Year-Round Beauty with Native Perennials

native landscapes can support wildlife, look beautiful year-round, And be low maintenance, with a design that incorporates the right combination of plants

At Union Landscape Design, we love showing clients that a beautiful, low-maintenance garden doesn’t have to be fleeting. With the right mix of native perennials, grasses, and shrubs, your landscape can look alive and interesting in every season — not just when flowers are in full bloom. Designing with plants that thrive in our local climate and provide more than one “moment” of beauty means less work for you and more enjoyment year-round.

Our Favorite Native Perennials (and a few shrubs) for Multiple Seasons of Interest and Beauty

Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Grande’
Clusters of soft, sky-blue flowers in spring, lush green foliage through summer, and leaves that turn lime, amber, and red in fall. Stands gracefully through winter.

Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Eastern Beardtongue)
Delicate white flowers in late spring, seed heads through summer, and deep burgundy foliage year-round.

Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo)
Indigo-blue blooms in spring, deep green foliage through summer, and ornamental pea-pod seed heads in fall.

Rudbeckia fulgida (Black-Eyed Susan)
Bright golden petals with dark centers from mid-summer into early fall; dried seed heads provide winter interest and food for birds.

Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride’
Evergreen, velvety foliage year-round; airy white flowers in early fall.

Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)
Evergreen succulent-textured foliage; brilliant blue or purple blooms in spring.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ (Switchgrass)
Upright green blades all season, turning rich red by midsummer; soft strawy tan in winter.

Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass)
Airy pink blooms in October–November, fading to delicate texture that catches the light.

Cornus sericea (Red Twig Dogwood)
Brilliant red stems throughout winter once leaves drop.

Ilex verticillata (Winterberry Holly)
Bright red berries in winter that feed birds and brighten the landscape.

Why Native Perennials Make a Great Low-Maintenance Garden

When designed thoughtfully, native perennial gardens evolve gracefully through the year. From soft greens in spring, vibrant blooms in summer, glowing foliage in fall, and sculptural forms in winter. They require less watering, fewer chemicals, and less fuss overall, allowing you to enjoy a landscape that works with nature, not against it.

If you’re dreaming of a garden that looks great in every season and supports the local ecosystem, we’d love to help design one that fits your home and lifestyle.

Follow this link to schedule your design consultation now.

— Union Landscape Design

Fall is for Landscape Designing and Planting

Assess Your Garden While It’s Still Lush

Fall is one of the best times to take a close look at your landscape. While the weather is still warm and your garden remains full from summer growth, you can easily see what’s thriving and what could be improved. Observing your property now gives you a clear sense of where to enhance structure, add color, or improve balance before everything goes dormant.

Use Dormancy to Your Advantage

As plants begin to wind down for winter, the underlying structure of your landscape becomes visible. This is the perfect moment to evaluate your evergreen framework serving as the “bones” that give your garden form all year long. When deciduous plants drop their leaves, gaps and weak areas are easier to spot, allowing you to plan strategic updates with evergreens, plants with colorful stems-berries-foliage, and native grasses that add four-season interest.

Why Fall Planting Thrives in Pennsylvania

Many homeowners in the Philadelphia area think spring is the best time to plant but fall often provides even better conditions. Pennsylvania’s cool autumn air, warm soil, and consistent rainfall create an ideal environment for root growth. Installing trees, shrubs, and perennials in fall gives them a strong foundation before winter, setting them up to thrive next spring.

Get Ahead of the Spring Rush

Planning and planting this fall means you’ll enter spring with a head start. Beds can be prepared and mulched now, reducing the workload when the busy season arrives. You’ll spend less time scrambling to plant and more time enjoying your outdoor spaces as they come to life in spring.

Add Texture and Color to Your Winter Garden

Fall and winter landscapes don’t have to look empty. Perennials like Husker Red Penstemon, Heuchera, and native grasses such as Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) and Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) hold color and texture through the cold months. Evergreens add structure and depth, while deciduous shrubs like Winterberry Holly and Red Twig Dogwood bring bold red berries and stems that brighten the landscape all winter long.

Plan Your Landscape Design This Fall

Fall is the perfect season to reflect, design, and plan your outdoor spaces. Whether you’re updating your foundation plantings or developing a full master plan, fall is the ideal window to start. A professional landscape design now ensures your property is ready to thrive when spring conditions return.

Schedule Your Fall Landscape Design Consultation

If you’re in the Philadelphia area or surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs, now is the best time to begin your landscape design. Our design process helps you visualize your space, define priorities, and build a planting plan that fits your home and budget.

Follow this link to schedule your fall design consultation now.

— Union Landscape Design

Main LIne Landscape Design

The Main Line is a beautiful area.

When you think about designing your dream home, you likely focus on interior spaces. Kitchens, living rooms, and living rooms that reflect your style and bring you joy.

But what about your outdoor spaces? How do the outdoor areas serve to welcome guests to your home?

The landscape surrounding your home is a powerful first impression and can be just as important in creating a beautiful, cohesive environment and is worth considering along with the interior spaces.

Designing a low-maintenance landscape with native plants offers the perfect opportunity to elevate your home’s exterior appeal. In addition to inviting and supporting the local ecosystem, landscapes that require less maintenance can lead to major savings of time and effort.

Along the Main Line with historic homes and charming neighborhoods, designing a thoughtful and classic landscape with low-maintenance native plants is not only practical but also stunningly effective in connecting your property with the natural surroundings.

The Benefits of Native, Low-Maintenance Landscaping

1. Beauty: Native plants thrive in our local climate and soil conditions, which means they require less water, fertilizer, and general upkeep. Developing a landscape that looks lush and vibrant year-round is achievable when working with plants that “belong” here.

2. Environmental Appeal: Incorporating native plants not only connects your home to the surrounding landscape, but supports local wildlife, including birds, bees, and butterflies. These species rely on native flora for food and shelter, so your landscape becomes a haven for biodiversity. Whatever space you can provide becomes a small but impactful step toward environmental stewardship and gives you the benefit of seeing wildlife surrounding your home.

3. Cost-Effective: Lower maintenance demands means lower costs in the long run. Native plants typically require less water, no chemical fertilizers, and minimal pest control, making them a smart financial investment as well as an aesthetic one. Eliminating the need for monthly or weekly maintenance allows your landscape to develop sustainably over time.

4. Seasonal Charm: Native plants offer a stunning array of textures, colors, and blooms throughout the year. From the fresh push of growth in spring, through the lush flowers of summer, to the bold foliage and textures of fall and winter, your landscape can reflect the natural rhythms of the region.

A Holistic Approach to Home Design

Your home’s landscape is its first impression and the backdrop for outdoor gatherings A view from every window can look out to a beautiful natural scene. The spaces surrounding your home can serve as a outdoor retreat at the end of a busy day. By giving your outdoor spaces the same care and intention as your interiors, you create a seamless flow between indoors and out, enhancing your overall living experience.

Consider designing your landscape with:

• Low-Maintenance Native Plants: Think of beautiful bluestar Amsonia in spring, yellow black-eyed Susans blooming in summer, bright orange Butterfly Milkweed serving as a habitat for Monarch butterflies, and Little Bluestem grass standing tall through winter. All of these native plants can be incorporated into any type of landscape design and will thrive along the Main Line.

• Sustainable Features: Incorporate elements like natural, local stone for hardscaping and stormwater management areas on site to reduce energy use in construction and maximize the positive environmental impact of your space for the surrounding ecology

• Outdoor Living Spaces: Create patios, garden seating areas, or fire pits surrounded by native greenery to encourage time spent outdoors. Extending your living spaces outdoors creates a beautiful atmosphere for day to day living and hosting special events. Seamless transitions from indoor to outdoor living spaces creates an elegant home experisnce.

Transforming your landscape doesn’t have to be overwhelming and you don’t have to do it alone.

If you’re dreaming of a pollinator-friendly garden, a serene outdoor sanctuary, or colorful, show-stopping curb appeal, a low-maintenance landscape designed specifically for your vision and dream is possible this season.

Whether you are a planning a new home, remodeling before moving in, or preparing for long-awaited renovations, landscapes have the potential to inspire joy and create beauty as timeless and inviting as the homes they surround. Make this spring the season for wrapping your home in a beautiful and welcoming landscape

Top Native Plants for Supporting Pollinators along the Main Line

As a landscape designer and gardener, I love the overlap between beauty and function.

Along the Main Line, we have the benefit of beautiful homes and established neighborhoods. Installing landscapes with native plants can create outdoor spaces that are not only beautiful, but support wildlife and enhance connections to broader natural areas,

Designing with plants that are not only beautiful, but provide food and habitat to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds is an extremely rewarding aspect of working with native plants.

Here are some of my top recommendations for trees, shrubs, flowering perennials, and grasses to consider adding to your landsape. The number following the the plant name is the number of native lepidoptera species Doug Tallamy has recorded as being supported by similar plants in that genus

Trees:

1. White Oak (Quercus alba). 518. These gorgeous canopy trees are the iconic spreading oaks you imagine standing proud in an old field. Their spreading form and gently-lobed leaves are beautiful.

2. Hickory (Carya spp.) 233. A classic forest species with Shagbark being one of the most striking bark textures. Bitternut and Butternut are also beautiful species for.

3. Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) 119. Typically grown as a larger multi=stem shrub, Serviceberry provides a beautiful early spring flowers, nectar and berries loved by birds.

Shrubs:

1. Smooth Viburnum (Viburnum nudum). 97. Beautiful foliage, white flowers and late season fruit support wildlife throughout the groiwng season.

2. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) 34. White flowers early in the season give way to bright berries in fall and winter that attract birds.

3. St John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum) 20. Beautiful green foliage is covered with yellow blooms in summer. Bees love the abundant flowers and flock to it when in bloom.

Flowering Perennials:

1. ‘Golden Fleece’ Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’) 112. Robust groundcover foliage carpets the ground all season. In late summer, spikes of bright yellow blooms emerge adding an awesome color and texture to the late season landscape.

2. ‘Bluebird’ Aster (Aster laevis' ‘Bluebird’) 105. Beautiful smooth leaves on upright stalks lead to a flush of light blue flowers late in the season that are a magnet for pollinators.

3. Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) 15. Beautiful, silver-mint-green foliage emerges in spring followed by rich blue flowers. The sweet-pea shaped flower clusters are stunning.

Grasses:

1. Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) 36. For a shady location, these sedge provide a beautiful texture. As a nice contrast to broad-leaved perennials, sedge can help diversify a shady planting.

2. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) 24. This soft textured grass begins to emerge in late-spring and summer as the temperatures rise. The airy seedheads provide a late season food source for birds.

3. Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) 6. Provides habitat and seeds for wildlife and beautiful tan stems that stay up all winter.

If you’ve been curious about how to make your home’s landscape have a positive impact for wildlife, adding any of these species will help your landscape become a haven for pollinators.