Use beautiful plants to disguise utility boxes or other distracting necessities

Electrical boxes, trash cans, compost bins - all kinds of utility boxes are necessary for our daily needs.  Beyond the basics of keeping them clean and out of sight if possible, it's sometimes hard to know what to do to keep them from being in the way of your landscaping.

With a little creativity and planning, you can prevent these utility items from being eyesores.  Try applying a few of these principles to dress up your utility boxes, then enjoy the slide show at the end of the article to see some examples that you can try at home. 

• Use strong structures that accentuate the foliage or allow vines such as the clematis (pictured) to grow.  Whether you choose metal, wood or vinyl, select a structure adds beauty even before the plant is added.  This will give your area a good classic shape in winter, then add beauty when the plants grow in summer.
• When choosing trees or bushes to dress up a ulitiy area, look for unique shaped or colored leaves, and year round interest such as beautiful form or a colorful bark.
• Select plants that will grow into a size that matches your need.  Don't pick a bush or tree that will outgrow the space you need to fill.  You'll just need to repeatedly hack it back and eventually replace it. 
• Choose plants that will require little maintenance, particularly if you place them in hard to reach places.  Be sure to prune them annually if needed so they will continue to produce beautiful flowers and foliage, and feed them in the spring.  Selecting a plant that wants to grow where you need to place it will save you a lot of trouble. 
• Use bright colored foliage and flowers, or coordinate the colors so they emphasis each other.  For example, many shade plants such as hosta or artemesia have leaves that are either chartreuse or silver, and make lovely backdrops to blooming hydrangeas, astilbe or impatiens. 
• Use plants with scented foliage, such as black and blue salvia, or herbs such as lavender or rosemary.
• Look for native plants that will meet your needs.  They will be more likely to grow beautifully without becoming invasive.  See the link below for information about plants that are native to the Carolinas.
• Be aware of plants that will tear up your foundation or your walls.  For example, some traditional varieties of ivy will root into your external walls, leaving holes when they are removed.  River Birches are beautiful trees, but it may be a good idea to plant them at least 10 feet away from driveways.  They send out strong ground level roots which may push up concrete.  (If you already have trees near driveways, one way to combat this problem is to create a large mulched area away from the driveway to encourage the tree to sent its strongest roots away from the driveway.  It's not foolproof, but it may be helpful.)
• Use containers to create planting areas.  Using containers to create areas of beauty is a growing trend.  If your ground is not conducive to growing plants, or perhaps the ground has been cemented over, this could be a viable option for you.  Containers are now available in many styles and colors, and can be mad of heavy clay or many lightweight materials.  Large planters can be filled with small bushes, groups of flowers, vines, topiaries or combinations of plants.  This can create an island of color and form. 

Try a few of these ideas at home and see how you can take dull utility corners and create areas of beauty!

For more info on native plants and where to buy them, see Landscaping with Native Plants