My Favorite Plant

The Desert Bird-of-Paradise, or Yellow Bird-of-Paradise as it is sometimes called - Caesalpinia gilliesii has got to be my hands down favorite plant to use in the landscapes I design. I mean, if I could get away with it I'd love to use this plant in every landscape I design! Ah, but sadly this is neither practical nor desired in a number of cases.

One thing I certainly appreciate about the Desert Bird-of-Paradise is the versatility that this plant offers. Left alone to grow on it's own without any care or pruning and she can become a wonderful natural screen, growing easily to 6 to 10 feet in height and spread. Desert Bird-of-Paradise can work quite well in many various design styles such as Mediterranean, Southwestern, Asian or even tropical due to it's exotic look. For the gardener that enjoys taking care of the plants in their garden there are definitely certain rewards in taking care of the Desert Bird-of-Paradise. It takes bloom pruning effortlessly and in fact, just like any Rose bush, the more it is pruned the more blooms it will produce. It's extremely cold hardy to 5°F and even lower in some areas where is can be protected.

Desert Bird-of-Paradise is extremely attractive to, and sought after by hummingbirds; so much so that I have seen hummingbirds fight each other over them! So if you are a lover of hummingbirds in the garden (and who isn't?) then you'd enjoy having these in your landscape.

But the most delightful reason to have the Desert Bird-of-Paradise in your landscape is the obvious benefit in water use as this plant is extremely drought resistant, and very heat tolerant. In fact there is absolutely no need to provide this plant with ANY direct irrigation - none! Desert Bird-of-Paradise is a welcome addition to any xeric garden and has a high tolerance for saline and alkaline soils. So in short there seems to be very few negatives and a tremendous number of positives regarding the Desert Bird-of-Paradise.

Americans Could Use Better Landscape Advice

The following is from an article that appeared on Landscape Online.com.

Home gardeners and do-it-yourselfer's in the U.S. get most landscaping advice from neighbors and friends—instead of from more authoritative sources, says a University of Minnesota study this month. The finding suggests that most Americans could use more help from landscape architects, contractors and tree professionals.

University extension services are perceived as more credible than friends and neighbors, but need to be more convenient, the study also found.

An Information Gap

Staff at University of Minnesota Extension has published results of a survey that concludes that the majority of backyard gardeners get their planting and plant information informally—most often from friends, neighbors and local garden centers.The survey of 1,000 Minnesota gardeners published in the January–March, 2008 issue of HortTechnology showed that although respondents viewed the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum as more credible than garden centers, 78% of respondents indicated that they were most likely to turn to neighbors and friends for gardening advice.

Dr. Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Professor of Horticultural Science and Extension Horticulturist at UM Extension, explained, “We wanted to determine where gardeners got their information and if they think university information is of higher quality than information from garden centers or home centers. We found that university information is viewed as higher quality; however, a large number of people indicated they “did not know” the quality of university information, which surprised us.”

''Talking with Friends''

The survey also indicated that gardeners’ age determined the most likely sources for information seeking. Older gardeners were less likely to use the Internet than younger gardeners. When asked “How do you learn best?,” most respondents said that they had not attended a gardening class in the past year and indicated they learn best from talking with friends. Access to publications containing color photos and illustrations was also highly valued by gardeners who responded to the survey.

According to Dr. Meyer, the information from the Minnesota survey can be useful to other universities, extension programs, and arboreta dedicated to providing relevant resources for gardeners. She stated, “Participants in this survey indicated they look for convenient sources of gardening information and, although many felt the land-grant university and arboretum were highly credible and knowledgeable, they were still more likely to use other sources for their gardening information. This poses a challenge to universities and arboreta to use new ways to reach gardeners.”

The complete study is available (for a fee) on the ASHS HortTechnology electronic journal web site: horttech.ashspublications.org

Vacation at Home

One of the best things that any homeowner can do, especially in light of the current economic environment, is plan a "vacation space" for their personal residence. Now this doesn't mean that a homeowner has to go overboard and plan to create a subtropical oasis in the middle of the Mojave Desert or in the middle of Nebraska. On the contrary it means planning and installing an area in the yard and landscape where personal relaxation - for both the family and especially for the individual can be easily and readily be accessed and enjoyed.

In fact, this type of outlook and approach to the family backyard space is becoming the rule, not the exception, these days.

With travel cost's escalating (seemingly by the minute) and the rather hectic and busy lifestyles many American family's lead these days, dropping everything in favor of an extended stay, two week vacation can become a rather daunting task. Also, when we take into consideration that a family cruise to the Bahamas does absolutely nothing to increase the resale value of our home and everything to shrink the size of our bank account it is easy to see why many family's are taking a new look at creating a recreation and relaxation spot for the home. With all things considered it is easy to see why.

The "vacation spot" doesn't have to be some elaborate backyard oasis with a massive swimming pool and complex planting scheme although that would certainly be nice! The backyard "vacation spot" ideally should be an area of the yard that allows for the easiest accessibility and that capitalizes on a high level of enjoyment. In all likelihood this will be an area that is close to the home, especially the kitchen, and should be an area that is relatively quiet, free from clutter, and is enhanced with comfortable seating and practical furnishings - just as if it was your favorite hotel's balcony, cabana or lanai. The idea behind a "vacation spot," it's layout, accessibility, and ease of use should be absolutely no different than any other favorite vacation spot you could think of or may have frequented in the past. After all, that is the idea of taking a vacation in the first place!

When any area of the home is easy to get to and use, whether it is a bedroom, a family room or a particular space in the backyard the chance that those areas will be used and enjoyed more fully is increased and, more often than not, realized. How a homeowner decides to use the available space that is the backyard is entirely that of the particular homeowner. The fact that more and more homeowners are thinking of incorporating the ideas behind why they take vacations into their backyards should be of great interest to any homeowner looking at increasing the value of their home.

Understanding Outdoor Use Areas

This post is the essentially part two of the previous post Understanding Basic Landscape Planning and Use. This post touched a little bit on outdoor use areas by briefly describing what an outdoor use area entails and how they should compliment the corresponding indoor areas they are connected to.

Just as a house is divided into different areas of use, so is the property around it. The public area of the landscape is the front yard. That portion of the landscape is seen by everyone who drives or walks past the home. For obvious reasons the public area of the landscape should connect with the public area of the home’s interior as smoothly and logically as possible. The public area should be large enough to place the house in an attractive setting, but not so large that usable family living area is sacrificed. The public area connected to the direct entry of the home is without a doubt the most important area of the landscape design it that it sets the tone, mood and feeling for the entire home.

The outdoor family living area of the landscape should also connect with the indoor family room whenever possible. This concept is included in the floor plans of most, if not all, modern homes. This is the portion of the landscape where the family relaxes and entertains guests. More likely than not, this space includes room for a patio, barbequing, swimming or whatever other activities interest the family members. One important point to consider is that even though the interior kitchen generally falls under the service area of the home it is preferrable and most logical that the family living area of the landscape should be in fairly close contact to the interior kitchen area. Fortunately, this is a feature that most modern homes are designed with making the transition from indoor/outdoor smooth and logical.

The service area of the landscape plays a vital and functional role for the family. It provides space to store garbage cans, house a dog and dog run, or even grow vegetables. Since the service area is used for function and service and not beauty it should be screened if at all possible. The size of the outdoor service area should be large enough to accomplish its designed purpose, but no larger. If possible or if space permits it this area should be partially or fully covered or in some way sheltered from the elements.

As you can begin to see and it almost goes without saying but all of the outdoor use areas described are always the most successful and easiest to use when those areas connect directly to the interior rooms they serve. A visual connection through a window is almost always a necessity. A physical connection through a door is highly desirable because it makes accessing the specific area to be used easy and sensible.

One of the most underutilized, and overlooked areas of the landscape, is the private living area. This is the one area that requires a direct physical link to the indoor room it serves. This is the outdoor living area that is designed for total privacy. The view of outsiders is screened. This is also the area of the landscape where the family may sunbathe or relax in private. This concept is only useful if the private outdoor area is accessible through one of the bedrooms of the house without walking through another part of the house or yard. Fortunately this concept is designed and built into many modern homes. If your home does not include any access from the private living area of the home to the outdoors you may wish to consider such an option in the design of your landscape.

The Unreality of "Reality" TV

How many times have you seen them? You know what I'm talking about. Those reality TV shows where the host of the show talks and walks us through the complete installation of an entire landscape in just a scant 23 minutes?

Unfortunately, reality is much different than what we see on TV. What we don’t see, and generally never really consider, is that a quality landscape can take at a minimum of several weeks to even many months from initial concept, complete design, planning and to final installation. Rarely are even the simplest landscapes installed without something unexpected happening; yet we sometimes seem to base our ideas on what happens by what we see on reality TV. One would hardly consider that anything could go wrong based on the seamless operation of these shows. And that is one of the major drawbacks of these types of shows.

Now, when we see this fantastic transformation of a landscape, from bare dirt to lush paradise, take place in the space of ½ hour our understanding of what can really happen (and generally does) can indeed become rather skewed. For example, do we really consider that many months of planning go into the production of these shows? Have we stopped to think that behind the host, the “talking head” of the show so to speak, a literal army of producers and technicians stand at the ready to make everything go as smoothly as possible? Or that virtually everything is carefully planned months in advance? Unrealistic expectations can and unfortunately do arise from not considering these facets of TV production.

Now I am certainly not knocking these TV shows. As a matter of fact, I appreciate them very much because they have actually helped grow my business more and more as people understand the value of planning ahead and putting their ideas on paper before even one spade of dirt gets turned or one dollar is spent. I even learn new techniques and ideas from these shows! Thanks to these shows many people have been inspired to invest in one of the most important tangible investments they can ever make, their home. That has certainly led to some new business for my firm for sure.

What I would like the landscape design client to take away from this article is simply this: Temper your ideas and expectations about your landscape project with a rather large dose of “true” reality and plan ahead accordingly. Many times the lead time for a landscape design from beginning concept to final presentation is 6 to 8 weeks. A quality landscape design takes that kind of time because there really is quite a bit in producing a unique design tailored to the individual client. Add to that a minimum of 2 to 4 weeks in getting bids of your project from various contractors and you can see close to 2 to 3 months has been expended. Add to that the 2 to 6 weeks (or more depending on the complexity of the project) of construction and installation of the landscape and it doesn’t take long to see that a quality landscape can take many months, not a mere half-hour, to install.

The 6 Basic Principles of Landscape Design

Understanding the basic principles of good landscape design will help insure a visually appealing and functional landscape for the client, as well as enhancing property value and reducing maintenance costs. These principles are not necessarily based on a particular individuals understanding of creative or artistic principals, but rather stem from the inherent visual sense possessed by most people, whether they regard themselves as creative or not. By the way, I do not necessarily consider myself to be all that "creative" either and that's why I rely on understanding these basic principles myself.

1. Balance
Simply put, balance is the state of seeing as well as being seen. There are 3 types of balance: symmetric, asymmetric and proximal/distal. Symmetric balance is the balance of formal gardens where one side is the mirror image of the other. Asymmetric balance can generally be more visually appealing in that there are two sides to observe and expose. Regard for exact duplication of sides is minimized. Proximal/distal balance is asymmetric but carries it further by dealing with depth in the field of vision. It is not uncommon to combine the basic types of balance, but it should be done with great forethought.

2. Focalization of Interest
Anything that is designed well has a focal point. Focalization of interest is the principles of the design that selects and positions visually strong items into the landscape composition. Focal points can be created using plants, hardscape items such as fountains or swimming pools, architectural elements of the home, the color, movement, texture of plantings or a combination of all of these features. Generally speaking, most homeowners have the tendency to overuse focal points, which usually creates complexity and visual confusion within the landscape composition. A general rule of thumb to consider with focal points is that less generally equals more.

3. Simplicity
Simplicity seeks to make the viewer of the landscape feel comfortable within the landscape. Simplicity is not always the opposite of complexity and should not imply simplistic, boring or convey a lack of imagination. Rather, simplicity avoids the use of too many plants and plant species, too many textures, too many shapes, too many focal points, and/or too many curves or angles within a specific area or within an overall landscape.

4. Rhythm and Line
The principles of rhythm and line may be regarded separately or collectively. Rhythm is established when any element repeats enough times within a standard interval and usually deals with a measured space. Line is created where different materials meet, such as turf meeting pavement or a mulched planting bed. Curved lines generally add more interest to the landscape in that they are longer, thus “stretching” the eye and enhancing the view of the landscape. This is not to say straight lines should be avoided. In fact straight lines, when used properly, can also be used to add a tremendous amount of visual interest in the landscape.

5. Proportion
Proportion is concerned with the size relationships between all of the features and elements of the landscape. That includes both vertical and horizontal relationships as well as spatial (space) relationships. The concern for proper proportion should extend to building size, lot size, plant size, areas dealing with mass and void, as of course the human users of the landscape.

6. Unity
As a principle of design, unity is the easiest to measure, as long as the previous five design elements have been applied properly and comprehensively. Each component of the landscape, whether it is plant material, color and texture, planting bed shape, the choice and use of paving materials, color selection, lighting plan or any other component of the landscape within a project, is obligated to be a part of the whole. Even the most novice among us can appreciate the overall uniformity of a well planned landscape design.

Choosing the right Landscape Contractor

There are several things to examine when choosing a landscape contractor to install the landscape design that you had commissioned and believe it or not, price should not be your first and foremost consideration. Price of the job should be secondary to reputation, experience and referrals from other satisfied clients. For example, if all other aspects of the construction bids were equal (which is rarely the case) then sure, price then becomes the foremost and obvious criteria in the selection of your installation firm. But because there are other factors to consider and because some of these factors are weighted more heavily in the favor of certain firms then it pays to do your homework and examine what these differences between firms may happen to be. Reputation, experience and referrals from other satisfied clients, while vital and extremely valuable in your consideration process, should not be the only criteria in which you decide which contractor to hire. The reccommendation of a professional landscape designer and their opinion should count just as equally.

This is where it is vital to lean heavily on the opinions and recommendations of the landscape designer that just finished your landscape design. Many times, certain landscape designers work with a selected few landscape contractors and artisans that have installed many of their designs before and they have learned that over the years certain contractors have the best interests of their clients and the design at heart. This alone could be worth a few extra dollars simply because the overall impact of the design and project mean just as much to the contractor as it does to you, the client. The quality of the installation is usually superior as well. The contractor has valuable reputation points at stake, from both the designer and you, and this usually means better care and an attention to detail to your particular project that is hard to put a price on. Thus, while it may sound cliché, it is a win/win situation for all concerned. With the designer's reputation at stake and the contractor's reputation at stake it is the client that ultimately benefits in the long run. This is the way it should be!

Now it is fair to say that these are just particular generalities. Each and every project is different so there are no hard and fast rules as to how to select a particular contractor. One of the first steps I usually take in determining which contractor I want to recommend to a client is in examining the complexity of the design, particularly the main type of hardscape material that is being used in the design.

An example might be a landscape design that calls out a good deal of stamped and stained concrete. Some landscape contractors sub-out (hire a subcontractor) for all their concrete work and do none of their own installs, while other firms are truly great in working with concrete and thus are truly artistic in concrete installation. Having this simple criteria available to me as a designer is instrumental in helping me make my recommendation to the client and this generally becomes a recommendation I can take great confidence in. A phone book ad, or even a referral from another client can't possibly reveal these subtle differences quite as well as a recommendation that a knowledgeable and well informed landscape designer can provide.