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Brett Winter Lemon Brett Winter Lemon Photography
Landscape Secrets
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Landscape Secrets
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Landscape Secrets
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Brett Winter Lemon Brett Winter Lemon Photography
Landscape Secrets
Start with a simple rule of (green) thumb: In the front yard, your plantings should play a secondary role to the front of the home; in the back yard, landscaping rules.
The Iroquois nation believed that before you make a decision, you should consider the effect of it seven generations out. Some version of this commitment certainly fits with planning a home landscape.
Thinking of planting a tree? If not seven generations out, then at least consider what that tree will be like 25, even 40, years from now. Most people think 10 years out, says landscape architect Dan Chitwood. He has a good example of this on his southwest Roanoke County property.
Trees that now provide privacy from neighboring homes were once planted together in a small bed near the house. If he had not moved them when he purchased the property, some, perhaps all, would have had to be cut down.
“It’s the puppy dog thing,” Chitwood explains. “The ultimate size of the plant is what counts, and be patient.”
Thinking of the future is not the only tip for sprucing up a landscaping. You need to consider the architecture of your house and the design of the lot when selecting plantings. In the front yard, the landscape should play “a supporting role” to the house. “The front door should be the focal point. Plantings and lines should all lead your eye to the front door.” Chitwood says. “In the back yard, the theory is reversed, and the landscape should be the star.”
Homeowners usually “butcher shrubs to accommodate the grass.” It is better to kill the grass and expand the mulch bed to accommodate the shrubs, Chitwood suggests.
Grass does not grow well under most trees, so why not use ground covers, such as vinca, under the trees, particularly effective if a growth circle is surrounded by stone. You do not want to have grass being cut close to a tree because of the possibility of damaging the tree.
At the Chitwood home, trees, shrubs and flowers enhance the front lawn, obscuring a neighbor’s driveway, adding texture to the view of the side of the house, inviting visitors to walk to the front door. Since this is a corner lot, the left side faces a street. On the right side, trees and shrubs have been arranged to create privacy and provide a meditation area. A dry-laid path of flagstones creates a route to the back yard and even includes a side trip to the electric box, a nice, whimsical touch.
In the backyard, no matter which way the eye turns, it lands on an area of interest. A koi pond serves as a centerpiece on the right side. Its burbling can be heard from the second-story deck. The deck also boasts a tiny pond built into a plant divider that provides privacy for the deck, but does not obscure the view that on a clear day reaches to the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County.
At ground level, a hammock has been tucked under the deck, while a grapevine secured to the deck has grown its way across the entire back.
Yards do not have to be high-maintenance.
Chitwood recycles his grass clippings by composting them with a bit of soil. This combination “cooks” nicely and provides mulch for the plantings. For the most part, his plantings are easy maintenance, he says. Trees develop best if you pay close attention to pruning in the early years. Once developed, they are more manageable.
The irises along his back yard need dividing every three years, and the few areas that feature annuals have to be replanted each year. And, the pond needs an annual mucking out, and the cattails thinned or they will take over.
Landscape Harmony and How To Achieve It
Here are some tips from landscape architect Dan Chitwood, which also are available on his website, danchitwood.com:
• The key to good design is balance.
• The show needs only one star. Avoid having competing elements in a composition. The goal is to create harmony.
• Think of the lawn as a large patio or lake. Treat the edge of the lawn as a thread. The thread should begin at a well-anchored point, meander through the site and reattach at another well-anchored point.
• Position flowers and focal points in the concave sections of mulch beds. The eye is naturally funneled into this area.
• Decide whether groundcovers will be uniform or diverse. Avoid mixing the two.
• The best designs occur when all elements in the composition reinforce each other.
• Avoid overcrowding of plants. Space plants at approximately 80 percent of their mature spread.
• Provide a landscape for all the senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
• Don’t forget about the diversity of plant material; evergreen, deciduous, trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers, perennials, biennials, ferns, grasses, herbs, bulbs, annuals, water plants.
• Consider irrigation and lighting early in the design process.
• Establish a theme or design concept for each space and follow through.
• Simplify complexity. Use the “KISS” principle (keep it simple, stupid).
• Practice site choreography. Try to visualize yourself walking through the site and choreograph what that experience will be like.
• Avoid “dead on dead” conditions. An example is where a brick patio abuts the house. These corners are often cold and unattractive. Use plant material to soften the connections.
• Avoid creating “dead spaces.” Such areas that are cut off from the rest of the landscape are visually unattractive.