The Best Little Rock Yard Design Ideas To Easily Transform Your Outdoors

Spend your afternoons in the hot Arkansas summer relaxing in your rocking chair and sipping on cool lemonades instead of exhausting yourself weeding and pruning your garden.

With nine of its months experiencing average temperatures above 50 °F (10 °C), Little Rock is renowned for its humid subtropical climate.

This entails hot, muggy summers with a chance of drought continuing into the late summer.

Despite that, Little Rock experiences a huge amount of rain, averaging 51 inches of rain per year while the US average is only 38 inches of rain per year.

Due to that, landscape architects recommend that yard landscaping in Little Rock and central Arkansas as a whole needs to be as low-maintenance and hassle-free as possible.

Keeping these aspects in mind, we have collected some of our favorite landscaping ideas for you to plan your Little Rock yard.

Go Native

Due to their excellent adaptation and endurance to the local weather conditions, native plants are the best and most capable of surviving and thriving in the environment of Arkansas.

And landscape architects always advise incorporating native plants in any landscape design due to their numerous advantages.

Advantages of Native Plants in Landscape Design:

Native plants are not only very low-maintenance, but they are also drought-tolerant and don't need much care after establishment.

They are also cost-effective and will help you save money that would otherwise be spent on water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Numerous native plants also serve as a green corridor by attracting animals, birds, butterflies, and other significant pollinators in addition to providing food and shelter.

Our favorite native plants for your Little Rock yard design:

Trees

Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) is a perfect plant for Little Rock's weather.

Thriving naturally in damp woodlands and along swamps and streams, this small ornamental tree is evergreen in the deep South and semi-evergreen to deciduous in northern latitudes.

It starts blooming in the early summer with stunningly beautiful, large white-colored blossoms that have a fragrant, lemony scent.

And as they establish strong roots in their soil, they become increasingly tolerant of flooding and drought.

Consider using it as a quality specimen tree or placing it next to water features such as bonds or cascading streams.

Flowers

Blue star (Amsonia tabernaemontana) is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance perennial flower that is known for being heat and humidity tolerant.

From late spring to early summer, this gorgeous plant will be decorated with an abundance of blue, star-shaped flowers that bloom in tight clusters atop leafy stems and willowy-shaped foliage.

This perennial plant also offers seasonal interest by turning a vibrant golden color in the fall.

Consider mass planting them in your front garden behind a low fence to produce the illusion of having a bigger space with an assortment of other colorful annuals and perennials to lighten up your home's entrance and greet your guests with beautiful visuals.

Shrubs

American beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana) is a many-branched, easy-to-grow flamboyant deciduous shrub that produces vividly colored clusters of purple berries from fall until early winter.

Popularly used as an ornamental plant in landscaping, it offers a stunning contrast of color against the fall and winter foliage.

Lawn Alternatives

Replace the time-and resource-consuming lawn with gravel, paving, or artificial grass.

These lawn substitutes are low-maintenance and, for someone on a budget, are the perfect cost-effective choice as they will let you avoid spending your hard-earned money on pesticides, fertilizers, and water.

Gravel and Paving:

Your outdoor area will have a neat architectural texture thanks to the use of gravel and paving.

As the gravel highlights the nearby vegetation, adding color and a nice contrast to the greenery, the paving will enhance the overall quality of your house's architecture and landscaping style.

In times of drought, the gravel will also serve as a mulch to maintain a high level of soil moisture.

Artificial Grass:

For those who are looking for that picturesque, stretched-out carpet of vividly green lawns, artificial grass is considered a fantastic alternative.

The artificial grass is heat-resistant and will save you from dealing with regular mowing and the hefty expenses that come with maintaining that lush greenery.

Deer-Proofing

Deer are a challenging species to manage since they consume hundreds of plant types largely without discrimination and are one of the biggest herbivores in many areas.

According to landscape architects, the surefire way to protect your yard plants from those adorable white-tailed animals is the installation of a tall, sturdy fence.

But a fence like that poses the risk of obscuring beautiful natural elements that may surround your home or ruin the aesthetic appeal you have worked so hard to create.

The other way you can deer-proof your yard is by growing plants that repel deer through either their strong fragrance or other repelling features.

These following plants are perfect for working as a natural barrier to fend off hungry deer from eating your expensive plants or destroying your backyard's landscape.

Deer-Resistant Plants:

Strong Odor Herbs

Chives, mint, and lavender are examples of herbs with potent scents that can mask other neighboring plants' enticing aromas.

Garlic

Powerful and highly effective as a pest deterrent, garlic is a plant that will do wonders to keep unwanted visitors at bay.

Daffodils

On lists of plants that can withstand deer, daffodils are at the top.

Since the entire blossom is poisonous to animals, these cheery, sunny flowers are excellent at repelling pests.

However, they can also be toxic to humans, so be sure to keep that in mind if you plan to use them.

Deer can also be effectively repelled by perennials like globe thistles, marigolds, purple cornflowers, and butterfly weeds.

Fencing Alternatives

You can also employ dense boxwood or short-needle spruce hedges around the boundaries of your garden as an alternative to fencing.

Thorns

Thorny plants can also help keep deer away. However, they are not always effective against hungry deer.

Rain Gardens

As mentioned before, Little Rock receives a considerable amount of rain every year; 51 inches to be exact. And such weather conditions are ideal for creating rain gardens, which are becoming a popular landscape design in central Arkansas.

How do rain gardens work exactly?

By creating depressions in the soil, rain gardens are positioned below the surface of their surroundings.

The primary goal behind this natural drainage solution is to capture rainwater and stormwater runoff from surfaces like roofs, patios, and driveways.

The water runoff will then momentarily pool in the rain garden until it is completely absorbed by the soil.

And the garden should dry completely in a maximum of 48 hours. Any more than that can be an indication of drainage problems.

What makes you want it?

They not only produce breathtakingly gorgeous scenery that enhances the landscaping's overall beauty, but they also have a variety of ecological advantages, such as:

• Treating polluted and contaminated rainwater and storm runoff.
• With the city's urbanization and the significant amount of rain and stormwater that comes pouring down, flooding has become a serious problem. By absorbing runoff water, rain gardens can reduce flooding and stop sewer overflow.
• Rain gardens replenish groundwater supplies by capturing and letting the runoff gently soak into the soil.
• Reduce storm-related erosion, such as soil erosion as well as erosion in nearby creeks and streams.
• Stop water stagnation and the spread of insects like mosquitoes.
• Since they have the capacity to reduce water runoff as well as preserve the soil and improve its stability, growing native plants is a fantastic way to protect the environment and combat recent climate change.

All of this makes rain gardens a cost-effective and environmentally responsible choice, as they will help you conserve your water resources and protect the surrounding ecosystem.

Furthermore, they require little maintenance and can thrive without fertilizers and pesticides, which is guaranteed to make your life much easier.

Landscape Installation

Keep in mind that if you choose to have a rain garden, you need to make sure that it is installed and functioning properly.

If not, drainage issues may arise.

For example, incorrect soil blending may cause water runoff to accumulate in the garden's basin, eventually causing flooding, backups, and overflow. Furthermore, it can cause the plants to rot.

To avoid any unnecessary issues and to make sure that it is installed properly, you should pick a professional landscaping company to do the installation for you.

Ready to Transform Your Little Rock Backyard into Your Dream Landscape Vision?

Fundamentally, landscaping is the act of using design to transform an existing, poorly planned area into a harmonious and visually pleasing outdoor space.

To build a hassle-free, low-maintenance yard where you can spend your days relaxing in your favorite rocking chair instead of worrying about maintaining your garden during the humid summers in Arkansas, all you need is high-quality landscape design.

The humid subtropical environment of Little Rock can be accommodated by landscaping concepts created by a professional landscape designer.

And our skilled team at ShrubHub, made up of the top landscape architects in the industry, is always prepared to create the most optimal design for all your landscaping needs, regardless of the difficulties or obstacles.

For just under $300, our clients will receive ShrubHub's full package of expert landscaping services.

All you need to do is sign up on our website shrubhub.com

Visit our website today and get started on landscaping your dream yard.

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