4 Easy Ways to Make Your Yard and Patio Feel Like a New Space This Spring

Spring in Northwest Arkansas doesn't wait around.

One week it's still cold, and the next your neighbors are already outside with a glass of wine on a porch that looks straight out of a magazine.

But you don't need a major renovation to get there. A few smart plant choices can completely transform how your outdoor space looks and feels.

With help from the team at Westwood Gardens, here are four ways to make it happen.

Few things make an entrance feel more welcoming than a full, lush hanging basket. Front porch, back patio, pergola beam, it doesn't matter where you put one. A well-grown hanging basket is a show-stopper. 

Westwood Gardens grows their hanging baskets locally, which means they arrive at the nursery already hardened to NWA's climate and ready to thrive at your home. Look for baskets packed with petunias, calibrachoa, or mixed flowers for serious color payoff all season long.

Tip from the experts: Water hanging baskets more often than you think you need to (as in, once or twice a day). They dry out fast in Arkansas heat.

A well-styled container planting on your patio or front steps does the same thing a great accessory does for an outfit: it pulls everything together.

Westwood carries pre-made patio pots that are ready to set out the same day you buy them. Or, if you'd rather make it your own, their staff can walk you through how to build a combo that works in your spot.

Tip from the experts: Match your pot's color palette to your front door or outdoor cushions for a cohesive, pulled-together look.

If your garden beds are looking a little flat right now, annuals are the fastest fix there is. 

Petunias, coleus, lantana, vinca: Westwood Gardens carries the widest annual selection in NWA, and their team knows exactly what performs in our heat and humidity. Not sure what to plant where? That's what the staff is there for!

Annuals won't come back next year, but that's kind of the point. You get to change it up every season.

Tip from the experts: Choose a color palette and buy multiples of each annual to group together or repeat. This will create a design that looks professionally done.

Annuals give you instant gratification. But a climbing rose or a hydrangea? They come back every year for a long show.

Plant a climbing rose along a fence or trellis this spring and it becomes a feature of your yard for years to come. Hydrangeas deliver huge blooms from late spring through fall with very little fuss. Either one gives you something to look forward to every single morning.

Westwood's staff can help you choose varieties suited for your light requirements. 

Tip from the experts: Most Hydrangeas love morning sun and afternoon shade in our Arkansas summers. Plant accordingly and they'll reward you.

Ready to get started? Visit Westwood Gardens at any of their four NWA locations and let their team help you find exactly what your space needs. Spring goes fast — now's the time!