9 Best Landscaping Ideas for Your Virginia Home to Last all Year

Let's face it the outside of your home is just as important as the inside especially if you want to sell it at some point.

But if you're not ready to stake a 'For Sale' sign on the front lawn quite yet of your Virginia home, the outside still needs to look good.

And this means attending to its landscaping in the summer, late summer, fall, winter, late summer, spring, early spring, or late springtime. From picking weeds to making sure the grass looks pristine, here are the 9 best landscaping ideas for your Virginia home to last all year.

1. Glorious Grasses

The grass is always a focal point of a home's outside and hot summers and cool winters also mean that warm-season grass and cool-season grass can survive and thrive on your Virginia Beach lawn.

The best warm-season grass and cool-season grass for Virginia Beach include:

Perennial ryegrass

Fine Fescue

Tall Fescue

Kentucky Bluegrass

St. Augustine

Zoysia

Bahia Grass

Bermuda Grass

Here are the pros and cons of each grass type to help you choose the best one for your yard.

Source: lawnlove.com

Cool-season Grasses

Cool-season grasses thrive when temperatures are between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit and grow between late summer and early winter and early spring to early summer.

Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial Ryegrass is a versatile turf used for everything from golf courses to plush green carpets outside homes. This is a quick-growing grass (though not as fast as Kentucky Bluegrass), and it can tolerate high heat and heavy foot traffic. Perennial Ryegrass does struggle with drought and shade, and it can incur damage from ice and frost.

Source: lawnlove.com

Fine Fescue

Fine Fescue does well in the shade, making it a great choice for properties covered with trees, bushes, or ground coverings. This low-maintenance grass doesn’t need tons of fertilizing, watering, or mowing, so it’s ideal for homeowners who don’t have time to spend on lawn care. One of the most beneficial attributes of fine Fescue for Virginia Beach homes is its ability to be planted in difficult soils like sand and clay.

Pros and cons: Fine Fescue is drought-tolerant and recovers quickly after dormancy once the weather starts to cool down. Fine Fescue doesn’t tolerate heavy foot traffic, though, so it may not be the best choice if you have a large family or pets.

Tall Fescue

Tall Fescue is one of the most shade-tolerant of all the cool-season grasses. It also has an extensive root system that is longer than many other cool-season types of grass, making it more resistant to heat and drought. Tall Fescue doesn’t grow or recover as fast as Kentucky Bluegrass or Bermuda Grass, which means this grass is less likely to overrun flower beds or gardens. As for maintenance, this grass is low-growing and doesn’t require a lot of mowing or fertilization.

Kentucky Bluegrass

Kentucky Bluegrass is regarded for its beauty, cold tolerance, and quick recovery. It is a favorite for residential lawns, athletic fields, and parks because this grass has a high traffic tolerance. Although Kentucky Bluegrass can withstand the cold, it can become dormant under extreme heat or drought. Because Kentucky Bluegrass requires full sun and lots of maintenance, this may not be the most suitable grass for every Virginia Beach homeowner. Those who are willing to put in the work will enjoy a lush and green yard.

Warm-season Grasses

Warm-season grasses do best when the outside temperature is between 80-95 degrees Fahrenheit, and the best time to plant them in Virginia is between Mid-may to early June.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine is a fast-growing grass good for yards with plenty of shade. It can handle periods of drought better than Zoysia and Bermuda Grass, but it does need regular watering to survive.

Pros and cons: If you want a lawn that can take a heavy amount of foot traffic tolerance, St. Augustine Grass is not the right choice. This grass requires a lot of maintenance as it’s also prone to insects and diseases, especially fungi. When purchasing St. Augustine Grass, it can be hard to find seeds and is usually placed as sod or plugs.

2. Plenty of Plants Add Pizzazz

In addition to a pristine lawn, plants also make landscaping pop so you will want to make wise plant choices that you can enjoy but that will also give you a good ROI. Choosing plants that offer drought tolerance for your Northern Virginia home is wise as these plant choices will continue to look and perform nicely even when weather conditions aren't great. They’ll also help to minimize water waste on your property since they are considered drought tolerance types. These choices also happen to be low-maintenance plants that won’t require much extra care and attention.

Here are some other drought tolerance plants that are good options for your Northern Virginia landscape.

Source: rockwaterfarm.com

Arborvitae

Arborvitae is great for privacy screening and grows tall and dense making it a great addition if you want seclusion. When planted close together, Arborvitae can create a “wall-like” effect that provides excellent screening. They are hardy and can stand up well to insect and weather stress, too.

Nandina

Nandina, or “Heavenly Bamboo,” is an evergreen or semi-evergreen broadleaf shrub known for its drought tolerance and hardiness. It is characterized by clusters of bright red berries, is tough and durable, and can grow anywhere from 2 to 4 feet tall. Requires little care, and is a low-maintenance plant.

Liriope

Drought-tolerant Liriope is a good ground cover because of its quick-spreading nature. Also known as Monkey grass, Liriope is a member of the flowering grasses and can tolerate dry conditions. Although it does produce white and purple blooms, Liriope also has ribbon-like leaves which are appealing.

Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower, or “Echinacea,” is a coarse, herbaceous perennial that has smooth stems and long-lasting lavender flowers. Another drought-resistant plant this one is a great pollinator as it attracts butterflies, birds, and bees. Another bonus is that it is naturally deer resistant as its spiny center makes it unpalatable to deer.

Beauty Bush

This easy-to-grow shrub adds appeal to any Northern Virginia landscape with its fountain-like spray for pink blooms. It can work as a specimen plant or as part of a flowering hedge. The Beauty Bush grows best in full sun or partial shade. It is overall a hardy choice and known for being drought tolerant.

Boxwood

Boxwood doesn't need much care, is shade tolerant, drought-resistant, and provides year-round greenery. It's sought after because of its hardiness, and compact size and is used in front yards as it works well for almost all landscape types.

3. Edible Landscaping

Creating an edible landscape is fun while also supplying homeowners with food to eat. 

If you want to engage in edible landscaping, start with vegetables that are not overly appealing to wildlife and if you interplant them among plants with scratchy textures and repellent scents, hungry wildlife might avoid them such as beans, eggplants, onions, chives, garlic, and hot peppers.

4. On a Budget Ideas

If you’re looking for some new landscaping ideas but you’re on a budget, here are some ideas that could add value without being too expensive.

Spruce-Up Organic Mulch Beds with Annuals and Perennials

Adding interest with a rainbow of colors, and textures is one way to make a landscape more exciting without spending lots of money. Your property might already have strong foundation plantings such as shrubs or small trees. But you want to create a higher impact with other plants that can add curb appeal such as daisylike flowers, and bicolor peacock blooms in the front yard, for personal enjoyment in the backyard. 

Also, add trees for privacy from prying eyes and neighborhoors you want to keep at bay. You can also put up a privacy fence for cheap to also maintain some privacy.

5. Add Stunning Container Gardens

Container gardens in a rainbow of colors can make a big impact anywhere that you put them. You can have one or more on your front porch, back porch, deck, patio, near the pool — or wherever you want to add a wow factor.

Keep in mind that plant selection and arrangement are important in creating the best container garden. A good rule of thumb that landscapers follow in creating these arrangements is choosing “something that fills, something that spills, and something that thrills.” You want variety in height, color, and texture, and depending on what type of sun you get, choose those that tolerate partial shade or shorter varieties, etc.

You can also make a statement with the pot, urn, or sculpture that you plant in. Choose a tall stone urn or a pretty piece of pottery for something different and fill it with annuals in carpets of color or bicolor blooms that will bloom for months.

6. Edging for a Powerful Change

Edging landscape beds is a simple task that can have a massive impact as it immediately makes plant bed lines look pristine. 

Edging is created by cutting the edge in with a sharp tool, but also requires ongoing maintenance to keep the edge intact. Many homeowners like adding decorative edges or “edgestones” to plant beds.

Doing so creates delineation, adds pop, and won’t need to be repeatedly maintained like a cut edge. 

7. Illuminate Space with Landscape Lighting

Adding a few outdoor lights to any landscape can make a big difference. Landscape lighting is not an inexpensive thing to do and you can start small and add more lighting over time. 

For example, to make it more affordable start by adding a few lights to your front yard to up curb appeal and also enhance safety and security.

At some point, you'll want to add more uplighting to a selection of trees or even extend landscape lighting efforts to the backyard to increase functionality and enjoyment in the area.

8.  Great Ambiance with a Fire Pit Area

A must-have for any home is to add a small fire pit area in the backyard as they naturally become a gathering spot, creates ambiance, gives light and heat, and looks great.

9. Enhance Tranquility, Get Privacy with a Water Feature

Adding water features doesn't have to be extravagant, like large ponds or big fountains. Water features can be small and simple while offering a major impact for not a lot of money.

A small bubbler or a decorative urn with circulating water can add the sound of moving water which enhances tranquility. These can be beautiful to look at and also block sound.

Whatever way you decide to add some zip to your landscape do try one or all of these 9 best landscaping ideas for your Virginia home to last all year and you're sure to see some improvement.

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