Basic Techniques For Home Landscaping (1958)

giessen you may do the whole landscaping job at once or you may do it part by part but a good place to begin is on the side where your house makes its first impression on friend and neighbor the side of the house that is forever on display here when space permits the quiet dignity of trees is used by nurserymen to provide a basic framework for the house any other work is done you should locate the position of these trees and plant them to accomplish this proper you will first have to establish what nurserymen call a primary point of view this is a position about opposite the front door from which you want your home to look it's very best to passersby the framing [Music] free well defined areas a public area the utility area and the private or living area if you think of your land as an outdoor in an architectural rebalanced house with a centered doorway trees of about equal size would be used when the weight of the house is on the left as it is here plant the larger tree on the right and the architectural balance taller houses often require tall growing trees but for single story houses like this one the larger tree need not be more than a medium sized from the driveway a secondary point of view exists permitting a more intimate view of the house a small tree or a large shrub planet here is doubly useful it completes the frame for the new view and helps to modify the long straight roofline setting out trees is the first important step now you must fill in the detail so that the house plans more naturally with this environment this calls for foundation planning visual guidelines are very useful here too from each end of the house a little less than half way to the eaves draw two imaginary lines which meet at the threshold these lines will help you to determine the maximum desirable height of the corner and doorway plants at the outside corners start with a key plant either an evergreen or a flowering shrub for the best effect supported with smaller plants of harmonious leaf texture at the doorway use slow growing plants or plants whose size can be controlled by pruning their height maybe a little above or a little below the visual guidelines [Music] for a bright splash of color during the spring and early summer azalea's perhaps for more subtle color contrasts evergreens offer a wide choice of blues or greens or Gray's here as in other instances your nursery man can help you select plants best suited to your taste to your climate and soil conditions [Music] along the foundation between the threshold and the outside corners use connective plants such as low growing evergreens or simple ground covers if the house is a pleasing low foundation you may leave some open spaces on wide plots you'll want to protect the activities of the private area from public view plant a free-flowing arrangement of flowering shrubs on one border and shrubs are evergreens on the other for balance and a sweeping line to the house preserve an open uncluttered long to give dramatic impact and a sense of space to the house and landscape the finished effect strong vertical and horizontal lines are softened the house said pleasingly in its surrounding landscape reflects the warmth the friendliness and the good taste of those who occupy it next locate this for easy access from the business area of the house near the kitchen the garage the toolshed if you have young children you will want it large enough to provide a play space for them and a separate plot for yourself or you can gross fruits along the property line a narrow hedge of upright evergreens is both pleasing and practical on the far border set out your favorite fruit trees interspersed with berry plants of your choice you can use the boundary line between the two areas to good advantage by treating it the same way completely enclosure with a screening fence which can become the background for future planning you have thus provided a protected area where even young children can play in safety while preserving to yourself a place where you can enjoy the undisturbed pleasure of growing vegetables flowers herbs strawberries asparagus whatever you desire to supplied with the flavor freshness the part of your property which can most fully extendable dreams of beauty or outdoor living area landscaping the outdoor living area begins with a starting point a focal point and an uninterruptedly division between them called the main ideally the outdoor living area is of june of the interior of the house as in this case it may also begin from a terrace a doorway or any other vantage point close to the house once you have determined the position of the main axis you must decide whether you want a formal arrangement or one that is free-flowing and informal for the formal garden you would think in terms of squares for the informal in terms of ovals since this is to be an informal arrangement the landscaping will be developed around the oval shape the area outside the oval is reserved for shrubs leaving the inside for open lawn at the focal point establish a terminal feature this could be one of a variety of things a bench beneath the rose covered Arbor an appropriate piece of Statuary a specimen tree a swimming pool even an unusual view to give the terminal feature additional emphasis plant harmonizing floribunda and grandal's on either side can provide color all summer set off the terminal feature with a backdrop of evergreens especially suitable because they hold color all year long then from the point of view of the beginning of the axis frame the tour ground a magnolia closer to the arbor be sure they are planted just outside the point of view lines always of importance a tree at the terrorists to provide shade during the warmest part of the day use a full leaf tree like a sycamore a maple or honey locust with the trees in place you can now devote yourself to planning the border areas plant the borders with flowering shrubs or evergreens are both by choosing several different kinds of flowering shrubs you can get continual bloom from spring to fall along the fence give yourself a splendor of climbing roses with low-growing shrubs or perennials in the foreground at the sides of the terrace and along the foundation of the house use transition plans to blend the house with the outdoor living area against the background of shrubs and evergreens use color accents choose flowers to suit your time and your tastes and to give you an array of successive color the total effect is an outdoor living area to be looked at with pride and lived in this is a house that beckons a house that invites me and pleases it this is a landscaped house [Music]