Take your yard from cookie-cutter to creative
Plus: The news of the week — City approves new developments; Passport agency coming to Charlotte; Novant drops plan to buy 2 Iredell hospitals; CMS launches 5-year plan
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Backyard & Beyond: Here’s how Charlotte gardeners transform boring yards into vibrant, pollinator-friendly havens with bold and easy-to-grow alternatives.
Spring makes even non-gardeners dream of growing things. That’s the thinking behind Backyard & Beyond, our occasional series of stories giving you ideas and inspiration. Whether you long to grow some of your own food, ditch your cookie-cutter landscaping or just make your yard more welcoming, we’re here for you!
by Amber Veverka
Call it Charlotte Landscaping Bingo.
Drive around the Queen City gazing at front yards and cover your square when you spot Charlotte’s Big 5: Azaleas. Hollies. Day lilies. Ligustrum. And oh yes: Knock Out roses.
There are no bad plants. But there might be boring plants.
If you’re ready to step away from standard-issue shrubs and blooms and try something a little different, experienced Charlotte gardeners have some suggestions that can take your yard from cookie-cutter to creative.
There’s a world of plants out there that are easy to grow, have multi-season interest, help local pollinators and can make your yard stand out.
As for the standby safe choices? Yvette Cintron, longtime associate at Banner Nursery & Garden Center on Monroe Road in Charlotte, has a word of advice. “Everybody has the same stuff,” she said. “Be brave.”
Yvette Cintron of Banner Nursery & Garden Center favors variegated shrubs for multi-season interest. (Amber Veverka photo)
For house-foundation plantings, instead of Burford hollies and boxwood, try …
Conservationist, gardener and writer Ruth Ann Grissom has three foundation favorites: Anise shrub, dwarf wax myrtle or dwarf yaupon holly. In general, these aren’t bothered by deer or insects, don’t get enormous and can handle less-than-fertile conditions. Anise shrub — the leaves smell a bit like licorice when crushed, but don’t eat them — has an upright form and the “Pink Frost” cultivar has leaves that turn pinkish in colder weather. Grissom likes this and wax myrtle for her Dilworth yard in part because they don’t have the “meatball” look of a shrub cut into a ball. “Wax myrtle to me has a looseness, but it’s not rangy,” she said. Added to that, it’s an excellent choice for a hot, dry site.
As for yaupon holly — native to North Carolina — Cintron is also a fan. Weaving through the outdoor aisles thick with plants at Banner Nursery, Cintron pointed out yaupon holly’s small, non-prickly leaves. Unlike boxwood, disease won’t touch it.
She also favors foundation plantings with pizzazz. “I love plants with variegation,” she said. In this category, Cintron’s picks include a blue-gray variety of Pfitzer juniper, which unlike rug juniper doesn’t blanket the ground, but has low branches that radiate upward slightly. Other variegated plants she recommends: amsonia “butterscotch,” for brilliant copper color in fall and toffee twist sedge, a grass-like plant with soft bronze foliage.
For container-grown flowers, instead of geraniums and petunias, try …
When it comes to assembling a creative potted arrangement, turn to tropicals, said Melissa Wyatt, owner of The Flower Buddy, a landscaping company. Wyatt uses the tried-and-true formula for pots — planting a “thriller, filler and spiller” in each — but ventures beyond the standard choices. “I like going a little nontraditional,” Wyatt said. “For that thriller, tall plants that sprout in the middle, put some of your tropicals like canna lily. Layer it with pentas and then creeping jenny or sweet potato vine to spill over them.” Wyatt also likes elephant ear plants, tropicals whose leaves come in a variety of shades.
India Solomon, master gardener and a captain at Lincoln Heights Community Garden in north Charlotte, recommends jasmine for a container bloom. The fragrant vine with white flowers greets her in the morning when she sits on her patio with a cup of coffee. Solomon also pairs herbs and vegetables in pots, pointing out that even edibles like tomatoes have blooms and are decorative.
Instead of azaleas and Knock Out roses, for shrubs with a different twist, try …
Azaleas in full flower are stunning. Knock Out roses are dead easy. But there are other plants that are interesting beyond a short bloom time and make your yard distinguishable from every other one on the street. Like St. John’s wort. Grissom has the “Sunburst” variety and appreciates the bluish foliage, which lasts into December.
Sweetshrub is another great pick. It has frilly, chocolate-maroon flowers in late spring, golden foliage in fall and thrives in dappled shade.
Wyatt recommended weigela, especially the pink-bloomed cultivar “Sonic bloom.” “It’s very impactful,” she said. “You can see it from the street, so it gives curb appeal.”
Wyatt is also a fan of fringe flower for its maroon-tinted leaves and “whimsical” flowers. “At the same time you’d see an azalea bloom, you would see these,” she said.
Looking for winter interest? Try ninebark, said Grissom. When exposed in winter, the trunk and branches show off peeling bark. Some cultivars have brilliant yellow foliage, others burgundy, and all have unusual seedpods.
For summer blooms, instead of day lilies, try …
Stokes aster, rattlesnake master, skullcap and boneset. Besides their very cool names, these plants have striking flowers and a lot to offer pollinators. “You should see the bees and butterflies!” Cintron said, pointing to a display of boneset at Banner Nursery. Another flower that butterflies love: Orlaya, also known as laceflower. Scatter the seed and you’ll fill a bed with deer-resistant snowy blooms that last through May and June and easily re-seed. This is a beautiful filler for borders.
Stokes aster, a native plant, “provides this really nice evergreen clump and holds the space,” Grissom said. “It has a really long bloom time. Pollinators love them.”
Skullcap was once named the North Carolina “flower of the year,” but apparently fame didn’t go to its head, because you don’t see it in many yards. If you like deep violet-blues, salvia is another stunner. Hard to kill, unbothered by deer and beloved by hummingbirds, this airy plant makes a great summer border accent.
Rattlesnake master might be the weird kid of this bunch — a bit offbeat, but the one who shows up at the high school reunion as a millionaire tech firm founder. It’s got unusual white-sphere blooms, attracts pollinators and excels in a naturalistic setting where it can do its own thing.
A flower with a big “wow” factor is dinnerplate hibiscus, Wyatt said. “It’s a flower, but it grows like a bush. It’s got a huge bloom like a dish plate,” she said. “For people who like a little drama in their yard, this is the perfect one.”
It's time for …
Harvesting for others. Local farmers with excess produce allow gleaners to pick crops for donation to the hungry. A local branch of the Society of St. Andrew gleaning organization sends emails regularly with sign-ups for gleaning events. They’ve already harvested sweet corn and blueberries nearby, so sign up for future pickings.
Setting up a DIY mosquito trap. If you’re trying to avoid yard sprays, which kill insects indiscriminately, you can put together a trap that lures female mosquitoes to lay eggs in water treated with nontoxic mosquito dunks that kill larvae.
Planting a second round of snap beans. By now your pole or bush beans should be well on their way toward blooming and producing — which means it’s a great time to sow again to assure a continual wave of harvests through summer.
Reach Amber Veverka at askbackyard@gmail.com.
Today’s supporting sponsor is SouthPark Community Partners, an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead SouthPark's advancement by driving economic vitality, creating memorable experiences, and ensuring an extraordinary quality of life.
This week in Charlotte: State treasurer faces investigation; Judge denies body cam release in CMPD deaths; City down on transit, poll shows
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS 5-year plan: (WFAE) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools released a five-year academic plan that sets goals for improved reading and math test scores and better preparation for life after high school. Superintendent Crystal Hill said her mantra of “excellence without exception” requires steady and incremental improvements and not perfection.
Politics
State treasurer investigation: (WRAL) N.C. investigators have launched a probe into whether state treasurer Dale Folwell used state vehicles for commuting and personal errands. Falwell said in a statement Thursday that he has tried to be “very careful” in following public guidance about the use of state cars and that he is cooperating with the investigation.
Developments approved: The Charlotte City Council voted this week to approve a series of rezoning petitions, including several that had faced opposition from nearby residents. It gave a thumbs up for plans for 566 homes in the Piper Glen area, 175 homes on 7th Street in Elizabeth and for a new Carolina Panthers’ practice facility.
Local news
Charlotte passport help on the way: Travelers with passport emergencies might soon no longer need to drive to Atlanta or Washington, as the U.S. State Department announced that it plans to open a passport agency in Charlotte and five other cities. The offices will “provide service to travelers with urgent travel needs,” the State Department said in a news release. It gave no further details.
Body cam videos to remain private: (Observer) A Mecklenburg County judge denied a request by multiple media outlets to release body camera footage from police of the April 29 shootout that left four law enforcement officers dead. He said the media had not established a compelling public interest and that the release of the videos would result in the families of the fallen officers receiving more hate mail.
Business
Hospital purchase called off: (Ledger 🔒) Novant Health said Tuesday that it is abandoning its effort to buy two Iredell County hospitals, after a federal appeals court sided with the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to block the $320M deal.
Theme park merger: (Biz Journal, subscriber-only) Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment Corp. will finalize their approximately $2B merger on July 1, with the combined company, under the Six Flags name, establishing its headquarters in Charlotte. Cedar Fair, which owns Carowinds, will cease using its name, and Six Flags will move from Arlington, Texas.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
A view of Charlotte’s growth: Douglas Welton, the chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission, discusses changes he’s seen since first arriving in Charlotte in the 1980s and how he helps communities navigate the tensions that come as cities expand.
Plus: New Charlotte Commercial Real Estate Whispers; changes to Piper Glen apartment plans; a glimpse of the annual Heroes Convention; city council on becoming world-class
Wednesday (🔒)
Events costs soar: Community groups say the cost of putting on events has risen so high with inflation that they’re having to slim down their offerings or limit their growth.
Plus: The longtime Ben and Jerry’s location on Providence Road in Eastover has closed; airport revenue ascends with hike in parking rates; late ASC president’s art collection being auctioned off
Friday (🔒)
Poll shows views on transit: A newly released poll suggests that a majority of Mecklenburg residents hold an unfavorable view of the local transit system — although they generally like Charlotte’s airport.
Plus: Residents of the Stonehaven neighborhood object to development plans; Atrium is building a new Ballantyne standalone ER with pre-fab modules; Ledger answers a reader’s question about a closed Firestone auto center at Park Road Shopping Center
Strong defense: Charlotte FC tends to score few goals, but its team defense has led the team to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. It leads the league in “clean sheets,” or shutouts, with eight. Carroll Walton takes a closer look.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative