Adding Year-Round Interest to Your Garden

By Ava Green

Spring brings excitement and the hope of fresh beginnings, but also the harsh reality that our gardens can look a little…well…blah, in between seasons. Even when you have evergreens, well shaped trees, shrubs or perennials with “good bones” (strong framework or structure) a garden can look bare off season. This is when garden features and ornaments can really make a dramatic difference!

Create Year-Round Interest In Your Garden

Do you have a spot in the garden where plants struggle to grow? Or an area where you feel like your garden is missing something? 

Items like benches, patios, ornamental urns, decorative fencing, statues, a pond, gazing balls, birdhouses and birdbaths add beauty and function in every season. In Southern Ontario’s long shoulder seasons (early spring, late fall, and the longest of all - winter) these permanent elements help to make your garden look inviting all year.

Why Every Garden Benefits from a Focal Point

A garden filled with colourful annuals and perennials can be stunning, but without a focal point, it can feel visually overwhelming. A garden focal point like a bench, statement urn, a piece of statuary, or a water feature draws your attention, and creates a sense of purpose.

Focal points guide movement through the garden and help tell a story, leading visitors toward a destination. While naturalized gardens and wildflower areas don’t always require structure, for gardeners who prefer a more organized look, incorporating a focal point can create a sense of order and transform your space.

Add Contrast With Texture and Shape

Many gardeners naturally gravitate toward favourite plant forms. Tall, spiky perennials like coneflowers, salvia, and Black-eyed Susan are popular in Ontario gardens but they can feel repetitive when planted together.

Introducing contrast changes everything. A round birdbath nestled among upright perennials adds softness and contrast making it more visually interesting. In shady gardens dominated by hostas, a tall iron obelisk or trellis creates height and drama. Mixing plant textures with garden features like lighting instantly elevates beds and borders.

Express Your Personality!

Gardening is a creative process, and experimentation is part of the joy. Moving plants to find the right light or shelter often leads to surprising combinations and successes. Garden features allow you to express that creativity even further.

Statuary, ornaments, and structures, whether handcrafted or purchased, add personality and meaning. From whimsical accents to bold architectural elements, these features bring height, structure, and style to your garden in ways plants alone can’t.

More Than Just Flowers

Flowers bloom and fade with the seasons here in Southern Ontario. Garden features provide continuity, offering year-round interest, structure, and charm. With just a few additional elements, your garden can look beautiful in every season, not just when it’s in bloom.

If flowers are the divas of the garden, foliage is the harmonious backup group that makes the whole performance shine. Colour, texture, and form don’t just come from blooms—there’s a world of interesting leaves that not only set the stage but often steal the show. Flowers may be the stars, but foliage is the picture frame, the atmosphere, and often the soul of a beautiful garden.

Start with a Standout

When choosing plants—whether for a garden bed or a container—don’t just focus on flowers. Especially in shady spots, standout foliage can create all the visual impact you need. Look for leaves that draw your eye, like the delicate structure of a cutleaf Japanese maple or the bold colour variations of Heuchera (Coral Bells), which range from deep burgundy to vibrant chartreuse.

Your standout feature doesn’t have to be a plant—it could be a sculptural shrub, an ornamental tree, or even a favourite birdbath. Try placing that birdbath atop a lush carpet of Irish moss, or line a path with the spotted leaves of Pulmonaria, silvery Artemisia, or graceful ferns. Light up a shady corner with glossy Bergenia or classic Hostas, which offer endless variety in shape, texture, and hues from bright green to cool blue-ish tones.

Build the Framework

Once you’ve chosen your focal foliage, you can build your planting scheme around it in creative ways. Think of it like building a quilt—each plant contributes a piece to the overall picture.

• Create a patchwork of leaf shapes: Group together plants with small, intricate foliage for a richly textured look.

Mossy Saxifrage 'Cloth of Gold,' Sagina Subulata 'Irish Moss,' and Bellflower Campanula Carpatica 'Pearl Deep Blue'

• Echo colour tones: Pair burgundy Heuchera with other plants in similar shades, like dark-toned Euphorbia, for a cohesive palette.

Foamy Bells 'Catching Fire,' and 'Onyx'

• Choose a colour theme: Work with warm hues like gold, rust, and copper.

Japanese Maple 'Tamukeyama,' 'Magnolia x Soulangeana,' and Lobelia Speciosa 'Starship Scarlet'

• Mix textures, repeat colours: Choose different textures but repeat colour combinations like white and green.

Pulmonaria 'Pink-a-Blue' and Artemesia 'Silver Mound'

Top it Off

Once your foliage framework is in place, add a statement piece to elevate it all - that favourite birdbath, a piece of artwork, an ornamental tree or shrub, or an unexpectedly showy flower. The layered, leafy backdrop with make your feature stand out even more.

Visit us at Eising Garden Centre to find all the foliage stars and supporting players you need to bring your garden vision to life!

Father's Day is conveniently held right at the start of summer, so that gives you all sorts of options for a creative gift that he can enjoy right away. This year, treat Dad by giving him a chance to relax in a gorgeous yard—instead of toiling away at it himself!—by hiring our pro landscapers to do the work for him.

Our many different landscaping services are varied and customizable, so you can call up our team to help you find the best plan for backyard landscaping that Dad will absolutely love. Or, if Dad likes to have some creative control over projects, we can collaborate with him to develop a design plan that suits his ideal vision. This will certainly be a Father's Day to remember, with a gorgeous new yard that Papa Bear can enjoy for many years to come. Here are some of the services we can provide to make it all happen:

Trees and Shrubs

At Eising, our landscaping pros know a thing or two about planting new trees and shrubs. Instead of fumbling through planting them yourself, which might not guarantee the best results, hire our experts to do it for you! 

There are so many awesome benefits to planting trees and shrubs in the yard—Dad will definitely be on board! Sure, they're beautiful to look at, and they provide some nice shade to lounge around in, but they also increase your home's value significantly! You could even opt for some trees or shrubs to grow Dad's favourite fruit, like peaches or raspberries, so he'll have a steady supply of summer snacks year after year. Plant two trees spaced eight feet apart, and in a few years, you can get him a Father's Day hammock! There, now you've got two Father's Day gift ideas covered!

Perennials and Grasses

If you want some consistent, reliable plants and flowers to add some beauty to the yard, and you aren't too concerned with switching up the scenery every year, then consider planting some perennials and ornamental grasses. Talk to our experts, and we can help pick an assortment of spring, summer, and fall-blooming perennial plants, so there's never a shortage of colour throughout the season. 

Ornamental grasses are such an underrated landscaping staple, adding height, texture and movement to the garden. Plus, Dad will appreciate having some grass in the yard that he doesn't have to cut! We can help you pick out the best varieties for your landscape style and colour palette, and help you find the best places to plant them to create a balanced, aesthetically-pleasing design.

Tropicals and Annuals

Spice things up with some exotic plants, vibrant colours, and tons of variety by opting for sun-loving tropicals and annual plants to enjoy for the summer. Dad will be totally floored when he sees that his old yard has been transformed into a lush, tropical oasis. Who needs a vacation when you've got the perfect getaway right at home?

Whether you think hanging baskets and container arrangements will do the trick, or you'd prefer a fully-loaded garden bed, we can help you choose stunning assortments of flowers that can thrive throughout our Southern Ontario summers. Even if your yard doesn't get much sunshine, we can still make some magic happen! Plenty of rainforest-dwelling tropical plants prefer the shade and will be right at home in your yard underneath a canopy of tree foliage.

Small Space Design

Don't have a ton of space? No problemo! Our creative team is great at making the most out of small spaces. We strategically place plants throughout the yard in a stylish and functional way, so Dad will have plenty of room to stretch out on his favourite lounger. A smaller space can feel much bigger with a layout that sections the yard into different living areas and draws the eye to unique focal points throughout the space. A small patio set is always inviting and will get plenty of use, so it's a pretty smart use for the space you have!

Develop Design Ideas With On-Site Consultation

If Dad's a take-charge guy who likes to take the lead, let him have some input on the landscape design by setting up an on-site consultation with our landscaping pros! We can work together to create the best possible design by combining Dad's big ideas and the most practical, cost-efficient ways to make them happen. That way, you'll be sure that he absolutely loves the final product.

 

The cost of a professional landscaping consultation with our team is $150 plus taxes, which we’re happy to apply to a gift card—perfect for surprising him on Father’s Day! To purchase a gift card or get more information about our landscaping services, give us a call and we'll be happy to help. Or, you can gift Dad some gorgeous new perennials with our brand new online store! We have delivery and curbside pick-up options available, so getting everything you need for the garden is easier than ever before.