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Outside Utilities With Plants Can Enhance Your Property
Outside utilities can be an eye sore around your house or property. There is a very simple solution to enhance the look around these different structures. Plan ahead if you are building a house, in an existing home, or just need some fresh ideas. Cable, telephone, or heating and air units will need to have access by the companies. When planning this small landscape project, leave room where these professionals can work if it is required. Think about your other
outdoor features,
and how you can match up other colors and textures with plants. I have designed a lot of my clients utilities areas, and have found that many of them are looking for color, as well as low maintenance evergreen shrubs. If you have an outside structure in the front yard, consider putting three to five smaller evergreen shrubs around it. This will dress up the area. If you are going to do an actual small garden, make sure you know where any underground pipes or wires are located. What shrubs you put around these structures, of course will depend on your geographic location. There are many evergreen or ornamental shrubs that will work. Below are a few suggestions for different outdoor structures.Around a structure in the front of your home.
 | | Rheingold Arborvitae |
 | | Fire Power Nandina |
 | | Globe Arborvitae |
 | | Mop Cypress |
 | | Indian Hawthorn |
 | | Dwarf Hinoki |
These are all evergreen shrubs and fairly low maintenance. All of these plant specimens will grow in a variety of geographic locations. In the
gallery of plants section, there are descriptions of some of these plants and others you could use around outside utilities.
There are more plants in the
variety
section also. If you are in a sub-tropical or tropical location, there are many species you could also use. | | Croton |
 | | Allamanda |
 | | Pittosporum |
 | | Coontie |
 | | Plumbago |
All of these plants above can be positioned around an outside utility structure. If you want to read more about the tropical plants and other varieties, check out the
tropics section.
When planning around an air or heat unit, you might want to consider some larger plant specimens. Be careful that you don't plant anything too close, or specimens that have invasive root systems. It is important that you properly prepare the ground just like you would any other garden project. Here are a couple of suggestions for around units on the side or back of your house.  | | Cleyera |
 | | Loropetalum |
 | | Rhododendron |
 | | Osmanthus Or Tea Olive |
 | | Camellia |
The main goal with planting around any outside utility, is know where the pipes and wires are, and know the maturity height and width of your plants. Use your own personality to create matching color, texture and a simple solution to that outdoor eye sore. I hope this has given you a few ideas to use when planting around an outdoor utility.
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