If you’re planning a deck, don’t forget to consider the plants for the space. Plants can enhance the look and feel of your outdoor living area. But they can be functional as well as beautiful. Here’s what to keep in mind when choosing plants for your deck space.
Pest Repellent Varieties
No one wants to sit out on the deck and spend the entire time swatting flies or smacking mosquitoes. Instead of using toxic spray or spending time applying bug spray, consider adding plants that can keep the bugs at bay for you. Here are a few of our favorites, and what they keep away:
- Petunias – these brightly colored flowers not only look and smell amazing, but they also keep away beetles, aphids, and tomato worms
- Marigolds – golden and beautiful, marigolds will help keep mosquitoes and aphids out of your deck garden space
- Lavender – flies, moths, and mosquitoes all hate lavender
- Chrysanthemums – this colorful flower contains pyrethrin, a compound that is a strong deterrent to mosquitoes, roaches, ticks, beetles, and silverfish
Consider Containers
To make plant and flower care easy, consider containers for your deck. Unless you have the space to create boxes for soil and irrigation, containers are the way to go. You can plant a wide variety of flowers, shrubs, and grasses in containers. Some of the easiest to care for include geranium, hibiscus, lantana, coleus, and Japanese forest grass. But don’t limit yourself to this short list. Go crazy! Visit your local garden center for more ideas for the best container flowers and grasses for your deck.
Plant for Privacy
If you’re lucky enough to have a naturally private space for your deck, you don’t need to worry about creating artificial privacy. However, many people have homes close to other houses, and one of the best ways to create privacy on your deck is with the right plants.
You can get creative with your green thumb and make an oasis out of shrubs, trees, and bushes right on your deck. Small evergreen trees and shrubs that grow up instead of out are a great option. Arborvitae and cypress are both good choices that you can keep in containers that will grow into a natural wall of greenery.
Clematis is a flowering vine that is a beautiful way to create a curtain between you and your neighbors. Boxwoods are a beautiful shrub that you can plant in a row to make a screen for your deck. You can also include some horsetail reed grass or even some bamboo for the same effect. A combination of these privacy-creating plants can make your deck both secluded and beautiful.
Even the worst deck can look great with the right plants. But if you’re not happy with your outdoor space, maybe it’s time for a change. If you’re looking to install or upgrade your residential deck, make sure you talk to the team that knows how to do it right. The pros at Wahoo Decks can help design and install the most durable and functional deck for your home. Then you can create the garden deck oasis you’ve been dreaming of.