Fall fireworks: Plants that light up your landscape

The designers sought to create a lushly layered landscape. To stay within Jan’s budget, they installed beds in several stages, but every one emphasizes contrasting foliage. “We took full advantage of all the blues, chartreuses and burgundies,” Shelda says, “and we repeated them throughout the beds, ... that’s important for a sense of harmony.”

Blue notes include lamb’s-ear, blue spruce and spiky blue-gray ornamental grasses. Gold spirea and ‘Golden Mop’ false cypress add bright yellowy-green pops. Wine-dark barberries and purple coral bells represent the burgundies. Sedum delights with its orange-gold coat, and ‘Gro-Low’ sumac turns an intense orange-red.

“I just wanted a nice yard with some good overall color,” Jan says. “It’s hard not to wander out ... it’s so beautiful all around, the panorama just pulls me outside.”  

Pictured: A red Japanese maple shades the pond.

Landscape designers Shelda Murray and Stephanie “Zoe” Hazard, Plant Tenders Inc., 5944 Clarendon Hills Rd., Willowbrook, IL 60527. (630) 654-8022; planttenders.com