Lists Archives – Hidden Leaf Landscaping

June 6, 2023October 9, 2023

8 of the Best Shrubs & Plants for New Jersey Mulch Beds [2023]

A beautiful mulch bed can transform the look of your property, adding color, texture, and interest to your outdoor spaces. But creating a stunning and lasting mulch bed is a task that requires planning, and attention to detail. Consulting a landscaper with a personal touch can make all the difference in bringing your home’s gorgeous mulch bed to life.

Every homeowner has unique preferences and requirements when it comes to their landscaping needs. At Hidden Leaf Landscaping we aim to provide a personalized service, tailored to your specific needs, style, and budget.

Our Garden Design service specializes in creating mulch beds that showcase the best shrubs and plants suitable for the New Jersey climate. Here are some that we recommend:

8 Gorgeous Shrubs and Plants for Mulch Beds

Plant Type Chart – For more Plant options see our Best Perrenials article

Plant	Description	Zones
Barberry	A colorful and low-maintenance shrub that provides a pop of color in any landscape.	4 – 8
Daylillies	A perennial flower that comes in many colors and produces blooms throughout the summer season.	4 – 11
Mexican Heather	A vibrant, low-growing plant that produces small purple flowers all summer long.	9 – 11
Heuchera	A versatile plant with colorful foliage that provides interest all season long.	4 -9
Sedum	A hardy plant that comes in many varieties, all of which are excellent for groundcover in mulch beds.	3 – 11
Coral Bells	Another plant with colorful foliage that comes in a variety of colors, including pink, purple, and bronze.	4 – 9
Coneflower	Coneflowers (Echichnea) are a popular perennial flower that have recently grown in popularity, partly due to the numerous options of styles & colors. The coneflower produces bright, daisy-like blooms in shades of pink, orange, and purple.	5 – 8
Hosta	A shade-loving perennial that produces large, stunning leaves in a variety of colors and patterns.	3 – 9

Mulch Types, Colors, and Uses

Mulch is an essential element in creating a lasting and gorgeous mulch bed. It helps regulate soil moisture, prevents weed growth, and protects your plants from extreme temperatures. Here are some of the most popular mulch types and colors that we recommend:

Mulch Type Chart ; For more Mulch options & Mulch comparisons see our Service Catalogue

Type of Mulch	Color	Use(s)
Type of Mulch	Color	Use
Wood Chips	Brown	All-Purpose Mulch
Bark Mulch	Brown	All-Purpose Mulch
Rubber	Black, Brown, Red	Playgrounds, Walkways
Gravel	Brown, Tan	Low-Maintenance Areas
Rock	Gray, Cream	Low-Maintenance Areas
Pine Needles	Reddish Brown	Acid-Loving Plants

Creating a Beautiful, Unique Mulch Bed

Hidden Leaf Landscaping –
Providing landscaping with a personal touch to bring your home’s gorgeous mulch bed to life:

At Hidden Leaf Landscaping, we pride ourselves on taking a personalized approach to our landscaping services. Here is how we bring your home’s gorgeous mulch bed to life:

1. Consultation – We begin our process by meeting with you to discuss your landscaping vision and objectives, free of charge.

2. Design – We then create a custom design that incorporates your preferred plants, shrubs, and mulch types.

3. Installation – Our expert landscapers install your mulch bed with meticulous care, ensuring that each plant is in the right location and the mulch layer is consistent and aesthetically pleasing.

4. Maintenance – We can also provide ongoing mulch bed maintenance to ensure that your landscaping investment is well-preserved and continues to look stunning throughout the year.

Choosing a landscaper with a personal touch is the key to creating a stunning and lasting mulch bed that enhances your home’s curb appeal and outdoor spaces.

At Hidden Leaf Landscaping, we combine expertise, creativity, and personalized service to deliver mulch beds that reflect your style and personality, all while fitting seamlessly into your property’s existing landscape.

Contact us today to learn more about our landscaping services and how we can help bring your home’s gorgeous mulch bed to life.

Hiddden Leaf Landscaping

Hackettstown, NJ, 07840

(908) 441 – 8157

HiddenLeafLawncare@gmail.com

March 22, 2021May 7, 2021

Garden design & Landscaping trends: 2021

Outdoor Living is the new livng room.

2021 brings on new, exciting landscaping/ gardening trends while revitalizing some older ones. After the particularly long (and odd) year that was 2020, many people feelt ike 2020 couldn’t come to a close sooner.
In the last year many people found themselves spending more and more time at home and with that also using there backyards more then in the past. Studies show an increase in gardening & time spent outdoors in 2020, and continuing threw this year.

Outdoor Living Spaces offer privacy while also adding a vibrant landscape of color (with the right plants!) to your home or business

Adjusting to the new way of life brought on by 2020, things like; practicing social distancing, early curfews, buffering zoom meetings, choppy video calls etc became normal & are now common in many peoples lives. This makes having a place to relax & unwind more desirable then ever. Enter outdoor living spaces.
Outdoor living spaces in particular are going to be one of the most sought after landscaping trends in this new year.
Gardening, outdoor-living spaces, family garden projects, even something as simple as going out for a walk can be great sources of relaxation and or stress relief. If you can do all of these things in your backyard, why not?

March 25, 2020March 22, 2021

Best Perennials for 2020

Creating a flower bed from scratch is cost efficient & gives both the customer and client a sense of pride after watching their garden grow and seeing the completed project.
There are 2 main categories of plants, Annual & Perennial. Perennial flowers will re-bloom year to year while annual flowers will only bloom once.
Some popular Perennial flowers include:

Red Columbine

Exposure:	Sun / light shade
Bloom Time:	Summer
Zones:	4 to 8
Height:	15″ to 20″
Width:	10″ to 15″

A long time Jersey favorite, Blooms in springtime, as late as early summer. limestone rich soil that drains well.
Reaches heights of about 3 feet, grows taller rather than spreading, Due to its tendency for tall growth, works in a bed with most other flowers(provided that they don’t overshadow the Red Columbine)

Cutleaf Cone Flowers

Exposure:	Sun / light shade
Bloom Time:	Summer – Fall
Zones:	4 to 8
Height:	1′ to 7″
Width:	10″ to 15″

An herbaceous perennial plant is 3-8′ tall; it branches occasionally in the upper half.The alternate leaves are up to 12″ long and 12″ across, becoming gradually smaller as they ascend the stems. With a Long bloom period- up to 2 months This plant is a sunshine spectacle in the garden when it reaches 7 feet. Produces a bounty of beautiful blooms. No serious pest issues.

Chrysanthemum

Exposure:	Full sun
Bloom Time:	September to frost
Zones:	4 to 8
Height:	1.50 to 2.00 feet
Spread:	1.00 to 1.50 feet

Popular perennial all over the world, Chrysanthemum thrives in New Jersey gardens. Outlasting even most annuals this flower blooms in colors ranging from white, yellow to orange.
Important planting tips: These particular perennials have a wide spread, leave room for them spread out asthey can clump together if planted too closely and stunt growth.

Achillea ‘Firefly Amethyst’ (Yarrow)

Exposure:	Full Sun
Bloom Time:	Summer
Zones:	3 to 8
Height:	18″ to 22″
Width:	32″ to 36″

This new Achillea variety is one tough plant! It is drought tolerant, doesn’t like rich soil, and resists deer and rabbits. As an added bonus, it isn’t invasive like some varieties of Yarrow can be. One standout variety is ‘Firefly Amethyst’. It’s flowers start out bright pink and fade to a lighter color, giving a multi-shade of pink effect. If pink isn’t for you Achillea is also available in yellow, white and peach

Allium ‘Serendipity’ (Ornamental Onion)

‘Serendipity’ is a low-growing Allium it’s long bloom time of 4 – 6 weeks will provide your garden with color all summer long.

Exposure:	Sun / Part Shade
Bloom Time:	Summer
Zones:	4 to 8
Height:	15″ to 20″
Width:	10″ to 15″

A low-growing Allium that forms a mound of round purple blooms in the summer. This Allium attracts butterflies and resists deer and rabbits.
If you leave the flowers on the plant, it may self-seed. However, if you prefer a more orderly garden, removing the spent blooms & will prevent self-seeding.

Dicentra ‘Pink Diamonds’ (Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart)

Exposure:	Sun / Part Sun
Bloom Time:	Spring, Fall
Zones:	3 to 9
Height:	12″ to 16″
Width:	16″ to 18″

Pink flowers and leafy blue-green leaves. Grows well in sun, blooms twice yearly in the spring and fall.

While Dicentra ‘Pink Diamonds’ does have the same pink flowers and leafy blue-green leaves that Dicentra are known for, that’s where the similarities stop. It grows well in the sun and does not disappear in the summer. And to top that, it re-blooms. So you can have those pretty pink blooms in your garden in the late spring and the early fall. Just be sure to plant them in well-drained soil. It doesn’t like to keep its feet wet

Salvia ‘White Profesion’ (Perennial Salvia)

A spiky forming Perennial that re-blooms.

Exposure:	Sun
Bloom Time:	Spring / Summer
Zones:	3 to 8
Height:	16″ to 20″
Width:	16″ to 20″

You may be thinking “What’s so new about Salvia? They’re everywhere!” While this may look like your average perennial salvia, it has one distinct advantage. It’s re-blooming! Which means you can have perennial salvia adding its spiky blooms to your garden for a longer period. It’s only available in white as of now.

Echinacea ‘Orange You Awesome’ (Coneflower)

Beautiful tangerine orange flowers with dark cones that are just stunning.

Exposure:	Sun
Bloom Time:	Summer – Fall
Zones:	4 to 8
Height:	18″ to 22″
Width:	16″ to 20″

Looking for a flower that is easy to grow and will add a ton of color to your garden? Check out these new Coneflower varieties. They love sunny and hot locations which is perfect for those tough spots in your yard. Not a fan of deep orange? There’s also a yellow variety called ‘Yellow My Darling’ that you may like better.

Blanket Flower

Low maintenance cut flowers with low water needs that grows in Sand, Chalk, Loam. Perfect for borders.

Exposure:	Full Sun
Bloom Time:	Summer – Fall
Zones:	3 to 8
Height:	1′ to 2′
Width:	2′ to 3′

Also called Gaillardia, this perennial is a drought and heat tolerant member of the wildflower family. Blanket Flowers are an excellent choice for creating flower bed borders in poor quality soil, and they typically form 3-inch daisy-like blooms in red, gold, or brown. Despite its short lifespan, Blanket Flower is a simple seed-to-flower in a year perennial that thrives in a temperate climate.

Contact Hidden Leaf Landscaping for your next home project

That’s it for “2020 Best Perennials” for now. Thanks for reading & get to planting! Check back with Hidden Leaf Landscaping for more Gardening, lawn care, & landscaping help and don’t forget to contact us for your next home project or lawn care needs.