With its relatively temperate but still seasonal climate, Savannah (and much of the South, really) is known for the exciting variety of stunning plants that can thrive here. It’s also a great place to embrace outdoor living to the fullest. So, we thought we’d share five garden ideas perfect for Savannah luxury homes.
Photography by Mike Birdy
Make Variety Your Mantra
This might seem somewhat obvious, but don’t forget to plan for variety in all seasons! You probably have a few favorite plants you plan to include. Or if you don’t, you probably will by the time you finish researching. But don’t let your love for those beauties get too out of hand.
You know when you flip through the pages of a magazine or scan social media and see a garden photo that sort of makes your heart sing? Well, we can almost guarantee that it features tons of different plants—flowers, toe ticklers, bright green shrubs, brown accents—that look their best during different seasons.
If you ignore the perennial aisle and fill your entire garden with spring lovers, you’ll have a magical spring, a green summer, … and nothing to look at during the fall and winter.
Photography by Ekaterinna Popgeorgieva
Work with Different Heights
When you think of gardening, you probably envision resting your knees on the ground and planting in the dirt. But incorporating plantings that don’t rest within the ground is a good idea too, because it helps create a varied-height visual.
Use tall planters, hanging baskets, and trellises for crawling plants to establish a sense of grandeur. This will also make your home and any other buildings on the property feel more connected to the land, as the nature appears to extend upward to meet its brick-and-mortar surroundings.
For apartment dwellers, this is arguably the secret to the ultimate balcony garden. Picture a corner with planters in big, medium, and small sizes clustered together, vines on the railing, and an outdoor seating set with succulents on the coffee table.
Photography Susanne Jutzeler
Don’t Forget the Trees
Many of us never give much thought to the trees in our yard. Typically, they’ll have been there since long before we moved in. But trees are so important to a beautiful garden!
We just talked about the design principle of varying heights, and trees certainly contribute to successfully achieve this in a garden. Trees also provide shade on sunny days, a canopy of protection on rainy ones, and a home for countless lovely birds and other critters.
Savannah is known for its Spanish moss-filled live oaks, but there are a few other tree varieties we think suit the area’s gardens so well:
- Sabal palmetto for those who want to add a bit of a coastal feel
- Yoshino cherry for its breathtaking pink blooms (a fleeting pleasure that comes alive for a few weeks each year)
- Flowering dogwood for its delicately beautiful bark and spring blooms
- American holly for the vibrancy it brings to the winter garden
- Scarlet oak for its stunning fall display
To explore more ideas for tree types, check out this article from Trees Atlanta.
Photography by Gary Barnes
Keep Seating and Entertainment in Mind
The garden is undeniably all about embracing and showcasing wild beauty, but it’s also meant to be a space you can comfortably spend time in so you can actually enjoy that beauty. All too often, enthusiastic plant lovers design garden spaces that burst with natural life and forget all about carving out hardscaped areas for seating, dining tables, etc.
If you really want to play this aspect up, you could even build an outdoor kitchen. Nowadays, new technologies and materials have made a durable, chef-worthy space possible in the open air.
But if you want to keep the cooking indoors and only dine outside, consider a gorgeous teak dining set tucked among plantings for a secret garden feel. Another idea for those who want to entertain without establishing an entire outdoor kitchen or dining area is the movable bar cart! Plenty of brands now offer sturdy, indoor-outdoor versions that even include ice buckets, mini fridges, and glass holders!
If entertaining isn’t your primary concern, research quaint little benches. They offer a spot for respite and to “stop and smell the flowers,” so to speak, without requiring major hardscaping.
Photography by FOX
Be a Haven for the Bees (and Birds and Butterflies and On!)
When making plant selections, keep the life beyond plantings in mind. By creating a sanctuary for bees, birds, butterflies, and more, you are designing a garden that isn’t just pleasant; it’s also an ecological boon!
Bees enjoy a few different herbs, including chives, mint, oregano, rosemary, and sage, which is all good for your kitchen too! Butterflies especially adore violets, milkweed, and aster.
Birds love a few of the same aforementioned plants, but Audubon has an awesome list of 10 for you to peruse!
If you need even more ideas, or some further visual inspiration, mark this weekend, May 14-16, on your calendar! That’s when the Low Country Home & Garden Show will be happening at the Savannah Convention Center this year. Once you’ve explored the flora, we’d love to meet you for a showing of a different kind—a walk through one of our available homes here at Upper East River.
