Back to Basics . . . Part 50 . . . Basic Landscape Planning When planning your landscape a number of things need to be taken into consideration. Available sunlight, natural soil moisture, availability of irrigation, grade and size of the area will all influence your choice of plant materials. Whenever possible, I like to try to select plant materials that have the growth preferences for the type of areas I already have. There are always plants that I like whose natural preferences do not fit an existing area so I find myself modifying the site to create the proper growing conditions for the plants selected. Keep in mind that plants will adapt to a range of conditions but also that the farther away from their “preference” the more maintenance and TLC will be required for successful growth. Don’t let this deter you from growing plants that you like, just be aware that we need to modify the site to accommodate such additions to our garden. Sometimes a favorite plant just simply cannot be accommodated and we will just have to forego using it. When I first moved to Florida I wanted to grow my “favorite” plants that I was familiar with when I lived in New York. I knew from the get-go that many would be difficult if not impossible, but I had to try anyway to see if I could at least grow some of them. Most attempts led to miserable failure, though I did find a few that were worth the trouble. The other side of that story is that the many subtropical plant species that thrive in Florida with little care have led me on a never-ending adventure discovering many, many new “favorite plants”. Today I can’t imagine gardening without tropical and subtropical species of plants. Select shade trees first. Remember, that you might have a very sunny area to start with but you will be reducing the amount of sunshine, more or less, as the tree matures and depending on the species of tree. If you have a large property you might consider a number of large shade trees. Keep in mind that you will probably want to either grow grass or plant some shrubs in the area affected by the tree. Trees that cast a dense shade and/or have a shallow root system will limit your choices of other plant material that you plan to grow under or near the trees. Check local sources such as professional nursery people, county co-operative extension agents to get local information about specific recommendations for your area. When it comes to determining what plants will do best in an area, you can’t beat the local source. If the local source is knowledgeable you will get more useful information than you get from books because the information about plants in books is sometimes too general. I am not suggesting not to use books, but rather to begin your selection process with books then “fine tune” it with the local information. A good example of this is the area where I live in the little town of Osprey, Florida on the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles south of Tampa. We can grow many tropical species of plants on the barrier islands just off our coast or within a half mile of our beaches. Yet those same plants will freeze if they were grown 1 mile inland away from the protective effect of the warm Gulf water in winter. If we went inland 50 miles we would find no significant difference in this particular factor for miles around. This is where the local information from a knowledgeable source is invaluable. Don’t overlook another valuable source of local information . . . your own eyes. Look around and observe the plants in your neighborhood. See what is growing and what isn’t. See what is thriving and what isn’t. These will also provide valuable clues in fine tuning your selections. Next, select ornamental trees. Keep in mind also that these will produce shade, although to a lesser extent than shade trees. They usually do not create shade and root competition problems to the extent that shade trees do. You may want to select trees that bloom at different times or with a variety of flower colors. Again, look around and see what you like. Next, consider the type of shrub mix you want. What areas to use evergreens and what areas to use deciduous or a combination of the two. Keep in mind the ultimate size of your selections. Remember that you can modify a plant’s size by pruning but don’t create maintenance problems for yourself. In general, consider a reasonable maintenance height to be one-half to two-thirds the maximum height of the plant. For example, a plant growing to a maximum height of 12 can usually be reasonably maintained at a height of 6 to 8. If you want to maintain something at a height of 3 to 4 then a plant with a maximum height of 6 or so would be appropriate. Use this information as a general guide. Finally, think about the massive variety of annuals and perennials that are available to finish the “orchestra”. Take into consideration how the trees and shrubs will affect the amount of available sunlight, and enjoy. This is not a complicated process. Just plan it in the order outlined above and apply the principles from the earlier chapters and you will be the neighborhood’s new horticultural expert.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:59:43 +0000
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