property once you’re rested) and leave you with a beautiful and well-planned display.

So what is the one-two-three approach?:

One: In the very corner, near the angle that forms when two borders of your yard come together, select one major focal piece that is tall and will stay visible even when other plantings grow up near it. Consider a tall arborvitae or a pencil point juniper. Or if you don’t worry about a tree canopy bothering other neighbors’ properties, then choose a Japanese maple or similar ornamental deciduous tree. Just remember that planting an evergreen provides a focal point that is visible all year, and this is quite desirable. However, it is your choice.

When you choose your one tall focal point, just be sure you haven’t tucked it into the corner so far as to give it inadequate space for spreading its roots and fattening its trunk. Even small ornamental trees take up considerable space, and airflow is important to plant health. But even though your largest focal point will need good growing room, you will still position this one piece in line with the point of the angle formed by two garden borders. (You’re planting it in the bend of the “elbow”, so to speak.) This one piece is foundational and absolutely key to your design.

Two: Choose two medium shrubs that will sit out from what you have just planted. Ilex (hollies) and snowberries/coral berries provide good visual interest all year. But other shrubs are equally nice. A wide-spreading shrub rose, times two, could fill the bill here nicely, as could medium-sized spireas. Just be sure to read up on plant pairings to ensure that you are matching up good garden partners. Most plants do fine together, but some pairings are indeed better than others.

Three: Fill the base with three smaller shrubs—those that will stay small—or three small but full perennials. Consider planting three azaleas, which have nice dark foliage in three seasons, even though their flowers appear and then disappear quickly in spring. Or try three large clumps of irises, with fans that offer blue-green beauty in close to three seasons, plus more gorgeous color when in bloom. Or maybe go for coreopsis which will stay “hot” in solar tones from early summer through fall. Salvia is another good option, as it will stay in bloom over the long haul (late spring to mid-autumn) and also return year after year. Just try to choose “fat” spreading or clumping perennials so that “three” will eventually look like much more.

The key to the one-two-three corner planting approach is to make the most of the angle formation that exists when two borderlines come together. Your number one item (the tall beauty, such as a pencil point juniper) will sit far enough out from the point to stay healthy, but in line with that point. Your two medium shrubs will be spaced out in front of, and on either side of, that focal piece. And then your three smaller perennials will border the display, left, right, and then directly in front of the focal planting (juniper, arborvitae, or other) which will at this point be accompanied by two medium plantings.

For the health of the plants you are putting in and for maximum impact, forego tight corner displays and opt for well spread-out plantings within the corner vignette. Annuals can become an “extras” that you tuck in here and there for added color. But the basic structure of this type of garden display is really all you need… and much easier than focusing on a whole strip of soil or large display bed that needs planting. (And even if you plan to fill larger strips and beds with foliage and flower color, starting with the corners and putting some effort into a well-structured look makes good sense.)

One final note: Decide if you are a symmetry lover or not. You might plant out two corners, or you might stick with one gorgeous display. Then perhaps build a circular bed, raised up by stones, or focus on planting a strip that runs parallel to some of your fencing… harder tasks that can come later. You get it. But whatever you do, don’t forget to jazz up at least one corner of your yard.

A snap? Yes… honestly. Creating the perfect corner patch is as easy as one-two-three.