Landscaping For Maximum Pleasure

All this discussion about plants, all this talk about principles, all this study of the rules; what is it really for? The art is by no means complete simply by applying rules in some preset fashion; if that were the case, we might all have the same landscape! Creativity is about taking the basic principles, rules and understanding, and mixing it with a healthy dose of personality, a measure of “you”, maybe a little stardust and some good fortune. In other words, there comes a point where your own initiative and creativity take over and personalize your landscape, make it truly come alive. This chapter will help set the stage for this creative process by examining the differences between a simple set of rules and a living landscape.

It’s easy to get lost in the complexity of plants, hard materials, surfacing, what to put where, etc. That’s the painful part of learning. We have come to an appropriate time to backtrack to the beginning, to look back at the art, and let the rules fade into the background for a moment. Before we look at specifics, let’s talk about a rather simple concept, but one that will help refocus you on the true value of your landscaping efforts. This is the concept of pleasure. When all is said and done, if your landscape can bring you endless pleasure year after year, you have hit on a winner.

	Make sure your landscape has room for the outdoor pleasures that you enjoy

What is pleasure, and how do you find it in your landscape? Don’t worry right now about how to get it into your landscape, just look further into the future, assume you already have it there, and that it was easy to get there! If you could see yourself truly enjoying your landscape in the future, what would you be doing? What would it look like? What pastimes would it encourage or support that you find pleasurable? Don’t let the concept of money or cost get in the way for now. Forget about everything except the perfect landscape as you imagine it, your visualization of the scene itself.

Maybe you would be enjoying the outdoors to its fullest. Would it be games in the yard with the family, under the protection and shade of a tall oak tree, on a soft, lush green lawn? Would you be entertaining a group of your best friends on a beautiful brick patio, perhaps with a built-in barbeque? Possibly a bonfire in your fire pit, toasting marshmallows with the kids? Maybe you would be enjoying a favorite book with a cup of coffee while sitting in your gazebo in the early morning sun. Would the yard be just like another room of your home, with easy access through a patio door, convenient walkways, and lighting for night use?

Think about your personal tastes and hobbies. Which outdoor hobbies would you like to participate in right in your own yard? Would there be water gardens with goldfish, maybe a fountain or wishing well? Do you want privacy, hidden behind the serenity of a tall, towering wall of fragrant lilacs, or do you want to share your personal world with your neighbors in an open, inviting yard?

What would you like your plants to do? Would you be surrounded by lush gardens, deep with waves of colorful flowers and all the textures and fragrances of spring beauty? Would you like to become active in the life of your plants, nurturing and caring for a garden, or would you rather sit back and let it do the work? How about a beautiful place to relax and enjoy a cool refreshing drink in the summer sun, perhaps a lounge chair under an arbor overgrowing with grape vines? Do you see yourself enjoying fresh fruits, berries and vegetables from your very productive garden? Would you be one to walk past an apple tree, and pick off an apple to eat right in your own yard?

Or, perhaps you are much more functional. You may use your home for entertaining, because it is so beautifully designed, and your landscape simply extends this atmosphere into the yard. It welcomes your guests cleanly and with dignity, but doesn’t demand too much from you in return. Maybe it has very little lawn, because you don’t like the chore of mowing, but instead has a beautiful low-maintenance groundcover garden. It minimizes your snow clearing obligations, and moderates your climate, protecting your home from winter winds and letting in sunlight in winter. It speaks of you to passersby as a neat and tidy person, not presumptuous or vain, but caring of the appearance of your possessions.

What would you have changed from the way things are right now? Would you have some tall hedges screening off a particularly unappealing view from your deck, maybe sheltering you from that biting north wind, or blocking the sounds of the nearby street? Maybe you would have cleared that overgrowth of what used to be a shrub, and found a particularly stunning view or peaceful corner hiding behind it! How about a fence to keep the neighborhood kids out of the yard, or a fence to let the dog roam wild about the yard? What would go and what would stay?

What do you want your fully matured landscape to look like?

Finally, think far into the future. Your plants have matured; the shade trees are enormous, casting deep shade over the previously sunny spots. Your personal needs have also changed. You have long since retired, and taken up hobbies in the yard. In summer, you spend most of your time enjoying the landscape, and in winter, you don’t have to worry about maintenance. Most of all, you are thankful that you took the time and effort to plan when you were installing your landscape many years back, because now you are enjoying it to its fullest potential.

Let’s look closer at some of the specific things you might wish to have in your landscape to make it really come alive.

The Garden Paradise

Gardens are among the oldest and most fundamental constituents of landscapes. They bring the dynamic vibrancy of plants into the landscape in a controlled way and on a human scale.

	For many people, the backyard is their private garden paradise

Landscape gardens can take on countless variations, limited only by the imagination of the designer. At their most fundamental, they are collections of plants that are brought together by design, and typically feature one or more ornamental characteristics. The key in any garden is to keep interest high, using the many techniques at your disposal. Color, texture, shade, form, accents, highlighting, statues; these are the tools available to add interest. Don’t forget to spread interest out across the seasons, even into winter. The best gardens deliver all year round.

The composition of your garden will dictate the degree of attention you can be expected to provide it. Shrubs are generally lower maintenance than flowers, with annuals requiring the most effort. This is not universally true, however, as roses require a high degree of care, while some annuals simply make themselves at home once planted. Mixed borders describe gardens which utilize a combination of both shrubs and perennials/annuals, while shrub borders primarily utilize shrubs. A hard accent here and there, such as a garden gnome or a birdbath, can add interest, but should be used sparingly in proportion to plants. Garden edging, constructed with bricks, wood posts or commercial landscape edging, not only helps with maintenance, but can provide a nice decorative touch.

There are numerous types of gardens, but they can be categorized into special groups, each with its own special guidelines for good design. Borders are gardens that back onto a much larger background, such as a fence, house or even a forest. In these gardens, plants should increase in height towards the backdrop, although some variation can add spice to the presentation. Island gardens are those that are visible from all sides. These are best designed in a pyramid shape, with the tallest plants in the middle, diminishing in height towards the edges.

Foundation gardens can be as reserved or as showy as you choose

Raised beds/planters are typically constructed with brick, wood or other materials, and introduce a vertical dimension to a flat landscape. They are also ideal for growing plants that may not otherwise grow in your soil type, since the planter soil can easily be blended as required. Foundation plantings are specific to the front and sides of the house, designed to hide the foundation line, and are similar to a shrub border. For the hobbyist, cut flower gardens include plants grown for their flowers, while those who derive absolute pleasure from the annual vegetable garden can easily work one into a landscape.

As a rule, all gardens require good soil, good drainage and good light. Be sure to amend your native soil when installing a garden, preferably with a mix of black topsoil, peat moss, organic compost and some sand; almost all plants will thrive in such a mixture. If you have problems with standing water, this will kill most plants, and you have no choice but to do something about this. If you can change the grade or drainage of the property in that location, all the better, but this is usually rather costly and difficult. It is much easier to either build a raised planting bed, or just move the garden elsewhere. Most gardens require adequate sunlight; at least 6 hours of direct sun is considered adequate. For 3-6 hours of direct sunlight, use only plants that will perform in partial shade; for anything less than 3 hours of direct sunlight, you are going to have to design a shade garden. Luckily there are numerous options available for a shade garden, such as hostas, ferns, or impatiens.

Don’t forget that gardens are not like furniture, and are not easy to move around at will. Plants generally resent moving, except for certain perennials (and obviously annuals each spring); moving will stunt the growth of most shrubs, and trees will generally not survive a move. If you are a generally “itchy” person who likes to shuffle the furniture frequently, put a lot of hard elements in your landscape to satiate this itch. You can also use your permanent shrubs as a backdrop, and then play with perennials or change your mind with annuals every year, and you’ll be okay.

Maintenance is always a concern with gardens, and rest assured, it is possible to design a garden with anything from absolutely zero maintenance through to one that requires constant care and attention. This is determined by you as the designer, so first and foremost, before you begin designing your garden, be sure you have quantified your preference for active participation, or tolerance for maintenance (depending on how you look at it). In any case, be sure to plant to a depth of no more than 5’ from an access way or path so that you can easily weed, water, etc.; otherwise, special precautions have to be taken, such as mulching.

Finally, be sure to place your garden in accordance with your overall landscaping plans. A garden in the public viewing area of your yard must be better maintained and more precise than one in your private back yard. So, your experimental flower garden, or your wild and wooly shrub border with the rather gauche gazing ball should really be kept for the back yard. Even in your back yard, if you do a great deal of entertaining, you may wish to move your cut flower garden or your vegetable garden further back into a hidden or screened part of the yard.

Birds, Bees and Squirrels

	A well constructed pond can introduce both the interest of fish and a unique range of aquatic plants into your yard

A living landscape can be full of animal life, the ultimate friends of nature. After all, what would spring be without the joyful songs of the spring birds, the delicate beauty of a butterfly, the

chatter of a squirrel or the buzzing of busy bees? While most wildlife will be able to find something of interest in any landscape, it is certainly possible to encourage these friends of yours into your world by creating a landscape that is highly attractive to them. If your dream future landscape involves vibrant life at this fine scale, take a closer look at the ways to draw these friends into your yard.

Birds are a favorite of many people. They are friendly, playful, shy and reserved, not leaving much of a mess, and bringing the vibrancy of life to your entire yard. If you want to attract birds to your yard, there are numerous ways to accomplish this. Bird baths, bird houses and bird feeders will all encourage the birds to call your place home. If you have a feeder, be sure to replenish it regularly as the birds will come to expect food to be available, especially in winter when their other sources are limited.

Your choice of landscape plants can also naturally encourage birds into your yard. Birds enjoy the fruits of cranberries and other viburnums, dogwood berries, elderberries, pincherries and saskatoons (serviceberries). If you are growing an edible garden, also be aware that birds enjoy many of the same fruits and berries we love, such as blueberries, cherries and raspberries, so you may have to take some extra precautions if you intend to keep these for yourself! They also appreciate the shelter of a dense evergreen in winter, and in general like an abundance of plants to make them feel protected.

It is also possible to encourage specific kinds of birds to your home. Certain birds prefer certain types of food; finches like tiny seeds, chickadees like sunflower seeds, and jays are crazy about peanuts. Hummingbirds, a favorite of many, are attracted to tubular flowers and to the color red. To attract hummingbirds to your garden, plant weigela, honeysuckle or coralbells. Cedar waxwings are notoriously fond of mountain ash fruits, and robins, those harbingers of spring, well, they just like a well manicured lawn with lots of earthworms!

With some careful planning, wildlife can bring both vibrancy and interest to your yard

It is possible to encourage butterflies to your garden. The butterfly bush didn’t get its name because it attracts horses; this plant is often swarming with butterflies in the summer heat, although it isn’t reliably hardy in most of the north. Other butterfly favorites include milkweed (Asclepias), beebalm (Monarda), liatris and honeysuckle. Be sure to keep the butterfly garden well sheltered from winds, as butterflies will avoid windy locations.

Squirrels, although somewhat noisy and belligerent, really spice things up, and are easy to attract to a yard. They absolutely love oaks and can dine on acorns all winter long. They also adore all nuts, including walnuts, butternuts, hazelnuts (filberts) and hickory nuts. On the other hand, if you can’t stand squirrels and don’t want them in your yard, then be sure to avoid these plants altogether.

Most importantly, when you plan to bring our wildlife friends to your home, be sure to plan for your personal enjoyment as well. Locate your bird feeder in close view of your window, where you can pass the hours watching the birds frolic about, even in winter! The hummingbird feeder could be hidden in your garden close to your favorite secret spot, where you can sit in the shade and enjoy these marvels of nature at close range. Make sure that you also put the flowers and shrubs that attract butterflies to your yard close to a comfortable viewing point.

The Edible Landscape

Those who appreciate the bounty of a fresh harvest from the garden or orchard have a deep appreciation of nature, I am convinced of this. To me, there is nothing finer than an apple fresh from the tree, or hot cherry pie made from fresh cherries. When the lettuce for your sandwich is fresh from the garden, there is no comparison to that from the stores, and fresh tomatoes... well, need I say more. For those of us who dream of a bountiful harvest from our landscapes, this section is especially for you.

	Vegetable gardens are common in suburban and rural landscapes

Vegetable gardens may be commonplace, but there is a good reason for this. Our ancestors for many years past have survived on the produce of the home garden, regardless of whether or not it “fit” into the landscape. While we may not be as pressed for food thanks to our modern supermarkets, the joys of reaping your own personal harvest are reason enough to include a vegetable garden in your landscape. One of the tricks to successful landscaping is fitting a vegetable garden into the landscape without looking contrived when well kept, or just plain ugly when not. You can choose to hide it behind a screening row or lattice barrier, or you can do like the English do and actually incorporate a vegetable garden into your flower garden; this is quite difficult, and I am constantly amazed that it can actually be done! Just be sure to give your garden a location with plenty of hot daytime sun, and near a convenient source of water.

When we think of orchards, we think of vast tracts of land with thousands of fruit trees in orderly rows, spanning out into the horizon. Well, there is nothing particularly special about these rows, and nothing preventing you from planning a part of your landscape as an orchard, so that you too can enjoy fresh fruit from the trees!

There are numerous fruits and nuts that can be easily grown in the home landscape, and people are often surprised to learn just how many of them can actually thrive in the north. Plums, apples, blueberries and hazelnuts are among the most hardy; sour cherries, pears, walnuts and grapes are quite adaptable; and, peaches, apricots and sweet cherries are worth attempting in favorable locations in the southern part of the region. Even kiwis can be grown in the north!

There is also quite a variation in the sizes of edible plants. Apples, sweet cherries, pecahes and pears grow to become tall trees when mature, while walnuts are just plain enormous. Plums and apricots are smaller trees, while sour cherries and dwarf varieties of apples are just the right size for the smaller home landscape. Blueberries and currants are small bushes, while saskatoon berries and hazelnuts are tall shrubs. Grapes and hardy kiwis are vines. So, there is even variety in terms of landscaping material to choose from!

An orchard in your backyard can bring the harvests of nature right to your home

There are two ways to incorporate an orchard into your yard. You can follow the model of the large scale orchards and set aside a portion of your yard for a structured orchard. This is ideal for the larger properties and farms, but may not make sense in the typical urban landscape. In these, you can actually incorporate fruit trees and shrubs right into your landscape; use a cherry tree as an accent in the front yard, an apple tree for shade in the back yard, or blueberries in the garden. Saskatoons make wonderful screens, and currants are ideal for low hedges. Just remember that fruit trees typically require lots of direct sunlight and very well-drained soil. They also need plenty of room for air movement around them to discourage fungi and other diseases and to ward off early spring frosts, so don’t crowd them when planting.

There are also, as usual, significant trade-offs to make with edible landscapes, and you do need to be aware of them. Most orchard plants have been selected for fruiting characteristics, not for their ornamental qualities. While almost all apple, cherry, pear and plum trees will look ravishing in any landscape, some plants are really hard to fit in, such as raspberries or blackberries. Also recognize that orchards are virtually by definition high maintenance, requiring constant monitoring and protection from insects and disease. They can also be inherently messy at fruit drop, so you had better be prepared to collect the harvest annually before it ends up on your lawn!

That aside, in my mind, there are no equals to the edible landscape; that is enjoyment of your landscape on a truly holistic scale!