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Choosing Shrubs that Thrive in Hot Nashville Summers

September 30, 2026March 27, 2021 by The Parke Company

A garden with colorful flower beds and a curved green lawn.

One of the questions we get asked most often at the Parke Company is “What are some plants and shrubs that will survive hot Nashville summers?” If you’ve lived in Nashville for more than a couple of years, you have experienced your share of summer scorchers. It’s not uncommon for new home gardeners to grow plants that are ill-suited to our mercurial climate. There’s nothing more discouraging than a happy little shrub that shrivels into dust in mid-July.

Fortunately, there are many plants that have evolved to thrive under the scorching Nashville sun. Where others wilt away, these plants can’t have enough heat and sunshine. If you choose wisely, you’ll have vigorous plant growth throughout the hottest months. Of course, rules about watering and maintenance still apply, but you won’t have to fight to keep these plants alive. Here are some of the Parke Company’s favorite summer-hardy plants and shrubs for Nashville gardens.
‘Kaleidoscope” Abelia. This little shrub is appropriately named. Technically an evergreen, the variegated leaves on this Abelia go through a brilliant transition throughout the seasons, showing off in dramatic yellows, reds, greens and oranges. Easy to maintain with only moderate water needs, this shrub is pleased as punch showing off its foliage, even during the hottest days of the year.

Thornless Blackberries. If you’re the kind of person who demands beauty and sustenance from your garden, blackberries are a great choice. Thornless varieties tolerate heat well, exhibit beautiful flowers, attract pollinators, and provide a sweet, rich bounty. Not only that, most thornless blackberries are perennial. They’ll die back when the frost hits, then spring back into action after the last frost.

Boxwoods. One of the more heat-tolerant decorative shrub varieties, boxwoods are as tough as it gets when it comes to summer climes. Boxwoods stand their ground, even when more delicate plants throw in the towel. Dense foliage stands its ground in all seasons, making these shrubs a perfect choice for versatile climates like Nashville’s.

Camellias. These flowering shrubs are hardy members of your hedging, decoration and privacy planting force. Put these shrubs wherever you need a strong presence, regardless of weather. After soaking up the sun all summer long, camellias burst into radiant flowering display in the fall.

Lavender. Lavender is a lovely herb that can grow into shrub-like stature. Lavender is beautiful enough on its own to warrant a space in your garden, but its benefits hardly stop there. Lavender has culinary and medicinal applications. It is often used as a scent or flavoring agent in soaps, scrubs and sprays. It attracts beneficial pollinators and is even said to reduce the prevalence of mosquitoes.
The Parke Company has a million ideas for drought-hardy plants to include in your Nashville garden. With a little planning, you will be able to outfit your yard and garden with living landscaping elements that don’t require a lot of upkeep, but will perform admirably in the hottest heat and coldest chills the American South has to offer. It’s going to be another scorcher this summer. The Parke Company can make sure you and your garden are ready.

Choosing the Best Landscaping Elements for Your Rental Property

September 30, 2026March 27, 2021 by The Parke Company

Gravel back yard in a rental home

When most people hear the word “landscaping” they think of plants and natural design elements that fit their own personal preferences. Many of the projects that the Parke Company takes part in are to implement the elements of someone’s personal vision – often in the land that surrounds the house in which they live.

For some clients, landscaping isn’t meant to appeal to personal preferences, it is used to created for the enjoyment of other people. When you own a rental home, every investment you make in the property has to be installed with a tenant in mind. In most cases, issues like cabinet colors or bathroom fixtures have to do with home interiors.

For many potential renters, the exterior of the house is most important. Beautifully landscaped houses sell (and rent) themselves. Quality landscaping creates a great first impression, no matter who is viewing your home. To make your home attractive to the widest swath of potential tenants, it’s important to make landscaping a priority.

Choose Landscaping Elements that Require Little Upkeep. There are many landscaping elements – plants, trees, and the like – which will look beautiful with very little effort. Unless your renter is a committed gardener, chances are she doesn’t want to have to care for plants (or watch them die because of lack of care). The Parke Company can help you maintain landscaping elements, or give you the knowledge you need to keep your plants healthy with little effort.

Eliminate Existing Eyesores. If you have an old stump or a dead tree in the front yard of your rental property, it may have been sitting there so long that you don’t even notice it anymore. This doesn’t mean that other people don’t notice it. If you want to increase the rentability of your property, have the Parke Company take away your old, dead trees and such. This will make your new landscaping all the more effective.

Add a Little Pizazz. There are many hearty trees and shrubs which flower at various points of the year. These can be a welcome addition to your rental property landscape.

Watch Out for Pollinators. Helpful hint: Don’t choose flowering plants that will create a lot of pollen! Many potential renters suffer from allergies, and may not consider your home if it’s surrounded by aggressive pollinators.

Go For Broad Appeal. When creating a landscaping design, create something that will appeal to 90% of people. If you want to create your own personal Garden of Eden, do it on the property where you live. Something simple and classic will likely work best for your rental market, and will make the most sense in terms of cost as well.

Quality landscaping can take an average home and make it irresistible to potential tenants. Don’t just focus on the interior elements of your property. The outdoors should be just as attractive to future renters. If you’re having trouble renting your property, talk to the Parke Company about upping the ante on the home’s exterior landscaping design.

3 Ways to Improve Soil for Plants, Trees, and Shrubs

September 30, 2026March 26, 2021 by The Parke Company

Hand full of fresh soil

Gardening can be one of the most rewarding hobbies you could ever have. But it can also be one of the most frustrating. We’ve all had the experience of putting a plant in the earth, only to watch it promptly languish and die. This is disheartening, and can cause people to give up the cause. But there is always a way to make your plant, shrub, or tree grow a little more successfully. And it usually starts with giving extra attention to your soil.

Soil is depleted for many reasons. In Nashville, where we have more extreme weather than in some other parts of the country, the elements can be hard on our soil. Here are a few reasons why the soil in your lawn or garden might not be the most fertile.

- Depleted by Water. If you have a lot of rain on land that doesn’t have much plant life on it (perhaps only grass), this can wash away a lot of the nutrients in your soil. Many plants revive soil on their own, but unless these are actually located in your lawn or garden, the soil will keep depleting further and further.

- Pollution. Some soil located by roads and other highly traveled areas has been damaged by runoff, trash, and physical damage. This soil is often hard-packed and lacking in nutrients.

Neglect. Some soil just hasn’t received love in a long time. With the sun beating down on it, and nothing added to it to encourage inhabitation by worms, bugs, and bacteria, soil turns to dry dirt.

So how can we replenish the soil in our gardens and back yards? Fortunately, there are a lot of ways! Here are just a few.

- Tilling. Tilling alone won’t do much except encourage a sudden burst of bacterial growth. When combined with any of the following, however, it will help loosen the soil and allow organic compounds to revivify it for future plant growth.

- Manure and Compost. Any broken down organic matter that can be added to your soil will benefit it. Manure and compost are too of the best. They are rich in diverse nutrients and packed with bacteria that will make your future plants grow a lot more easily.

- Coffee Grounds. Coffee grounds are a free source of nitrogen that is available all around Nashville. Just ask the nearest coffee shop for some of their spent coffee or espresso grounds. The acid of the coffee is mostly washed away, leaving a byproduct that is easily broken down into soil, especially when added to compost or tilled into the top layer of soil.

Nitrogen-fixing Plants. Some plants draw nitrogen out of the air and infuse it into the soil. A crop of these for a season can be a great way to add nutrients to the ground.

There are lots of ways for soil to be used up, and lots of ways to add healthy elements to it again. We’ve only just scratched the surface of this topic. If you want to make your lawn or garden fertile again, ask the Parke Company about the best way to do it.

3 Signs that Your Tree Needs to Be Cut Down

September 30, 2026March 26, 2021 by The Parke Company

Dead tree that needs to be cut down

Trees are the most beautiful plant companions you can have in a yard or property. They serve many purposes, and ask very little. We’ve all enjoyed fruit, shade and beauty from trees, and maybe you’ve even had the pleasure of watching one of your own seedlings growing up into a mature tree.

But all good things must come to an end. Trees have lifespans just like human beings. Disease and disaster can also cut their time short. If you have a dead tree on your property, it can be a danger to nearby people, buildings and power lines. Some diseased trees can spread sickness to other plants, as well.

In short, the time may come when one of your trees needs to be cut down and removed from your property. But how can you tell when the time is right? The Parke Company has a lot of experience in this regard. We can diagnose the problem for you and remove the tree neatly and safely. If you want to do you own tree diagnostics before calling The Parke Company, here are a few signs that a tree is on its last legs.

The Tree is Invading Others’ Personal Space. If your tree is encroaching upon power lines or water pipes, it needs to be cut back or removed. Similarly, if a tree is located too close to your house, it may be wearing out its welcome. Trees pressed closely against houses tend to promote mold growth on the wall area located in their shade. This mold growth, once established, can easily penetrate into the inside of your home, causing a dangerous and costly problem. In either of these cases, removal of the tree will prevent big problems later. Give The Parke Company a ring and we’ll come out to offer you a solution to your problem.

Lots of Dead Branches. If your tree often drops large branches, or looks gnarled and unhealthy, chances are it needs to be removed or heavily pruned. Sometimes trees grow in ways that are not good for their long term survival. The Parke Company can help you decide whether to trim or cut down the tree in question. We can do all the heavy lifting, too.

Signs of Disease. Trees that have discolored leaves, lumpy bark, discoloration, weird growths, or any other unusual characteristics may be diseased. Sick trees can fall suddenly, or can spread sickness to other trees nearby. Sometimes diseases are treatable, but other times it’s best to remove the entire organism.

Removing dead or dying trees can improve the appearance of your yard, and prevent future accidents. Most home insurance policies do not cover damage caused by falling limbs, so removing your compromised tree could be an investment in your finances and safety. It can be sad to say goodbye to a tree, but the Parke Company has a lot of options for new plantings. We can reduce your old tree to a stump in short order, and have your property ready for healthy new green life in just a short time.

Create a Sense of Peace and Prosperity with a Backyard Pond

September 30, 2026March 26, 2021 by The Parke Company

As anyone who has spent any time in Nashville can tell you, the only thing hotter than our summers is our famous hot chicken. One way to fight back against the oppressive heat is with the addition of a tasteful pond. Watch and wonder at how a new pond in your backyard changes not only the way the season affects you, but also the way you feel. Don’t be surprised if you start to spend more time outdoors!

What to Know About Installing a Backyard Pond

Planning the Pond

As with anything worth putting your time and effort into, the first step is figuring out the specifics. Pond design is one of the many landscaping services we at the Parke Company offer, so if you don’t feel like tackling it yourself, we can help. The first thing you want to figure out is what kind of pond you want. Is it going to be a small pond, or a larger one? Is it going to have a fountain in the middle, or a waterfall along one side? There are a lot of options, and that is without getting into whether you want fish involved or what kind of plants you want.

When it comes to the materials, the more money you’re willing to spend, the more durable the quality the product is going to be, in most cases. And since you’re dealing with the installation of things like air pumps and cyclers, you’re going to want something that won’t be an issue for a couple of decades. Of course the work continues after you get your pond set up, since even a small pond will require weekly maintenance, including skimming leaves, algae and other debris from pond’s surface and possibly even something more serious, like patching the lining. If that sounds like a lot of work, don’t worry, because maintenance is another helpful service we offer at the Parke Company.

Enjoying the Pond

Water as an element is representational of change, of movement and of life. In some cultures, a waterfall is representational of success, and the pond itself does a lot to add positive energy to your life. Who doesn’t love the soft noise of a babbling brook, or the gentle bubbling a fountain adds? Do not undersell the impact the sound of a pond is going to have, even if it’s just from blocking other, more hectic noises, like traffic or noisy neighbors.

Having a pond is sure to change the energy and feel of your home in a radical way, but adding new plants, like shrubs or trees, is a great way to take your backyard remodel to the next level. Adding a new pond to your backyard is a lot of work, from designing the pond itself, to finding the right location for it and selecting the best materials, which is we at the Parke Company are here to assist you every step of the way! Spring isn’t going to last forever, so contact us today and let’s get started.