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Avoiding a horticultural horror show

By MARY COLLISTER
Published October 1, 2006

I often follow links on the MSN home page if the title seems to have something to do with gardening. Recently I found an interesting article by Christopher Solomon. We apparently share many of the same gardening philosophies. He listed a number of "sins" that he has noticed to be prevalent in many landscapes.

- The "meatball shrub." Solomon calls it sin No. 1. And it's a pet peeve of mine, too. This is when a homeowner prunes shrubs into mostly geometric shapes like squares, triangles, rectangles or balls (meatballs, as Solomon calls them). Basically anything that's not the natural growth pattern of a shrub is a sin in Solomon's eyes. I do agree, although there are locations that may call for this type of topiary treatment - Disney World comes to mind.

The trend in residential landscape seems to have moved to the more natural growth patterns. To achieve this, simply cut no more than a third of the old wood from the shrub away. This works well for almost all quickly growing shrubs. It is important that the shrub be planted in an appropriate location as, thus lessening the need to prune at all.

- "Marching flowers." By this Solomon means running a single row of flowers along a walkway or driveway. I must agree, as this also is not the natural order of things. You just don't see a single line of anything growing in nature. It will look more natural if planted in mass groupings.

- Dyed mulch. If dyed mulch is in the beds this is the first thing you notice, the plants come in a distant second. A more natural-looking material gives a softer and finished appearance. It's best to stick to pine nuggets, pine straw, eucalyptus, cedar mulch or even pecan shells.

- Cluttered landscapes. This add up to chaos, Solomon says. It can be caused by too many plants, too many different colors or too much yard art. Unity should be the goal. This can be achieved by using only one or two colors, removing most of the yard art, and using groups of five, seven or 11 of something. Using groupings and limiting the number of different types of plants, are easier on the eye. This technique can be used in either a formal or informal landscape.

- The basic home builder look. Very tired, Solomon says, and I strongly agree. House-hugging, hedge type plants that are planted along the foundation do little to improve the looks of your home.

If you are stuck with this situation, you can improve on it by deepening the beds. When you are inside the house looking out the window, you should be able to see the beds.

Also, pull the plants away from the wall of the house. This leads to a better look and also helps make access to the home easier for maintenance such as exterior painting.

When you move the plants, don't line them up; stagger them a bit for more visual appeal. You may then want to plant one or two layers of plants in front of these. Each successive layer should be shorter than the one behind it. Make sure this holds true for the mature size of each species you choose so pruning will be minimized.

Many homeowners don't have a good sense of what fits in their landscape, Solomon continues. He's a big proponent of using a landscape designer, which is great if that fits into your budget. Many of us don't have that luxury, but there are other ways to get a good design without a large outlay of money.

First, I recommend that when preparing for a renovation or new landscape, drive around. Stay in the housing areas with homes similar to yours. You will know right away what you like, and what looks in proportion and what doesn't. Make notes of size and placement of plant material. Also the shapes, size and location of the beds are important.

Take your ideas home and look at your yard with a fresh eye. At some garden centers or nurseries you may find a staff member with some design experience. You'll probably find better advice from a small-nursery owner as they often install as well as sell the plants.

When you purchase your plants it's also important to know how big they'll be at maturity. They may look fine now, but in a few years you don't want them overgrowing the location where they're planted.

Contractor sidewalks, those skinny little paths of concrete that run from the driveway or sidewalk to the front door, usually do nothing for the looks of your front yard.

To give the illusion of a wider walkway, add a plant bed on each side, or even just one side. Of course remember not to soldier a single row of plants along the concrete. If there is room, make the bed sweeping, curving in and out along the walkway.

You can also add a row of pavers or stepping stones on each side of the concrete. If you want to pour more concrete on either side of the established walkway, you may then think about having a surface treatment done to the concrete so it all blends. If you just add the new concrete, you won't be able to exactly match the color and texture, so a concrete coating or stain may be the way to go. You can be as subtle or creative as you want to be.

It's always interesting to read other people's opinions - but of course, the one that really counts is yours.

[Last modified September 30, 2006, 22:25:59]