Moon Valley Texas Blog

3 Designs That Will Instantly Upgrade Your Yard

Written by Jessica Downs | 8/23/19 5:00 PM

Transform Your Landscape

With all the varieties of trees and plants available from Moon Valley Nurseries and our knowledgeable landscape design experts, there are infinite ways to put together an entire yard design just for your home.

Our favorite designs are the ones that completely transform our customer's yards overnight. Keep reading to find out how you could renew your yard with only a few trees. No matter what type of design style you are looking for, our design experts can create your perfect yard for the Houston, Austin, and other Texas areas.

Add a Tropical Background Around Your Pool

Benefits of Planting Palms by the Pool

If you have a pool in your yard, then you are already halfway to having the ultimate tropical landscape. Good job! To finish off the look and bring the tropical island vibes to your home, you want to add some palms around your pool or yard.

Our nursery professionals recommend two ways to add palms to your yard and pool area. The first way we might design around your pool is to plant palms close together to create a dense backdrop that accentuates your pool design.

Another favorite design concept is planting palms more spread out throughout the yard to cover the landscape with palms and bring the resort-feel throughout your property.

Palm Variety Suggestions for Texas

Date Palm

Date palms are the ultimate pool palm! You can find Date palms at most resorts and shopping centers. Around pools, Date palms provide excellent shade due to their full fronds and they have practically no litter, keeping your pool cleaner!

The Date palm looks excellent when planted in clusters of three to five and is hardy to cold and heat, and drought-tolerant.

 

Piru Queen Palm 

The Piru Queen palm is an exclusive tree from Moon Valley Nurseries. We specially designed our Piru Queen palms for our warm climate. They are custom grown at our farms to be extra hardy in heat and cold.

These palms have distinctive appearances compared to other palms that you will see, and their thicker trunks and fuller crowns make these stand out when compared to the rest. These palms are excellent when planted in groups to add shade and are fantastic in tight planting locations.

Pineapple Palm

Our Pineapple palms are one of the most elegant, clean, and stately trees you’ll find anywhere in Texas! They will add a formal appearance to your landscape and are known for their wide trunk that features a textured diamond-shaped pattern! Mature specimens are a sight to behold, and their large canopy can provide shade for your pool and a relaxing vibe for your yard.

 

Create a Privacy Hedge Around Your Home

Benefits of Planting Hedges to Maximize Privacy

If you feel like you do not have the privacy you want in your home, hedges are one of the best design options that will solve your problem. They even add more benefits to your property as a greener yard, higher property value, and increased curb appeal.

Privacy is one of the most important things to us, and that we get to come home to a place that feels safe and away from the world. Not only does that apply to your home, but also your yard. Some of our favorite plant materials to use for privacy are our Carolina Cherry, Italian Cypress, and Japanese Blueberry.

Hedge Material Suggestions for Texas

Italian Cypress

Used for formal entrances, borders, and backdrops, the Italian Cypress is unmistakable with its lush green foliage and tall narrow upright form. Italian Cypress thrive in sunny climates with minimal water making them a popular choice for just about any landscape. This hedge material brings immediate formal appeal to your home with a bit of aesthetic from the European countryside.

Carolina Cherry  

Native to the Southeastern United States, the Carolina Cherry has become a popular choice for its minimal maintenance, natural upright conical shape, and ability to tolerate heat, drought, and wind.

The Carolina Cherry is a small to medium-sized evergreen with dark green, lustrous wavy-edged foliage on brown thornless stems. The foliage can handle regular trimming and be sheared into a tall screen or sound barrier which make them a near-perfect option for many homes.

Japanese Blueberry

The Japanese Blueberry is a visually appealing evergreen that grows fast with dense and lush dark-green foliage. It requires minimal maintenance, and its narrow form allows it to fit in tight spaces like entryways. It thrives in the full sun, and it handles the cold quite well. It can be sheared into any shape, and it produces small white flowers in the spring.

 

Start Your Personal Orchard in Your Yard

Benefits of Growing Your own Fruit

The benefits of growing your own fruit include being able to produce fruit that tastes better, knowing that your fruit is pesticide-free, and having multiple varieties of citrus and fruit right in your yard!

Besides the harvest that they bring you annually (sometimes more often!), our citrus and fruit trees grow large enough to create shade in your yard and cool down your yard to grow shrubs and groundcover near your fruit trees. Three varieties that we love to plant in Texas are apple, peach, and citrus trees.

Citrus and Fruit Tree Suggestions for Texas

Apple Tree

Low-chill apple varieties that grow best in our area include Anna, Fuji, and Dorsett (Golden). When it’s hot and bright outside, these trees can also provide shade coverage. These are excellent landscape trees that can add beautiful color to any yard.

 

 

Peach Tree

Peach trees are easy-growing, deciduous trees that grow small with a wide-spread canopy of dense foliage. It also produces colorful, showy flowers throughout the spring season that creates an attractive landscape. The beauty of this tree makes it perfect for any sized yard!

 

Citrus Trees 

Add more diversity into your private orchard by planting citrus varieties in your landscape so you can harvest an assortment of citrus and stone fruits through the year. In Texas, you can plant certain types of citrus such as oranges, limes, lemons, and more, depending on your region.

*Be sure to speak with a nursery pro to learn which varieties of citrus to plant on your property.

Start Designing with the Moon Valley Nurseries Team

Click here to learn more about our landscape design consultations and schedule a consult today.

Visit us at the location nearest to you and let us help you get your project started!

More from Moon Valley Nurseries

Click here to learn about our FREE in-store landscape consultations. Our design consultations are easy as 1-2-3.

Click here to watch one of the coolest planting jobs for the DALLAS COWBOYS! This summer, Moon Valley Nurseries planted some of our biggest trees, including 18 large specimen Live Oaks, at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX.