Now here's where your colored pencils really come in handy. Draw in the bright, blooming plants, typically perennials, in groups of 3-5 to intensify your design. Consider bright hues against the backdrop of darker evergreen shrubs for maximum visual interest. You could also think about vines to bring flowers into vertical areas. This step also includes ornamental grasses, ferns and roses, and groundcovers. There will be gaps between shrubs and places in front of beds where short stature plants are needed as edging. Make sure you match exposures because these plants fail to perform under too much or too little sun.
When you have completed the planting on paper, list and tally up all your plants to use as a convenient shopping and estimating guide.
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