These beds were designed in 1994 through the Landscape Architecture Program at Michigan State University based on historical research of the Capitol's original planting scheme.
The two long curving perennial beds in front of the Capitol's House and Senate wings were designed in the style of the Victorian period. They reflect the influence of English garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, whose writings inspired many American gardeners. The Capitol's beds were carefully designed to be authentic to the era while providing masses of color throughout the blooming period. Each bed is a mirror of the other, beginning with cool colors (blues, purples and creams) at the outer ends and moving through progressively warmer colors (yellows, oranges and reds) to the Capitol's front entrance.
The beds flanking the entrance sidewalk and surrounding the statue of Austin Blair are also based on a popular historic planting scheme called "carpet bedding, " in which annual flowers are planted in elaborate, often geometric, designs. This became very fashionable around grand public buildings and large private estates during the Victorian period.
Capitol Square's spectacular flower beds are beautiful and historically authentic. They differ from Victorian schemes in one respect, however. Rather than using exotic, expensive plant material, our beds are designed with public use in mind and are as hardy and maintenance-free as possible.
Source: www.senate.michigan.gov
Landscaping Tips
Though your home is your castle, there is no necessity to surround it with a moat. Here are 5 tips that will help you to make your landscaping feel more warm, welcoming and cozy.
1. Put some flowers nearby your entrance. Flowers make any area look more welcoming and attractive, so greeting your guests with Petunia, Snapdragon, Lily-of-the-Nile or some other garden flowers is always a great thing to do. What is more, to add some space between your house and the entrance, you can consider adding a little white fence. It will create an illusion that your front yard is bigger than it actually is. What is more, adding fence will create a great space for planting flowers to add some color and coziness.
2. Add rambling vines to make your yard look absolutely lovely. You can not deny that rambling vines always create romantic and even magical atmosphere. So why not to use this tip while decorating your yard?
3. To hide the unattractive driveway, consider adding some color, texture, and height. You can easily do it by adding various sorts of flowers. To start, create an island of green lawn right in the hub of a drive. Then add a couple of low boxwood hedges with flowers toward the back of your island.
4. If you want your yard to blossom and flourish bust still do not have enough time to maintain it, consider planting low-fuss lilies. Such flowers look absolutely gorgeous and come in the variety of rainbow hues, so you can pick the one you love most. What is more, low-fuss lilies do not care about the sort of soil, they love the sun and welcome hot, they do not afraid of drought. In other words, Crinums is an ideal flower for all those who are looking for low-maintenance solutions.
5. The last tip also touches the low-maintenance aspect. To make your life easier, group plantings into beds and islands. This will help you to avoid mowing and trimming around each individual plant, save a lot of time and even money.