Landscaping the Kuppersmith Project yard started by digging holes with a motorized auger, then setting the trees and shrubs in place following our detailed landscape plan. Trees and shrubs planted in the yard included river birch, holly, azalea, and camellia.
Shrubs and trees were also strategically planted to act as a natural screen to hide the air conditioning units and standby generator. When planting shrubs around an outdoor appliance, allow plenty of growing room so the appliance will be easy to access and the plant won’t interfere with operation of the unit.
You can find all the plants we used on our Kuppersmith Project Plant List.
Watch this video to find out more.
Further Information
- Landscaping Approach for the Kuppersmith Project Yard (video)
- How To Plant Container Grown Trees and Shrubs (article)
- How to Plant Balled and Burlapped Trees and Shrubs (article)
- How to Choose the Right Shrubs for a Hedge (article)
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
While the trim out continues inside, the landscaping keeping moving ahead outside. The irrigation system is complete, and the trenches are filled so that the landscape crew can start clearing the ground and marking the locations for planting.
The holes for the larger trees will come first, since they require the most equipment for digging. Each spot is being carefully matched to Paul’s drawing for the landscape, so these guys aren’t just setting these things on a whim.
Each tree is intended for a specific spot, and getting it there requires some mechanical help as well. You don’t just roll these things in on a wheelbarrow. But, boy do they make a difference.
One thing that’s great about planting all of your landscaping from scratch, is you’re able to strategically place bushes and trees to provide a visual block to something that may not look so good. This is what we’re doing with this evergreen tree. It looks great right here on the corner, right by the master bedroom addition, but it’s going to block the view of the two air conditioning condenser units that will be sitting on those pads a little bit later today.
Now over here, we’re trying to create more privacy for the backyard, and block out the view of the neighbors here. So, river birch here, two holly trees, will do a very good job in screening all of that out. By the way, we’re also putting this great water feature, a nice fountain right against the fence right there; always looks good in a backyard.
Then we have another river birch that will really flower out really nice, and then three magnolia trees here that will also bush out and block the view of the old building that we have behind it.
Now just like we’re blocking the view of the air conditioning system, we’re also going to put a circle of shrubs around our Generac generator. It doesn’t look bad, but it will look a lot better with all of the plants all around it.
But here is a very important part of this; a lot of people plant plants around generators or air conditioning systems, but you’ve got to leave a little room for you to be able to work on them if any problems occur, but also for them to operate properly. You’ve got to have that air circulation around any air conditioning system or generator.
